Bluetones are back on the road to mark the 25th anniversary of their album Return to the Last Chance Saloon. The band will be playing across the UK and Ireland. The band will be performing the album in full plus a greatest hits set. Bluetones are also set to release an EP of new music. Entertainment Now caught up with frontman Mark Morriss.
After a 14-year hiatus, what inspired you to return to the studio and create new music?
It’s difficult to explain what lead directly to the decision to start recording together again. I think there has been a growing sense of unfinished business in the band for the last 3 or 4 years. And perhaps a greater awareness of the passing of time.
How did it feel to be back in the studio together after such a long break?
To be honest it was the most productive period that I can ever remember us having together. We drummed up four new songs in the first four days. It felt quite liberating to be playing new ideas together, rather than polishing up songs from our back catalogue.
Can you tell us more about the creative process behind your new EP? Was it different from how you approached music in the past, especially now that you’re on your own label, Brainhole Records?
The formation of our own label is more of a side issue. That sort of thing is not in our minds at all during the creative process. It’s quite a separate thing. The process we follow is that either somebody in the group, usually Scott, Adam or myself, presents an idea… a chord sequence, a riff. – half finished ditty, and then we jam it around for a few hours. Trying out new sounds and styles until everybody is smoking while they play.
Your upcoming UK/Irish tour is highly anticipated. What can fans expect from your live shows this time around? Will you be incorporating a mix of your classic hits and new material into the setlist?
The October tour will be the first time we incorporate all three of the songs from the first EP into a list. The songs will have been in the public domain for a couple of weeks at that point, and we figure that our audience will have had time to get them under their skin by then.
Looking back at your journey from the Britpop era to now, how do you think The Bluetones have evolved as a band?
We’ve always just ploughed ahead and been on our own little journey, really. Now that we’ve been around the block a bit there are more shared experiences between the individuals in the band, which obviously bonds us, and seems to have fed into the trust required in any creative collective, as it were. Haha.
Basically, we still love it.
With the music industry changing so much since your last release, how do you feel about the current state of the industry, especially for indie bands like yours?
I think the music industry is constantly in flux with regards to getting the music out to the people, promotion and the way music is consumed. It always moves with the technology. So a bunch of Luddites like us are probably screwed.
Anything you’d like to say to the readers of Entertainment Now?
You should let us be your favourite new old band. We will never but never let you down.
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