The Subways - Going Overground

Sitting with The Subways on the eve of their 2nd show of a massive 32 date tour, Gigwise speaks with Glastonbury’s official Best New Band about their forth-coming album, their fans, and "that" Steve McQueen fetish!

Gigwise:Even though you’ve been touring pretty endlessly for a good while, The Subways are still quite “underground”, despite playing in the best new bands tent at Glastonbury.  Not many people really seem to know your name yet.  So, how would you describe what The Subways are, where did you come from – what’s your history?

Billy: Well, we got together kinda over a love for many great bands uhm… Nirvana, The Prodigy and Oasis. I taught myself some Oasis and Nirvana songs and I really wanted to play a show, I booked myself in for a local rock competition but I didn’t have anyone to play with, so… I taught my brother Josh…I showed him the ropes and he took over man. I showed Charlotte how to play bass and then we started playing from then on. We would record demos every month, at least three songs every month.  We’d send them out to all the London promoters. We played London venues as often as possible. I wouldn’t know how to describe the sound other than energetic. Even the melancholic stuff is, I dunno, kinda energetic too. A different kind of energy. We’ve got some rock songs and some slower stuff and just rock.

G: And what do you enjoy playing more, the rock or the melancholic?

Billy: I mean, I suppose the stuff where it’s really kind of slow, its more to do with me, so I really really enjoy it, probably more than Charlotte does. I write them on the acoustic. But together…yeah, I prefer the rock songs, playing them with these two. It’s electrical. It’s a drug!

G: Tell us about your new album, 'Young For Eternity'…

Charlotte: We did it up here (in Liverpool) with Ian Broudie (of The Lightening Seeds).  We spent 5 weeks up here. We just tried to get loads of songs together and make it as diverse as possible. There are lots of different kinds of songs on there. We wanted to make it like a journey.
Billy: Each song has a personality. We’ll probably start off with 'I Wanna Hear What You Have Got To Say', which is a very jagged, energetic song, then come in with 'Holiday' which is really punky, then probably 'Lines Of Light'… I wrote that on my bed after work. It’s probably gonna go like that, you know? I don’t dig albums that are just the same all the way through, that are one-dimensional. I wanted to make this like a journey, it’s a collection of all the songs, all the emotions of the last three years. It’s been good, it’s been bad, it’s been slow and it’s been fast. That’s how the album goes.

G: By the looks of your website you have quite a hardcore following of fans, what's that like? Do you interact with them on the message board? Have you had any bizarre behavior yet?

Charlotte: We try to read it every day, and we have met a lot of them at gigs
Billy: Well, not everyday…
Charlotte: We don’t necessarily write every day but we try and read it every few days, see what they’re up to. And its really nice because a lot of them, they all meet up at gigs, and it’s funny, they’ll be like; “oh you’re so and so”, or, oh, “I’m Sven254!”
Billy: They go; “uhm, what's your name? I’m Norsey 498, oh cool!” It’s nice, it’s what we wanted to do from the beginning. We wanted to create a community where people come together and collectively dig the songs, not people who hear a punk song and are like; “oh that’s punk and I like punk.” They like everything the band does, you know, they appreciate…I went on there one day, somehow they got a CD I handed out, they got hold of an mp3 of some of my acoustic songs…and they liked that just as much as they like the rock songs, and that meant so much to me. That’s what it’s about. Creating a community where they all appreciate it…they all want to be a part of something.

G: It sounds like you have a lot of influences, yet you've refrained from slipping into imitation which is quite a rare thing especially for a relatively new band who are still maybe carving out their own identity. But, if you could cover any songs, what would you like to cover?

Billy:  Errr…Smashing Pumpkins, 'Ava Adora'.
Josh: 'Shake Your Body' by….aghh I can’t remember! (starts to sing it, prompting all of us to go; “ahhh we know it!” Josh looks it up on his ipod but can’t find it. After 3 or 4 minutes of the whole room in deep thought, we move on.  The next day, with it still stuck in my head, I remember it’s by Shy FX.)  It’s a great song!

G: You know, you have to cover it now…

Charlotte: Yeah!
Josh: 'Rush Hour' by Supergrass, or My Morning Jacket,  'Runthru'. That’s  T.H.R.U
Billy: Or, Kevin Little, 'Turn Me On'.
Charlotte: Or Kylie Minogue, 'I Believe In You'.

G: You’ve been touring forever it seems, do you have any special tour luxuries? Are you divas with your demands?

Charlotte: Um we have this whole rider thing of pictures of Steve McQueen and socks and fake beards…and stuff, we just wanted to see if anyone would give it to us! And last night was the first night of our tour, and we got it!
Billy: We had a wonderful promoter. I adore Steve McQueen and she made me a little book, she actually made it, with loads of pictures of Steve McQueen! So sweet! But the tour luxury…making art for a living. It’s a dream really.

G: And what do you enjoy most, if you could isolate one aspect of the whole touring experience?

Charlotte: Well, besides from playing every night, I really love the travelling…seeing different parts of the country. Also the cities as well. I love the country.
Billy: I love the countryside. I love the hotels too! But the countryside…and the people. Up north everyone is so friendly.
Josh: Where we come from, down south, if you’re walking along and someone comes up behind you, it's like, even if it’s a little kid, he’s probably got a ****ing knife on him you know! It’s like, shit. We went into a newsagent up here, and it’s just a lot more at ease. Everyone’s so friendly. I feel a lot more at ease up here.
Billy: I like the hotels. The showers. You get off the bus after 5 hours and it feels like you are home for a while.

G: What’s the one essential thing you take with you on tour?

Billy: Books! It’s important to have loads of books!
Charlotte: Lots of films.
Billy: All my Steve McQueen movies! I need to build up my collection.

G: I see a pattern here...why Steve McQueen!?

Billy: Aghh! I dunno…
Charlotte: His beautiful eyes!
Billy: I am straight by the way! He’s not a method actor but his acting is so…where usually in films these days they will say nothing if they are in a lift, you wouldn’t start off dialogue, and his movies…he has a very human approach, lots of eye movements, nasal tics…body movement. The words he does say are really important to the movie. I just think he’s a really talented guy. You know, he’s captured the human spirit very well. And his eyes. He has beautiful eyes!

G: Which other countries do you have on the cards at the moment?

Charlotte: I think they are all kinda possible right now. Europe definitely.
Billy: I wanna play Japan. We’re gong on holiday there so we may as well try.  We are doing the big day out in Ireland too. Definitely doing Holland, and Germany, doing a festival so far
Charlotte: I didn’t know? (Sounds surprised…. breaking news!)
Billy: All European festivals! I want to play a festival with Ramstein…hahah!

G: And finally, drum roll please for the biggest cliché question of the year!  Where do you guys see yourselves in ten years time? 

Billy: I am just thinking…. I want to give a different answer to everyone! Err…a thousand kids. A castle and a moat.
Charlotte: A thousand little Billys? Great (!).
Billy: I just want to make as many albums as possible. And as much integrity as I can tally up, the better, I suppose, just making as many albums as possible. And that is a cliché!

The Subways debut album 'Young For Eternity' is scheduled for release in June.

Front page photos by Sakura Henderson