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"It's a Laugh!" | |
Fran Healy and Dougie Payne's summer of omnipresence
Is the festival experience as much fun for band as punters?
Any exciting surprises in store for Glastonbury?
Any survival tips?
Q
Fran Healy: Pretty much so. It's a laugh and a very relaxed vibe because it's not really your show, you know, it's no one's show, even for the headliners. So the pressure is diffused around so many other bands.
Dougie Payne: Generally, it's immensely good fun. Bands travel all year, so festivals are a bit of a reunion. This year, we're headlining Glastonbury, so we'll be shitting ourselves, but generally, festivals are really just an excuse to get people together. Bands are just a little backdrop to all the other activities.
Were you a festival goer?
Fran: No way, man. It was too expensive. It always seemed a bit of a middle-class day out. Eighty quid, come on!
Dougie: From Scotland, you have to travel to Pheonix or Reading or even Glastonbury, survive for the weekend, then get home. Never mind the ticket. The first festival I ever went to was actually to see Travis at T in the Park when they were Glass Onion. Neil had broken his leg and was playing in a cast. In fact, he had broken it playing football. They were on between acts in the comedy tent. Brilliant. I imagined it would be all druids in beards.
Fran: We were sitting talking about this the other night with Matt, our lighting guy. We're going on last, so we have to make some effort. The problem is what to do to make it nice without looking like every other band and those usual fucking swirling lights. Every gig I go to looks the same. Lighting designers? Money for nothing. All that "Wow man, great, coloured lights." We'd like to give a bit of quality.
Dougie: As long as it's tasteless, I'll be happy. Song-wise, the next album is pretty much written, so we'll be playing two or three new songs.
Fran: If you're going to take drugs, don't buy them on site, and take lots of plastic bags to cover your shoes and elastic bands to keep them attached. Better than wellies.
Dougie: Take a polythene bag tied up full of clean socks or you'll get trenchfoot. And very important, take your own loo rolls, keep them in a sealed plastic bag, and keep it on your person at all times. Wet bog roll spells misery.
July 2000
Words: Stuart Maconie
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