ROCKNESS
strong hearted Glasvegas are back, a stronger and wiser band. Henry Northmore finds
Rab Allan ready to stoke the emotions on stage once again
‘M y head wasn’t in a very good place either. My head was up my arse. I didn’t really know what was happening. I was just as bad as he was,’ explains Glasvegas guitarist Rab Allan (pictured, far right) with a nervous laugh. He’s referring to frontman (and Rab’s cousin) James Allan’s overdose at Coachella festival back in 2009 when Glasvegas were caught up in a whirlwind of hype and relentless touring. Their emotional, downbeat indie had struck home across the globe, their tales of domestic misery such as ‘Daddy’s Gone’ and ‘Geraldine’ becoming strangely life-affirming anthems.
Something had to give. ‘It is difficult for James because he needs to sing those songs and mean it every night. The guitar is a little more synthetic, I can play guitar every night,’ acknowledges Rab, ‘but the way he expresses an emotion through his vocals, I don’t think it’s something you can just do off the cuff.’
Back in 2008, on the eve of the release of their eponymous debut album, the band had threatened that Glasvegas and subsequent Christmas album A Snowflake Fell (And it Felt Like a Kiss) would be their only output before they lay down their guitars. ‘I guess we stayed inspired and creative enough to write another album,’ says Allan. ‘Some people do music because that is their job, but James doesn’t do
that. He writes music because it is a way of expressing himself. He could wake up tomorrow and not want to write anymore, and that’s the way life is.’ Returning with their eccentrically punctuated second album EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\ earlier this year, produced by Flood (the pseudonym of producer Mark Ellis) and James Allan, it has a richer more orchestral sound. ‘I think we have all grown up a lot in the past three years. Me, James and [bassist] Paul [Donoghue] have all grown as people and have become a lot more confident and reassured about what we do. We’re like boys to men.’ There’s also a looser, funkier dynamic powered by new drummer Jonna Löfgren. ‘We all took turns trying to get her into bed – she said “no” to all of us, so other than that, it’s been a happy, wonderful relationship,’ he laughs. ‘She’s incredible, it feels like she has always been here.’
Although Glasvegas love playing the festival season, Rab’s puzzled by their appeal: ‘I’ve never been to a festival to watch bands. I don’t like camping, I don’t know how anyone can go to a festival and camp. I couldn’t do that. That’s not my scene.’
Glasvegas play the Main Stage, RockNess, Sun 12 Jun.
MEET THE HEADLINERS Kirsty McLaren finds one thing you probably didn’t know about each of the stars of RockNess
KASABIAN
CHEMICAL BROTHERS PAOLO NUTINI
Frontman Tom Meighan (pictured, left) was left temporarily blind last year after he was hit in the eye by a sausage while on stage. The band were performing at an awards ceremony in Germany when an angry audience member decided to make their feelings for the Kasabian singer known by launching the meaty missile at his face.
It’s no secret that The Chemical Brothers list post-punk legends The Fall as one of their inspirations, but Ed Simons (pictured, left) has taken his love for front man Mark E Smith one step further – with a portrait of the singer tattooed on his arm. He tweeted a picture in September of last year to some less-than-complimentary comments likening it to Frankenstein’s monster. Gravelly-voiced Paolo Nutini wasn’t always such a crooner. In 2007 Radio 1 let slip that back when the Paisley lad was 15 he auditioned for a spot in seminal pre-teen pop band S Club Juniors, but was shown the door because of his terrible dancing. Plastic pop’s loss is blue eyed soul’s gain as Sunny Side Up went quadruple platinum.
38 THE LIST 26 May–23 June 2011