Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol have just announced their biggest tour to date as well as releasing a lovely new album, A Hundred Million Suns
I caught up with the beautiful (but hungover) Tom Simpson to chat about the life of a superstar [part- time DJ], getting drunk and having sex with Johnny Depp.
Hey Tom, how are you this wonderful day?
I’m good thanks, got a little bit of a cold today but I had a few drinks last night so I’m not sure how much that has to do with it!
Oh dear; Self Inflicted!
No sympathy from you then!?!
None at all Mr! So what have you been getting up to lately apart from getting drunk?
A lot of hard work actually. We have been rehearsing for about a month in London trying to work out how to play these bloody songs live! There is so much going on and I just don’t know where to start!
We also did the four cities in two days affair which was a lot of work but really worthwhile! It was a Herculean effort from out crew to make it happen - That’s quite a good word that isn’t it!? - and so hats off to them because it was a logistical nightmare which they somehow pulled off. So we have to take them out and wine and dine them to say thank you!
Then we have just been doing a lot of promo for the new record which is an essential part of how the big machine works. I went back up to Scotland for a new days, I bought a cottage up here so I’m just having a few chilled days off before it all starts again!
You just released your new album A Hundred Million Suns, what has the reaction to that been like?
The people who have bought the record and listened to it are loving it. There have been a few mixed review which we expected anyway as it’s part of what happens. I think most people understand the strength and depth of this record.
To anyone who hasn’t heard the record yet , how would you describe it?
Very good! I think there is enough on this record to satisfy any Snow Patrol fan, but I think there is also enough bravery in this record to open a few more doors and avenues as well.
We have changed the way we approach things on a few of the songs and instead of being stuck in a formula of working. Which is quite exciting in itself; the fact that we are changing things because I think it’s always important to look in to the future and think about where you’re going to go next.
Do you have a favourite song from the album?
I do actually… It’s Daybreak which is the last part of the 16-minute song! It’s very heavily influenced by out time in Berlin and there are a lot of washes of sound and synthetic strings. It’s quite an expansive song and Gary’s song writing is incredible on this record and the lyrics are brilliant and just sheer poetry!
I can’t wait to listen to it!
Got down the shops!
I’m on my way now… so you’ve also announced your biggest tour yet; how excited are you?
Really excited actually, I got a taste for being back out on the road last week and behaving as a band again and going by people’s responses to the new record I think it’s going to be great . We’re going to try and visit some of the places we missed on the last tour.
So is there anywhere you’re really looking forward to playing?
I’m looking forward to playing in Sheffield again. I was there last week and I had a great night out so that shall be fun! People in Sheffield are very trendy aren’t they? There have their own thing going on and I’m thinking; “These kids look fantastic!â€
I’m looking forward to your visit to the MEN! Is it ever daunting playing to such a big venue?
Yeah, it’s something we learnt quite early on how to fill these vast spaces because we were out with U2 and there were just a couple of them on the stage.
As we’ve done an arena tour before we’re a bit more experienced now but the size of the venues have gone up gradually; it’s not like one day we were playing for one man and his dog and then the next there were 15, 000 people.
Everything has happened on a gradual incline so you become acclimatised to your situation and it has been quite easy and not shocking. Hopefully after saying all that we will be able to fill the venues with sound!
So do you have a favourite song to play live?
I quite like playing Shut Your Eyes off the last record because I have a nice Motown part on it so I get locked into the groove on it and hammer away at it.
I’ll be watching for you shaking your thing!
I might do, I might do!
If you could play anywhere in the world, where would it be?
We’ve played a lot of places but it would be nice to go to somewhere like Brazil as we haven’t really touched South America yet so maybe creeping over there would be great! One of the great things about being on tour is to be able to see all these great places around the world.
What has been your favourite place?
There’s no place like home! Mexico was amazing and I went up Teotihuacan there and I thought; “Wow, this is incredible!†so maybe from last year I would say Mexico City.
So what was the last album you acquired?
I haven’t bought a full record in ages, that’s really bad! I went back and bought the French band, Phoenix’s album again, have you heard of them? [FF: No] BRILLIANT!! Go and get an album called It’s Never Been Like This.
On the last lot of touring we always played that record before we went out on stage and we all had a dance in the dressing room before we went out and got all G’d up!
I’d love to be a fly-on-the-wall there!
Yeah, some people start bustin’ some unusual moves!
So if you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oh man… they said you were going to be kind to me! I don’t know. I want to say something profound and timeless.
Not Girls Aloud’s greatest hits then?
There’s nothing wrong with Girls Aloud - they’re very talented girls! I’d probably go for something soulful though, I can’t think, I can’t think! I’ll go for a David Bowie record or perhaps Karl King’s Tapestry which got re-issued recently.
I think it would have to be a record that was old but stood up to the test of time and still feels good now.
Well done at getting out of that one! So we ask everyone we interview to come up with a question for the next person we interview and SunitaS wants to know; “Whose cover version of one of your songs you like best?
Apparently Leona Lewis has done a version of Run which is meant to be good, but I haven’t heard it yet!
Okay, well you can have another question then, Kill Hannah want to know whether you’d rather have sex with Rosanne Barr 100 times, or have Johnny Depp have sex with you once?
Ooh, Johnny Depp is a good looking man, so I’ll have to go with him I think! I’m just thinking Rosanne Barr one hundred times!
I know…. Think of the friction burns!
Oh don’t! I’ll have to go gay and for Johnny.
So can you come up with a question for the next person I interview please?
I’ll go for a standard one; if you could meet anyone in the world from history who would it be and what would you ask them?
Ooh, I like it, thanks! Take care.
Thanks to you too, now get down the shops and buy the record!
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison