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Going back to Boomtown was something Devon-based Rat Simon Crowe never expected to do. But 28 years after their last performance, The Boomtown Rats reformed last year.
What better place to conclude their autumn tour than Exeter University’s Lemon Grove on Sunday, November 9?
Drummer Simon couldn’t be happier because it means he won’t have far to travel back home to his cottage between Totnes and Ashburton.
How is the comeback going?
Great despite a certain amount of surprise – the audience’s and ours! Obviously we’re knocking on a bit and to play with a similar energy to when we were back in the day is harder.
I think Bob’s performance is better now than it ever was, even back in the day. He just takes command of the stage more. It’s that magic thing you might call charisma or stage presence. As far as I’m concerned he’s the ideal front man.
Why did you decided to end the autumn tour in Exeter?
It was supposed to end in London but the date got added on at the end. It’s just so I can get home really!
The last time we played in Exeter was the Eighties. I can’t remember when, but it definitely was at the Great Hall.
Why did the band get back together again?
We all went off in different directions and came back together and discovered there was still a chemistry that makes it click.
To play music together and be able to do something you love doing with people who are just like your mates is a privilege and honour. It’s not just a band of musicians getting together.
How did you plan the comeback?
Before we put the band back together we sat down and said it couldn’t be old and flab – we can’t make it sound like that even if we look like that!
It was serious and we had our self respect and pride. That was our attitude and we were all in agreement about that. It had to be the best it could possibly be.
Is there less pressure on the band second time around?
There isn’t so much pressure, as we’ve had the hits and won’t come back and be the next great big thing.
We don’t have to go out there and say, ‘This is our new album’. We can hand-pick the numbers we do because we had a string of hits.
Have the Rats achieved everything they can or is there still more to come?
We never really achieved the status we felt we were capable of, even back in the day. We were labelled as a kind of a pop band but the Rats were a very good band live and always were. That’s where we came from. We were not put together as a band of session players or by some businessman.
We started for musical reasons and we all came from the same part of town and listened to the same sort of music. That carries a lot of weight and is why the band is what it is. It gives us very good and valid reasons for existing.
What is the plan for 2015?
We have quite a few festivals lined up next year. We will probably get together to do a few recordings between now and then and get a few other gigs on the calendar.
What’s is the long term plan for the Rats?
Where it goes from here it’s hard to say. I don’t really know. A lot depends on what everyone has got going on in their lives to bring us back down to earth. Unlike when we were 20-year-olds, we’re now 60-odd and are all involved with families and things like that. Things seem to get more complicated rather than easier when you get older!
I think there is a growing will to do something more and we have done some recordings.
Do you get to come back home to Devon often?
It’s very full on with the Rats. When I go home I hit the ground running. That’s the way it is.
Do you have any regrets about the Rats reforming?
I would not have missed this for the world. It’s totally fulfilling which is what I want out of life. It is hard work but it’s what I really want to do.
Read more: http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Interview-Simon-Crowe-Boomtown-Rats/story-23625337-detail/story.html#ixzz3L8WA6L8X Follow us: @expressandecho on Twitter | expressecho on Facebook
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Going back to Boomtown was something Devon-based Rat Simon Crowe never expected to do. But 28 years after their last performance, The Boomtown Rats reformed last year.
What better place to conclude their autumn tour than Exeter University’s Lemon Grove on Sunday, November 9?
Drummer Simon couldn’t be happier because it means he won’t have far to travel back home to his cottage between Totnes and Ashburton.
How is the comeback going?
Great despite a certain amount of surprise – the audience’s and ours! Obviously we’re knocking on a bit and to play with a similar energy to when we were back in the day is harder.
I think Bob’s performance is better now than it ever was, even back in the day. He just takes command of the stage more. It’s that magic thing you might call charisma or stage presence. As far as I’m concerned he’s the ideal front man.
Why did you decided to end the autumn tour in Exeter?
It was supposed to end in London but the date got added on at the end. It’s just so I can get home really!
The last time we played in Exeter was the Eighties. I can’t remember when, but it definitely was at the Great Hall.
Why did the band get back together again?
We all went off in different directions and came back together and discovered there was still a chemistry that makes it click.
To play music together and be able to do something you love doing with people who are just like your mates is a privilege and honour. It’s not just a band of musicians getting together.
How did you plan the comeback?
Before we put the band back together we sat down and said it couldn’t be old and flab – we can’t make it sound like that even if we look like that!
It was serious and we had our self respect and pride. That was our attitude and we were all in agreement about that. It had to be the best it could possibly be.
Is there less pressure on the band second time around?
There isn’t so much pressure, as we’ve had the hits and won’t come back and be the next great big thing.
We don’t have to go out there and say, ‘This is our new album’. We can hand-pick the numbers we do because we had a string of hits.
Have the Rats achieved everything they can or is there still more to come?
We never really achieved the status we felt we were capable of, even back in the day. We were labelled as a kind of a pop band but the Rats were a very good band live and always were. That’s where we came from. We were not put together as a band of session players or by some businessman.
We started for musical reasons and we all came from the same part of town and listened to the same sort of music. That carries a lot of weight and is why the band is what it is. It gives us very good and valid reasons for existing.
What is the plan for 2015?
We have quite a few festivals lined up next year. We will probably get together to do a few recordings between now and then and get a few other gigs on the calendar.
What’s is the long term plan for the Rats?
Where it goes from here it’s hard to say. I don’t really know. A lot depends on what everyone has got going on in their lives to bring us back down to earth. Unlike when we were 20-year-olds, we’re now 60-odd and are all involved with families and things like that. Things seem to get more complicated rather than easier when you get older!
I think there is a growing will to do something more and we have done some recordings.
Do you get to come back home to Devon often?
It’s very full on with the Rats. When I go home I hit the ground running. That’s the way it is.
Do you have any regrets about the Rats reforming?
I would not have missed this for the world. It’s totally fulfilling which is what I want out of life. It is hard work but it’s what I really want to do.
Read more: http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Interview-Simon-Crowe-Boomtown-Rats/story-23625337-detail/story.html#ixzz3L8WA6L8X
Follow us: @expressandecho on Twitter | expressecho on Facebook
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