I think the fact that we had an outside chance of achieving something, and then lost that chance, was a body blow to us. We carried on, still writing what we thought were good songs, but the spark has gone.
++ My favourite song of yours is “Idolise”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?
This is one of mine and honestly, Roque, I can’t remember. Normally, I know where the songs come from, but this is lost in the mists of time. It’s a cracking riff though.
++ If you were to choose your favorite The Seaside song, which one would that be and why?
Oh, what a question! I really like ‘I Don’t Have The Time’, which is on the album, ‘Coastal Walks’. It starts very gently, a nice jangly guitar riff played by Clix, Steve plays a lovely, mellow insistent bass line that pushes the song along, and I do what I usually do, which is put overdriven guitar riffs on it. When we were recording the song I thought that Clix, great singer though he is, wasn’t doing what I had in my mind in the second verse. I sort of knew a singer in the US, Molli3, and sent her an email asking if she’d be interested in collaborating with us. She said yes, I sent her the song, and she sent back her version of the second verse. And it blew us all away. A completely different version of the verse than we expected, but it’s great. Then Clix added some mouth harp, I put a glockenspiel on it and more overdriven guitar. What starts as a mellow ballad ends as a full on noise attack. Just my sort of thing.
++ What about gigs? Did you play many?
We played a lot more than I remember. When we were recording the album I’d stay at Clix’s house and he was reeling off all the shows we’d done and I was saying, ‘Really? We played there, and there, and there?’
++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?
The best gig was the first Leadmill headliner. We had a stage invasion at the end. I was bent over trying to protect my pedal board from people jumping on it. It was chaos. The security didn’t know what to do, so they just left everyone on stage.
I remember one show in London. We had nowhere to stay so Danny announced from the stage that if anyone could put us up for the night, we’d be most grateful. Some students said they could put a couple of us up so me and Danny jumped in. We got back to their house and there was one very small sofa and one chair. I jumped on the sofa thinking it was the best option, even though my legs were dangling over the edge. Then Danny pulled a handle on the chair and it slid out into a full size single bed. I remember waking up the next morning with a cat sitting on my head.
++ And were there any bad ones?
Oh yeah. There were bad ones.
++ When and why did The Seaside stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?
As I’ve said, The Seaside just sort of petered out. I think when we made the decision to call it a day it was a bit of a relief. The thing is, me and Clix thought we could still write really good songs so we decided to stay together and put another band together. By this time, Steve had left The Seaside, but he came back, we found another drummer, Craig, and singer, Paul, and called ourselves Six Stone Six. We released a three song CD called ‘Baby’s First Wind’, which I think is better than ‘Idolise’ from a recording and production point of view.
++ Prior to the reunion to make the album, had there been any other The Seaside reunions?
No. As I said, I hadn’t seen Clix, or Steve, for more than two decades.
++ Was there any interest from the radio? TV?
Local radio played us a lot. And I’m a member of PRS, and I used to get royalty cheques fairly regularly, so someone somewhere was playing us. No TV though.
++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?
Again, the local press were pretty kind to us and featured us a few times with interviews and photos. ‘Idolise’ was reviewed in the NME, which was an influential paper back then. The writer, David Quantick, ended his review with ‘talent present’. Which I’m proud of to this day. We were also featured on the ‘On’ page of the NME. Every week they’d pick three bands that they thought had something; that was satisfying. And we had very good live reviews in the NME and Melody Maker.
++ What about fanzines?
There was one fanzine who loved us, Epicurean’s Answer. Thomas, the bloke who wrote it, saw us play in London supporting a Sheffield band called The Dylans. He prefered us to them and wrote about us. He lived in the south, but would come up to Sheffield to watch us play. He, and his sister, Susannah, became friends of the band. We lost touch but the release of ‘Coastal Walks’ has brought us together again. That in itself is reason enough for us to have made the album.
++ Looking back in retrospect, what would you say has been the biggest highlight for the band?
I think just making friends, writing songs, recording songs and playing a few shows. And picking some fans up along the way. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s actually a very big thing. For us, at least.
++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?
My hobbies are pretty mundane. I like reading (is that a hobby?) and doing crosswords. Anything that keeps my brain from stagnating.. I recorded and mixed the album which was challenging. I used to have a four-track recorder back in the 80s, but new technology is far more complicated. And, of course, far better. That was quite engaging. I’m also a pretty good cook. Oh, and TV, but that’s rarely engaging.
++ Do you follow football? What’s your team? Sheffield United? Sheffield Wednesday?
Sheffield Wednesday. Me and Clix are Wednesday fans. Steve’s not really interested in football, which is probably a good thing because being a Wednesday fan is 10% joy and 90% heartache.
++ Never been to Sheffield, would love to visit some day. So I’d love to ask you what would you suggest checking out in your town, like what are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?
I’ve not lived in Sheffield for 25 years. I moved to Newcastle in the north-east to look after the gigs for Newcastle University. That’s when I became a backline tech. and tour manager, which kept me travelling, then to Leeds to live with my girlfriend and now I’m in Spain. But I worked at Sheffield City Hall for five years from 2015, and of course recording ‘Coastal Walks’ has taken me back a lot recently. Sheffield’s had its rough times, but it’s on its way back now, and the independent live music scene is as strong as it ever was.
I don’t think Sheffield has ‘sights’, it’s just a nice place. Henderson’s Relish, or ‘Hendoes’, is a Sheffield institution. It’s been made in the city since 1885. It’s a secret recipe that only two or three of the Henderson family know. I love the stuff, it’s in my blood. And Yorkshire puddings. Sheffield’s in the county of Yorkshire, and Yorkshire puddings are a staple of Sunday dinners. Not just in Yorkshire, but the whole country.
++ Anything else you’d like to add?
Buy ‘Coastal Walks’. It’s really good.
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Listen
The Seaside – Idolise
