The Futureheads

Post-punk Sunderland rockers The Futureheads shot to fame in 2005 when they revived the Kate Bush classic 'Hounds of Love' and two years on enjoyed similar success with their riff-roaring hit 'Beginning of The Twist'. Last April they released their fourth album, The Chaos and now operate under their own independent label, Nul Records. Next month sees the band take the reins at www.topmanctrl.com showing fans what it’s really like being in one of Britain’s favourite post punk institutions, adding exclusive videos, pictures and insights into their weird and wonderful world. Each month a new band or act take on the role of controller, which involved them sharing the music, film, places, books and other hidden gems that have inspired or made them what they are. Music-News caught up with The Futureheads' singer/guitarist Ross Millard to discuss the art project, his views on the current music scene, the XFactor, and supporting Biffy Clyro.

Music News: You started out and initially formed as a band at college way back in 2000. What do you think it is that has keep you together for so long and working to the same musical goals?

Ross Millard: I think it’s mainly due to the fact that we started out pretty much as most bands should, as good friends first who shared a love for music and performing. We began making music on what I called an amateur low-key level, which enabled us to get to know each other even more and have evolved almost organically, which has meant our growth has maybe been slower than manufactured bands, but the bond we have is that much stronger and as live performers we are solid.

MN: Despite being together since 2000 I think it’s fair to say you shot to popular fame when you covered and re-released Kate Bush’s classic “Hounds of Love” which peaked at number 8 in the UK singles charts in 2005. What made you choose this cover and did you have any idea it would be a huge for you as it has been?

Ross: Yes, we’d been together for a few years by that point and at which time we were touring and performing to the squats across Europe such as in Germany and Switzerland, with a few other local bands. During this time we had a mix tape in the van which included this track by Kate Bush and we always talked about what a pity it was that she’d since become such a recluse and how sad it was we might never get to see her perform such an iconic song live. We all loved the track so much and wanted to get people excited about it all over again, so we thought what better way than to cover it ourselves. We never for one minute imagined it would be such a huge hit for us. We were totally flattered more so when Kate herself got in contact in 2006 to tell us how much she liked our version and appreciated us reviving it which no doubt made more people revisit the original.

MN: During your time together as The Futureheads you’ve supported numerous leading bands, including the Foo Fighters, the Pixis and Snow Patrol. Which band has been your personal favourite and why?

Ross: It’s tough but I think my personal favourite would have to be the Pixis. I was a big fan of the Pixis when I was at school so supporting them naturally meant a lot to me. I really started getting into them just before they split, so I never thought I’d ever get to see them perform live let alone imagined I’d have the opportunity to perform live alongside them on stage. Supporting them was tremendous and without a doubt one of the highlights of my musical career.

MN: As a band you’re reported as being most influenced by new wave and post-punk, who/what would you say influences you most now?

Ross: We still love the old new wave and post-punk classics and enjoy listening to the likes of XTC, Devo and Wire, but I think our music is influenced less by people/bands as such now and more so by our travels. For example, Barry Hyde (vocals & guitar) listens to a lot of African music and we tend to draw upon and use such musicl to influence us technically as oppose to generically, which we hope comes across in our sound.

MN: How did your move from a huge label to your own independent (Nul Record) in 2006 change (if at all) your sound and focus as a band?

Ross: It’s hard to say how it’s changed our music or sound. I think it’s most evident in our third album ‘This Is Not The World’ which was our first since breaking away from the record label we were with. The trouble with being signed to a major label is that while it carries huge financial clout and prestige, it means a track is unlikely to make it onto an album unless the record label are 100% happy with it, which means it must be a dead cert for a hit single, which can mean you spend longer in the studio and is not what we are about. We work much faster now and want to have the freedom to experiment with our music and make the kind of music we love and feel passionate about regardless of how high it’s likely to chart. Setting up Nul Records has been great as it’s really empowered us to not only write and produce the music we want to but to also manage our own schedule.

