Photo: Press
Formed in 1986 by Guy Chadwick and Terry Bickers, The House Of Love became of the quintessential alternative rock bands of the decade. Synonymous with the rise of the UK's independent music scene having signed to the then-fledgling Creation Records a year after their formation. Having released their self-titled debut in 1988 to a wave of critical acclaim, the band signed to Fontana the following year, enjoying a brief dalliance with commercial success in the process.
However, this also culminated in the breakdown of Chadwick and Bickers relationship with the latter departing the band just months after signing with the major label. Two more albums followed until the band's eventual dissolution in 1993, and it wasn't until 2003 that Chadwick and Bickers put their differences aside to reform The House Of Love.
Since getting back together, they've put out another two long players in Days Run Away, and She Paints Words In Red, while continuing to tour albeit sporadically.
Next month sees them return for four UK shows including a headline slot at London's Indie Daze all dayer, and we caught up briefly with Guy Chadwick to see how he was getting on:
Gigwise: The House Of Love are headlining Indie Daze at the O2 in Kentish Town next month. Prior to that you’re playing a couple of warm up shows in Hull, Preston and Hebden Bridge. Are you looking forward to playing live again?
Guy ChadwicK: Very much so. We haven’t been very active on the live front for two or three years apart from playing the odd festival. We’ve mainly been working on a new album so when we were asked to do Indie Daze thought we may as well play a few other shows around it as well.
GW: What made you choose those three places in particular for the warm up gigs?
GC:Contractually, we weren’t allowed to play within a certain distance of London and we just wanted to do some warm ups so we saw what was available and those three offered us dates leading up to the Indie Daze show. That’s pretty much what it boiled down to. Also, we haven’t actually played in any of those three places since we reformed and we’ll always try and get to places we haven’t played.
GW: What appealed about Indie Daze compared to the other festivals you’ve been asked to do?
GC: They asked us to do it last year but at the time it wasn’t something we wanted to do. Then they asked us to do it again and the promoter really likes the band so he made us an offer we couldn’t really refuse.
GW: Do you prefer playing festivals aimed at the retro market such as Indie Daze?
GC: In actual fact we’ve been in a kind of retro mode for a couple of years. Last year we did a couple of gigs with The Wonder Stuff. We did a gig with Echo & The Bunnymen too which was very well paid. That’s what the deal was. We were playing with bands from that time. It’s not something we’ve done at all in the past, but we just had these offers and thought why not? And we’ve enjoyed it. We’ve not played a lot of live shows in recent years. We’re not into heavy touring or anything like that. It’s just kind of where we are at the moment. Also, we started working on a new album two years ago. Playing live makes sense in a way because it keeps us in touch in terms of trying out new stuff live. We really enjoy playing the old songs. We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t. Because we’re not playing very often the gigs are fresh and we enjoy them. It also helps us keep in touch with our heritage. We’ve made two albums since we reformed and they haven’t been great. We worked hard on them. It wasn’t that we were lackadaisical or anything when we made them but in retrospect they weren’t as good as they needed to be. It really didn’t make much of an impression bringing out new music. It just feels like the right thing to do at this moment in time.
GW: I’m surprised to hear you say that about the last two albums, particularly She Paints The Words In Red as I remember seeing you play at the Scala on that tour and the songs off that record sounded incredible live.
GC: The reviews for She Paints The Words In Red were very positive. I’m not saying I’m ashamed of it or anything. We worked hard on that record but looking back, those songs worked better live than they did in the studio. We’d already recorded the album and were familiar with the songs so by the time it came to playing them live we had a little bit more freedom. To be honest, we didn’t have the budget to be able to make a really good record. Whereas this time round we’ve got a bigger budget and we’re taking our time over it. We’re making sure it’s going to be optimum. As good as it possibly can be. I agree with you about the Scala show. We really enjoyed playing that show. When we toured ‘She Paints The Words In Red’ we played most of that album in the set and it worked. All the songs went down really well. You can always tell if you play a new song whether it’s working because the audience will tell you straight away if they like it or not!
GW: When did you initially start working on the new album and do you have a proposed release date pencilled in?
GC: Most of it was written in the last four or five years. Some of the songs date back even further or stem from ideas that started a long time ago. I don’t know when it’s going to come out. Next year is quite an interesting one for us because it’s the 30th anniversary of our first album, so that might be an issue. But at the same time, we’ve just been taken on by new management and they’ve been encouraging us to think about releasing new material. There should be material ready to release next year. Whether we put something out then or leave it until the following year hasn’t been decided yet. We’re not rushing into it. We were in the studio three weeks ago for a few days and what we did there was the best we’ve done since the band reformed. We really feel like we’re onto something. It’s more a question of where it’s going to take us.
GW: How many songs do you have ready at the minute?
GC: Loads!
GW: You mentioned the 30th anniversary of your debut which came out in June 1988. Will you be doing anything special to commemorate that?
GC: I don’t know. Possibly. We’re concentrating on next month’s shows at the minute. That’s our current focus. The Indie Daze headline show is quite a big gig for us to do.
GW: With such an extensive body of work to choose from, how do you decide what to include in the setlist? Are there any songs from your back catalogue you don’t enjoy playing?
GC: We don’t play anything off the last two studio albums we did before the band split because Terry (Bickers) wasn’t on either of those records, even though he likes some of the tracks. He doesn’t feel any kind of affinity with those two albums so we’re a bit restricted when it comes to what we can include in the set and what we can’t. So we tend to draw our set from the first two records when Terry was in the group and the last two after we reformed.
GW: The House Of Love have been cited by many bands over the years as having influenced their careers. Are you proud of the band’s legacy?
GC: It’s hard to say really. It’s great that we inspired bands then what they took off us filtered through to other bands, but at the same time I find it quite difficult to be objective about your own legacy. I don’t think too much about it. I certainly don’t listen to music by other bands and think they’ve been influenced by us. I get told from time to time, but I don’t feel too precious about that kind of thing to be honest.
GW: What advice would you give to new bands just starting out?
GC: It’s so different now from when we first started. I live near Hastings, and there is the most amazing music scene down here. I’ve never come across a place like it for music. It’s one of the poorest places in England and yet the music scene is absolutely dynamite. There are so many venues and so many bands here. It’s incredible. I can go out any night of the week to watch a band and I will not see or hear bad music. It’s unbelievable. So looking at where I live, no one needs any advice round here! Because of the internet – which didn’t exist when we started – everything has changed. It’s almost like a different business now. It’s completely different. I’m just really glad so many people are still making music.
