Superstar rock stars The View
Album Rated 4/5
Exploding onto the music scene in 2006 with indie anthem ‘Wasted Little DJs’, the four teenaged members of The View soon became as famous for party-hard lifestyles as their catchy tunes.
Singer Kyle Falconer, guitarist Peter Reilly, bassist Kieran Webster and drummer Steven Morrison released their debut album ‘Hats Off to the Buskers’ in January 2007, instantly winning the admiration of critics and fans alike.
The third single from the Mercury Prize-nominated album was ‘Same Jeans’ .. which saw the group sacrifice some of their underground cool for mainstream success. The song reached number three in the UK singles chart and was even used as background music in several television soap opera scenes.
Unfortunately, their subsequent singles, double A-side ‘The Don’/ ‘Skag Trendy’ and ‘Face For The Radio’, barely grazed the charts, peaking at 33 and 69 respectively.
The View headed back to the studio last year to record ‘Which Bitch?’. Lead single ‘5Rebbeccas’ failed to make a mark on the UK top 40, but the band is undeterred and ready to set the music scene alight once more.
With their next track ‘Shock Horror’ already receiving heavy radio airplay ahead of its release next month and the album receiving positive advance reviews, The View finally look set to deliver on the promise of their early successes. FemaleFirst spoke to frontman Kyle about meditation, mayhem and Paul McCartney..
Are you looking forward to the album coming out
I can’t wait. It’s been ages. It was ages before we started anything then we went up to Dundee but didn’t really record and then we were told to get going because the record company were sort of pushing our asses.
Your last single, ‘5Rebbeccas’ only reached number 57 in the UK singles chart .. were you disappointed
I was, but a lot of radio stations had refused to play it because they misunderstood what we were talking about. They thought it was all champagne and junkies, but it was the opposite of that. There were words like ‘cooked’ cancelled out if they did play it but most people refused. Maybe it was the wrong time and we were speaking about the wrong things.
Do you think the next single, ‘Shock Horror’, will do better
Hopefully, but I don’t really care because I just want the album to come out. Although the album won’t go to number one because it’s out the same time as Eminem, who I think is a good person to lose to.
Would you do a duet with him
I tried to phone him up. I called my management about half-eight one morning and I was on a head trip and said I wanted to collaborate with Eminem but they said it was impossible to do.
Your best-selling single ‘Same Jeans’ received massive airplay .. does it still follow you
I think it helped get our name out there because a lot of people heard that song who hadn’t heard us before. I get people coming up to me going, ‘Oh are you the guy with the jeans?’
Are you disappointed that the album was leaked online weeks before its official release
It’s shite but I just want to find out who did it. It definitely wasn’t me. We’ve got albums kicking about all over the place round people’s houses so I think someone just took one.
Are you going to be playing at any festivals
I hope so. We’re not booked for any yet but I hope we do. I’m not just being patriotic but T in the Park is the best. It’s pure brilliant with a good vibe. I first went there in 2000 to see Oasis, it was amazing. Me and Pete the guitarist were at the front and my mum taped it so we had it on video and used to watch it all the time.
What is it like meeting bands now as an equal
It’s a bit weird to start with and I still get a bit of a judder when I see Liam Gallagher or Noel. It’s still weird talking to them. It shouldn’t be but it is. They’re just geniuses.
When I met Paul McCartney, I had to run to the toilet and just burst into tears. I was a bit p***ed but I was just in tears going ‘What am I doing
I’m blowing the chance’. It was really f**ed up. When I came back, the guys from The Feeling were butting in while I was talking to him and I was like, ‘What are you doing? You’re blowing my chances, get to f**k’. I love the Beatles. I wanted to ask him to collaborate with us: ‘Do you fancy doing a tune with us Macca
’ I’d have got laughed out of there.
How did making the new album compare with making your debut, ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’
We had a lot of time. The last time was only two weeks but we had eight for this one. We just got p***ed for a week and did nothing. Then, after a week, we got told the record company was coming down and we were like, ‘oh f**k, record, record, record!’ We did everything we could.
We got really drunk one night when the record company were due to see us and put a microphone in the room and recorded and called it ‘No singles’ and said it was the last track on the album. And Owen the producer made sure there was loads of beer cans sitting about and said we’d just been getting smashed. We were going ‘Oh we’ve done f**k all and this is all we have, no singles’, but it was all in good fun.