MN: It was released back in April this year, but how has your recent album been received by your fans?

Ross: I think there was a lot of uncertainty with our last album and our fans weren’t sure quite what they were getting when they came to our shows or listened to our album as we were transitioning from our old label to our independent. This album is more us, and I think and genuinely hope there is now a feeling of familiarity as oppose to curiosity among our fans and those who come to our gigs as they know what they can expect and where we are at. We still take our biggest following from the UK, but we are doing more in the US and I think people are starting to understand and appreciate us more.

MN: Ten years is a long time nowadays especially in the music industry, how do you think the popular music scene has changed during this time?

Ross: I think more has changed in the last ten years than the last 50 in all honesty. The music industry is a funny place at the moment and almost depressing in many ways, as I think people now think of music as a career and it reflects in the music they produce. I think a band still earns his or hers clusters as a ‘live band’ now which kind of suits us as we love performing live. With that in mind it’s that much harder to measure a band's success as while more people attend live gigs, fewer people seem to be buying music in the traditional way. Also one person might purchase your single or album in a record store, while 8-10 might download it for free over the net, which distorts how successful a band is perceived as being.

MN: Who do you think is particularly exciting in the charts and the current music scene at the moment and why?

Ross: I think Lady Gaga stands out as being the most interesting and thought provoking artist at the minute. She has this classic 80’s style glamour that you just don’t see or hear of anymore, but produces the most titanic, melodic hits that cross boundaries and is massively enthralling when she interviews or performs live. She succeeds in bringing a touch of the surreal and a degree of glamour to the music industry which has been lacking and it’s great. I don’t enjoy listening to what is known as the London urban scene as played on commercial radio stations, voices and sounds seemed to be morphed by synthesizers and there is a real lack of talent as a result.

MN: What’s you view on reality talent shows, namely the XFactor and what effect do you think they have on the music industry?

Ross: It’s funny you should ask that as I was listening to an interview with Bette Midler in which she was talking about how the US ranks 25th in literacy, but No. 1 in self- esteem. I have nothing against talent shows, but I think XFactor in particular embraces and promotes that same over-confident culture here in the UK. The result of this is a nation of teens who are brought up to believe they have some divine right to stardom which as a result raises expectations and contributes to an ego-centric culture. I think this level of obsession with fame and super-stardom is dangerous, as young people are built up to believe they are something they are not at such as speed and knocked down in even less time. It’s not healthy and I don’t think it develops talent as such.

MN: This year marks your 10th anniversary as a band and I understand you are celebrating it by working with iconic artists to produce a series of limited edition prints of key scenes and images, which will be used to raise money for local charities close to your heart. How did this come about?

Ross: We have a good friend, Emma Thomas who got us involved in something called The Mad Artists Tea Party which basically encourages and promotes creativity and art through cakes, biscuits etc. It’s a lot of fun. With the help of Emma and other iconic artists we love and admire such as Pete Fowler and Stuart Semple we came up with the idea of marking our 10th anniversary through a series of limited edition prints to raise money for local charities such as St Oswalds Hospice in Newcastle. It’s kind of similar to when Penguin re-skinned their classic novels, and we consider it a less cheesy way to mark our 10 years together as a band.

MN: What’s next for The Futureheads?

Ross: We’ve had a year on the road with numerous tours and have one last tour in the UK which begins next Thursday (November 25th) supporting Biffy Clyro which includes their dates at Wembley Arena, so we’re really looking forward to that. We will then start work in the New Year on an a cappella album, which will of course see us flex our vocal skills and talents and it’s a project we’re really looking forward to and we hope will provide something quite different for our fans.

NB The Sunderland four will launch their Topman CTRL take-over with a set at the The Shipping Forecast in Liverpool on December 7th for which tickets went on sale on Monday (22nd November). They’ll be accompanied by Frankie and the Heartstrings and math-rock favourites Hot Club de Paris as support.
To enjoy the The Futureheads Topman CTRL take over visit: www.topmanctrl.com