hen we went back to America for another promo tour. . . .‘Justin Currie says, and rock’n‘roll never seemed quite so draining. But then, Del Amitri were born to be drained and, they‘re happy to tell you, born to be mild. Drained: ‘Be my downfall, ’ sings Justin, ‘be my undoing. be my slow road to ruin. ’ Del Amitri spin out another wearied meditation on the essential Crapness Of Love. Mild: ‘Compared to a lot of things that are happening now,‘ reckons Justin, ‘we’re incredibly middle-of—the-road. I wouldn't want to open NME and read about bands like us.‘ To themselves, Del Amitri are dull Amitri. top of the fashion police’s Most Wanted list.
It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. and Del Amitri do it well. Their stage
6 The List 18 December 1992 —-14 January 1903
1992 was the year of Del Amitri. After ten years together, they finally made it big both at home and across the globe. But life as a rock star ain’t all about having a good time. It’s tough at the top as
JUSTIN CURRIE explains to Craig McLean.
schtick is as hammy heidbangers. king rockers with their feet on the monitors. their tongues in their cheeks. This year they marked their tenth anniversary together by releasing an album which artfully managed. and I quote, ‘to make the grimly grey seem quite toe-tappineg bright‘. Change Everything. their third album, has spawned three Top 30 singles. achieved 200,000 UK and 600,000 worldwide sales. required endless months of ceaseless PR toil in numerous countries, and now. finally, demanded four (near) sold-out gigs at Barrowlands. Ifthe Del boys are the dull boys. they‘re clearly not alone in their affection for yearning, achey~breaky. rootsy rock, and dullness is hopelessly pandemic. a global malaise.
So pull up a chair and sit awhile. Let Justin
Currie be your (hopeless) lover and your (hairy) guide to Del Amitri‘s 1992 — the year his voice broke. Nearly.
The year started finishing the record. Most of 1991 was spent just writing and arranging
and rehearsing the album. then the last three 5
months ofthe year were spent recording. We were in the studio most ofJanuary. two weeks recording. then mixing. And. before the mixing. we went to Amsterdam to shoot all the sleeve photographs.
FEBRUARY
The mixing went up to the middle of February. Mixing‘s when you know whether you‘ve got a record or not. When we made the great mistake with Waking Hours. when we recorded the David Kershenbaum version, it wasn‘t until we started mixing that we realised that we didn‘t have a record.‘
I took my nephew to Edinburgh Zoo on
J