ROCK THE THRILLS Carling Academy, Glasgow, Fri 3 Oct
Is it their gift with the blarney? Their cheeky thrift store good looks? Or their insanely catchy west coast guitar pop? Whatever it is, the Thrills just can‘t help making friends. And not any old mates, either, celebrity friends - those handiest of promotional tools. Put it this way, the Dublin quintet didn’t even have a record deal and they were hanging out with Morrissey. Hang on, Morrissey? The king of misery?
‘Thirteen months ago we got a phone call from Morrissey,’ says keyboard player Kevin Horan. ‘He'd got a hold of our demo somehow, he was in Ireland and he wanted to check us out. So he came to the rehearsal room and sat and listened and talked to us for an hour afterwards. Whenever he's in town he checks in with us. He’s a really nice guy.’
So nice, in fact, that he let the band support him at the Albert Hall for their first ever London gig. They’ve certainly stepped in something lucky, cos everything is
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Their friends are eclectic
going right for the Thrills at the moment, with a host of superb festival performances as well as some high profile support slots (Rolling Stones, anyone?) under their belts. Chris Martin and Noel Gallagher are more of the band’s celeb buddies, and the list is getting bigger every day.
‘We were on Radio 4 last weekend and Jerry Springer was on too,‘ says Horan. ‘He turned round and said, "You guys are great, are you coming to Chicago soon?". We're playing there in a month, so we’ll see him then.‘
The band’s debut album, 80 Much For the City, is a heavily retro slice of easy going, upbeat countrified jangle-pop, not something you'd automatically peg for chart domination. But with sales going through the roof, it’s clear the band have tapped into something big.
‘When we finished it we thought it might get good reviews but we didn't know if that would translate to getting played on the radio,’ says Horan. ‘But it seems to have gone across the board. We‘re lucky in that sense but it's kind of fickle, we could get turned on any day, like.‘
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44 THE LIST 2—"? Oct 233.3
BIG BIG WORLD RETURNS THIS autumn — running over 12 days from 22 October — with a more varied and veracious bill than ever. The festival, which celebrates the great and good of world music, now incorporates Si Cuba! so the last four days will focus on performers from Cuba. Highlights from BBW include another welcome visit from India’s maverick percussionist, Trilok Gurtu, who plays on 23 October, soul legend Terry Callier on 24 October and Bob Brozaman and Rene Lacaille, who play African-tinged delta blues on 27 October. The highlights of the Cuban contingent include female singer/songwriter Yusa, Afro- Cuban hip hop outfit Orishas and Vocal Baobab. The List will provide full listings and previews in our 16 October issue.
WIN PROCLAIMERS NIGHT OUT Scotland’s finest, the Proclaimers, are coming to the Carling Academy, Glasgow on Friday 10 October and we are giving away a top prize to one lucky winner. You will get pair of tickets, access to venue via guest queue — which means a limited waiting time — tickets to the VIP bar in the circle with a viewing balcony, and free drinks all night. Email entries only this time to promotions@list.co.uk Deadline is noon on Thursday 9 October. Please include your daytime telephone number. You must be over 18 years of age to enter this competition.