Somewhere in The Netherlands last week, there was a van driving around with a gentleman called David Lewis Gedge sat in the back, frantically typing out responses to an email Q&A that was sent to him by his publicist a few days back. This was not just any Q&A, it was MY Q&A that I had sent across for this very feature which I hope will entice you into purchasing tickets to see the aforementioned gentleman up and down the country, talking about his career to date and playing some fabulous music from he Wedding present’s extensive back catalogue. We asked David lots of questions and his responses were very interesting, read on to learn more about TALES FROM THE WEDDING PRESENT VOLUME 2 - SOMETHING AND NOTHING, the second instalment of Gedge’s memoir which is to be released via Scopitones Books on 11 November 2022.

David, Tales From The Wedding Present Volume 2 ‘Something and Nothing’ will be launched at the Louder Than Words Literary Festival in Manchester on November 11th, I’m guessing that John Robb from Louder Than War has something to do with the festival?

Yep, our paths cross yet again. I first talked to John at a Membranes concert in Leeds in January 1983 and have been re-encountering him every couple of years ever since! Lovely fellow. Tremendous physique!

You embark on a 12-date tour of the UK taking in many towns and cities, are there any places or venues on the list that you are yet to play?

We are continually finding new places to play. It’s an obsession! We’ve never been one of those bands who just do London, Manchester, Glasgow, etc. In the last couple of weeks, actually, we’ve played for the first time ever in places like Bury St Edmunds and Barnsley and they were great.

I see that the Dartington and Cardiff shows take place before the Manchester show when the book will be launched, will fans be able to purchase it at these shows?

They will. Although the book is officially launched at Louder Than Words, the way the tour had to be routed just means that we have a couple of shows ‘on the way to’ Manchester, so to speak.

The tour will include you being interviewed by Terry de Castro, an audience Question and Answer session followed by a 45-minute semi-acoustic set, will you be playing music solely from the era covered in Volume 2 of the comic book series or will you be playing songs from your entire career to date?

It’s not music from a specific era, no. It’ll be semi-acoustic versions of Wedding Present songs drawn from throughout our extensive catalogue. It’s kind of a similar approach to the one we employed for our two Locked Down And Stripped Back albums. They turned out to be very popular so we thought we’d take the concept on the road!

Tales From The Wedding Present Volume One takes the reader to just after the release of The Wedding Present’s first single ‘Go Out And Get ’Em, Boy!’ in 1985. Volume 2 brings us another 3 years forward, have you calculated how many comic books will have to be created to bring us right up to date?

Good question! The short answer is no. We’ve not really planned anything, ha, ha. It’s quite telling that the first volume covered about twenty-eight years and the second covers about three, as you say! But I think that’s because there was a lot to discuss in the new book about the making of the George Best album. It was the debut… so there were various ‘concepts’ to introduce, not least because of the very unorthodox way in which it was recorded. There was also the Ukrainian Peel Sessions series, which, again, warranted a fair bit of explaining…

I read that publishers have been asking you to write your autobiography for years and that you have always secretly wanted to be the star of your own comic book, do you think that your fans prefer the comic book series instead of a book?

Opinions vary! People come up to me all the time and say, “What an original way to release an autobiography… I love it!” But, when I explain what the concept to other people, they say, “I’d prefer a text-only version, thanks.” But I’m never going to please everyone, am I? I personally think it works really well and love doing it because I’m a big fan of the genre.

It was no secret that the late, great John Peel was a HUGE fan of you and The Wedding Present, who in your eyes is the modern-day John Peel (if there is anyone big enough to fill the huge void that he left in the industry?)

I don’t think there can be. Peel was the unique product of a lifetime immersed in popular music. He was present during all the various cultural revolutions, from before rock and roll right up to before the moment he died… and so he had a massive knowledge with which he was able to contextualise contemporary releases. In addition, he was a brilliant broadcaster and a caring person. I can’t see how anyone will be able to replicate all of that!

You are renowned for having a very clear, DIY ethic when it comes to music, what tips would you offer bands and artists in this day and age who are keen to follow this approach?

It’s increasingly difficult to make a living from music, these days, especially when young musicians seem to be more focussed on obtaining followers on social media than writing interesting songs and recording innovative tracks. That DIY ethic has served me, and The Wedding Present, well… but it has taken a lot of work and sacrifice. It would take even more, these days! So, I’m not sure I would recommend that route to anyone, even if they were obsessed enough to follow it in the same way that I have done!

The actor Tony Gardner asked if he could be in the movie once it has been franchised, have you considered who you would ask to play David Gedge if the story ever hit the silver screen?

Ha, ha… no, I haven’t. But someone as devilishly handsome as Mr Gardner would certainly work.

Lastly, I wanted to personally thank you for putting out such incredible albums which have truly stood the test of time, Bizarro and Seamonsters being two that still appear in my all-time top ten list of best albums ever created, please never stop doing what you do!

Thanks! I mean… it will end at some point, obviously… just not sure when!

Enjoy ‘An Evening In Conversation With David Lewis Gedge’ - Tickets available HERE

November 2022

09: Dartington - New Lion Brewery

10: Cardiff - Acapela Studio

11: Manchester - the Louder Than Words festival at the Innside Hotel

12: Newcastle upon Tyne - Gosforth Civic Theatre

13: Glasgow - Glee Club

14: Leeds - Brudenell Social Club

15: Wolverhampton - Bilston Town Hall

16: Nottingham - Metronome

17: Walthamstow - Rock 'N' Roll Book Club at the Trades Hall

18: Stowmarket - John Peel Centre

19: Kingston upon Thames - PRYZM

20: Southampton - Turner Sims