We chatted to Dr Robert from THE BLOW MONKEYS ahead of their headline performance at GLAS-DENBURY FESTIVAL....
The Blow Monkeys are a British new wave/pop band that formed in 1981 with their first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow" being released in 1982. They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums across the 1980s before splitting up at the beginning of the 1990s.
Their first hit song was "Digging Your Scene", which hit No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August, 1986. They had four albums and eleven singles in the UK charts from 1986 and 1990.
In late 2007, the original band members reunited, going on to release five albums.
For the lucky people attending Glas-Denbury Festival, they will be headlining on Saturday 8th July and no doubt playing all of their classic hits and tracks from their newer material too.
We thought it would be an opportune moment to chat to Dr Robert from the band about his festival survival tips, what he thinks of them in general and WHO he thinks should headline Glas-Denbury 2018!
We’re SO excited that a legendary band are gracing the main stage at Glas-Denbury with their presence this year, which of your classic tracks are you going to be performing?
All of them! Nice of you to call them classic!
We reviewed your 2015 album If Not Now, When? Ahead of its release and gave it a really positive write up, how has your approach to song writing altered over the years?
it's the same as it ever was..keep yer eyes peeled..yer ears open..and your senses primed.
And what about in the studio, do you tend to use the new technology on offer or are you traditionalists who like to use the old-school methods?
A mixture. we like to capture a ‘performance’ in the studio so the core of the thing is ‘live’ we then enhance it with whatever works..we aren’t analog snobs but we do like a good ‘ valve'.
Your sound is so immediate, people can often tell that it’s a Blow Monkeys song after just a few seconds, who would you say influenced you and ultimately the sound you create?
it's just the internal chemistry that makes our sound. Every band has one. It's a question of luck and hard work.
Music festivals can be messy affairs at times (mud/wind/rain), tell us your top three tips to surviving one
A flask of tea, some wellingtons and a bar of chocolate
The food on offer at festivals is often very varied, what’s been the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten at a music festival?
vol au vents
You’ve been together a long time, you must have some great stories about life on the road, please share one with us….
Sorry, you’ll have to wait for the book!
The line-up at Glas-Denbury this year is looking really strong, any acts on the bill that you’re really looking forward to seeing?
All of them, it's one of the best things about festivals..being surprised and enlightened
Lastly, if you could name the two headliners for Glas-Denbury 2018, who would you choose and why?
PJ Harvey because she's brilliant and local, and Laura Marling because she’s just brilliant!
We'd like to wish Robert and the band all the very best for the future and we look forward to them taking to the main stage at Glas-Denbury on Saturday night to bring the curtain down on the festival for 2017!
Keep up to date with the band at the following places;