What’s Owen Morris, your producer, like to work with
He’s brilliant, a pure soul mate. It was the second time we’ve worked with him. He’s brilliant. He always makes you happy and if he thinks you need anything or you look unhappy, he’ll go and buy you something.
How do you pass the time in the studio
We made loads of videos and films. I don’t know what we’ll do with them. We made this crazy video when there were fireworks and we got these tricycles and were out in the garden and just got really drunk and covered ourselves in paint. You’ll see them one day. I’m sure they’ll get on YouTube.
How did your collaboration with Paolo Nutini come about
He was working in the studio just up the road from us and I drove up and knocked on his door. The song was finished and recorded but with just me on it and I’d kind of had Paolo in mind for the song so I just went and got him. I’m over the moon with it.
Are you a fan of his
His first album is amazing. We did a cover of one of his songs on Radio 1 and he phoned up to say thanks, then we met up. There was a load of stuff in the papers saying I despised his music, which was a load of shite, so I phoned him up to apologise and we just stayed in touch from there.
Who can drink more, you or him
Him (Laughs).
Are you a happy drunk
No man, that’s why I split up from my girlfriend. She said I’m a psychopath. Schizophrenic. I don’t know why. I just talk shite but don’t we all?
What has been your craziest night out
I’m not sure. I went on a few mad benders with Johnny Brown from Twisted Wheel in Glasgow, when they toured with us. We’d be walking down back alleys, out of it, and then coming to our senses thinking, ‘What are we doing?’ It was cool but a bit scary. We’d come to our senses, get back on the bus and fall asleep.
How do you relax
I’ve just moved into a new flat so I’m just doing meditation there. I have my meditation music on - oceans and that - lying back. I’ve moved the furniture to get the full effect of it but then I fell asleep halfway through. All my mates have been getting into it, trying to be better people, but I don’t think it’s really working for me. It’s not really helped me calm down.
Does all the meditation mean you’ll party less
I’ll take the good with the bad. I’m sure I’ll go on the benders and then meditate to cancel it all out.
The View release ‘Which Bitch?’ on February 2.
Female First, 21st January 2009
Exploding onto the music scene in 2006 with indie anthem ‘Wasted Little DJs’, the four teenaged members of The View soon became as famous for party-hard lifestyles as their catchy tunes.
Singer Kyle Falconer, guitarist Peter Reilly, bassist Kieran Webster and drummer Steven Morrison released their debut album ‘Hats Off to the Buskers’ in January 2007, instantly winning the admiration of critics and fans alike.
The third single from the Mercury Prize-nominated album was ‘Same Jeans’ .. which saw the group sacrifice some of their underground cool for mainstream success. The song reached number three in the UK singles chart and was even used as background music in several television soap opera scenes.
Unfortunately, their subsequent singles, double A-side ‘The Don’/ ‘Skag Trendy’ and ‘Face For The Radio’, barely grazed the charts, peaking at 33 and 69 respectively.
The View headed back to the studio last year to record ‘Which Bitch?’. Lead single ‘5Rebbeccas’ failed to make a mark on the UK top 40, but the band is undeterred and ready to set the music scene alight once more.
With their next track ‘Shock Horror’ already receiving heavy radio airplay ahead of its release next month and the album receiving positive advance reviews, The View finally look set to deliver on the promise of their early successes. FemaleFirst spoke to frontman Kyle about meditation, mayhem and Paul McCartney..
Are you looking forward to the album coming out
I can’t wait. It’s been ages. It was ages before we started anything then we went up to Dundee but didn’t really record and then we were told to get going because the record company were sort of pushing our asses.
Your last single, ‘5Rebbeccas’ only reached number 57 in the UK singles chart .. were you disappointed
I was, but a lot of radio stations had refused to play it because they misunderstood what we were talking about. They thought it was all champagne and junkies, but it was the opposite of that. There were words like ‘cooked’ cancelled out if they did play it but most people refused. Maybe it was the wrong time and we were speaking about the wrong things.
Do you think the next single, ‘Shock Horror’, will do better
Hopefully, but I don’t really care because I just want the album to come out. Although the album won’t go to number one because it’s out the same time as Eminem, who I think is a good person to lose to.
