Apr 14 2008 10:22 am,
Profile: The Courteeners
Words: Molly Jones
Not even one album into his career, and The Courteeners’ Liam Fray is already a misunderstood man. Repeating the lazy clichés that have been attached to him would frankly be a waste of space - and no doubt you already know them, anyway. “I don’t think people realise that most of the stuff I say is tongue in cheek,” he shrugs. “There’s never any malice in there; I’m not an aggressive person.”
Bearing that in mind, would Liam like to pass comment on The Enemy (for whom he’s displayed a rather vocal dislike of in the past) having won the ‘Best New Band’ accolade at the NME Awards?
He sighs. “A lot of water’s passed under the bridge since I made those comments, and, you know what? Three young lads selling that many albums - well done to them. There you go, olive branch.” He sits back in his chair. “Besides, I’d rather they win it than The fucking Wombats. At least The Enemy write songs about something real, but The Wombats sing about fuck all.” He pauses. “Of course, we should have been up for it, really. And we should have won.”
You can see why people might sometimes mistake his self-assurance for, well, rudeness. But the fact is that Liam possesses the kind of bullish, dry, and distinctly northern, humour that doesn’t come across well in print, and any criticisms he’s made of other bands - and there has been plenty - actually seem to spring from sincere frustration rather than a desire to tear others down.
Likewise, anyone ready to dismiss The Courteeners merely as swaggering, third generation Manc clones might wish to adjust their ears. “The problem is, people are reading one 50-word article and making their mind up about us,” Liam says. “I personally don’t hear any of The Smiths, or Oasis, or The Stone Roses in our songs. I think that when this album comes out, the doubters are going to be embarrassed; for the fans, it’ll just cement their belief.”
He’s most likely right. Debut ‘St Jude’ (named after the patron saint of lost causes, an image of whom Liam wears round his neck) is a visceral, vital concoction of down-and-out love songs, tirades and self-deprecating reflection. Anthemic, bolshy and intelligently realised, the album proves Liam’s unapologetic confidence in his band is entirely justified.
The recording, with renowned producer
Although the band have only really entered the public consciousness over the last few months, their popularity has been not so quietly blooming in their hometown for quite some time. Liam actually started off playing solo gigs a couple of years ago - just him and an acoustic guitar - before uniting with childhood friends Michael Campbell, Conan Moores and Mark Cuppello.
“I always wanted to be in a band, but I didn’t want to rush it; I didn’t want to compromise and end up playing with people who weren’t right. You see some bands and you think ‘There’s no way that they actually like each other’. Don’t get me wrong - we don’t exactly go about hugging and kissing each other - but we ARE mates. Anyway, people always go on about how important it is to have chemistry onstage, but at the same time that’s not always the most important thing, is it? What I want is chemistry with the audience.”
The band provided the city’s music scene with a much needed shot in the arm. The degree of dedication they inspired locally started out as fairly impressive but it soon built into something extraordinary. “Up until the point we sold out [the 500 capacity] Academy 3,” says Liam, “I just never took it seriously; it was just get up and play to your mates. It’s quite surreal to see your name next to a ‘Sold Out’ sign, especially when you’ve only released one single.” He shakes his head slightly, as if it’s all still a bit overwhelming. “It’s all built from there; selling out bigger and bigger venues. And now we’ve just found out we’ve sold out the
However, Liam feels that being from such a musically-minded place has had its disadvantages. “Everyone in Manchester’s got an opinion of how we should be doing it and it’s got to the point where I’m thinking ‘You know what, I don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks’. It’s easy to sneer, but I wish more people here could just be pleased for us. We’ve never felt part of any clique, anyway; we did everything off our own backs, really.”
The release of ‘St Jude’ can surely only push them onwards and upwards. But why does Liam think fans are connecting so strongly with the band? He thinks for a moment before answering. “Because every lad’s got a heart, but sometimes they need a bit of a push to remember it’s okay to feel a bit sentimental, and we do that. And also cos what we’re doing is genuinely, genuinely good.”
He’ll find no arguments here.
‘St Jude’ is out now on Loog.