Would you do a duet with him
I tried to phone him up. I called my management about half-eight one morning and I was on a head trip and said I wanted to collaborate with Eminem but they said it was impossible to do.
Your best-selling single ‘Same Jeans’ received massive airplay .. does it still follow you
I think it helped get our name out there because a lot of people heard that song who hadn’t heard us before. I get people coming up to me going, ‘Oh are you the guy with the jeans?’
Are you disappointed that the album was leaked online weeks before its official release
It’s shite but I just want to find out who did it. It definitely wasn’t me. We’ve got albums kicking about all over the place round people’s houses so I think someone just took one.
Are you going to be playing at any festivals
I hope so. We’re not booked for any yet but I hope we do. I’m not just being patriotic but T in the Park is the best. It’s pure brilliant with a good vibe. I first went there in 2000 to see Oasis, it was amazing. Me and Pete the guitarist were at the front and my mum taped it so we had it on video and used to watch it all the time.
What is it like meeting bands now as an equal
It’s a bit weird to start with and I still get a bit of a judder when I see Liam Gallagher or Noel. It’s still weird talking to them. It shouldn’t be but it is. They’re just geniuses.
When I met Paul McCartney, I had to run to the toilet and just burst into tears. I was a bit p***ed but I was just in tears going ‘What am I doing
I’m blowing the chance’. It was really f**ed up. When I came back, the guys from The Feeling were butting in while I was talking to him and I was like, ‘What are you doing? You’re blowing my chances, get to f**k’. I love the Beatles. I wanted to ask him to collaborate with us: ‘Do you fancy doing a tune with us Macca
’ I’d have got laughed out of there.
How did making the new album compare with making your debut, ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’
We had a lot of time. The last time was only two weeks but we had eight for this one. We just got p***ed for a week and did nothing. Then, after a week, we got told the record company was coming down and we were like, ‘oh f**k, record, record, record!’ We did everything we could.
We got really drunk one night when the record company were due to see us and put a microphone in the room and recorded and called it ‘No singles’ and said it was the last track on the album. And Owen the producer made sure there was loads of beer cans sitting about and said we’d just been getting smashed. We were going ‘Oh we’ve done f**k all and this is all we have, no singles’, but it was all in good fun.
What’s Owen Morris, your producer, like to work with
He’s brilliant, a pure soul mate. It was the second time we’ve worked with him. He’s brilliant. He always makes you happy and if he thinks you need anything or you look unhappy, he’ll go and buy you something.
How do you pass the time in the studio
We made loads of videos and films. I don’t know what we’ll do with them. We made this crazy video when there were fireworks and we got these tricycles and were out in the garden and just got really drunk and covered ourselves in paint. You’ll see them one day. I’m sure they’ll get on YouTube.
How did your collaboration with Paolo Nutini come about
He was working in the studio just up the road from us and I drove up and knocked on his door. The song was finished and recorded but with just me on it and I’d kind of had Paolo in mind for the song so I just went and got him. I’m over the moon with it.
Are you a fan of his
His first album is amazing. We did a cover of one of his songs on Radio 1 and he phoned up to say thanks, then we met up. There was a load of stuff in the papers saying I despised his music, which was a load of shite, so I phoned him up to apologise and we just stayed in touch from there.
Who can drink more, you or him
Him (Laughs).
Are you a happy drunk
No man, that’s why I split up from my girlfriend. She said I’m a psychopath. Schizophrenic. I don’t know why. I just talk shite but don’t we all?
What has been your craziest night out
I’m not sure. I went on a few mad benders with Johnny Brown from Twisted Wheel in Glasgow, when they toured with us. We’d be walking down back alleys, out of it, and then coming to our senses thinking, ‘What are we doing?’ It was cool but a bit scary. We’d come to our senses, get back on the bus and fall asleep.
How do you relax
I’ve just moved into a new flat so I’m just doing meditation there. I have my meditation music on - oceans and that - lying back. I’ve moved the furniture to get the full effect of it but then I fell asleep halfway through. All my mates have been getting into it, trying to be better people, but I don’t think it’s really working for me. It’s not really helped me calm down.
Does all the meditation mean you’ll party less
I’ll take the good with the bad. I’m sure I’ll go on the benders and then meditate to cancel it all out.
The View release ‘Which Bitch?’ on February 2.
Female First, 21st January 2009
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