Eschewing both the new breed of Libertines wannabes and Futureheads xeroxes, THE GLITTERATI are intent on injecting some full-on rawk thrills into the current British resurgence.
The band hail from that seething hotbed of creativity otherwise known as Leeds, but fulfilled what was probably only a distant dream for many years by recording their consistently fine eponymous debut album with legendary Guns'n'Roses producer Mike Clink in LA. They're currently spreading the gospel around the UK in no uncertain terms, and we catch up with lead guitarist JOHN EMSLEY as the band pull into Colchester for the final leg of their three-way headline British tour with The Black Velvets and Hurricane Party.
It turns out John is blunt, no-nonsense and an all-round lovely bloke. We go on to discuss the making of "The Glitterati" and how the band's home town Leeds has changed since the band left two years back. But let's start with the current tour: how's it all been going, John?
"It's been brilliant," he gushes.
"It's only beginning to sink in that we're hitting the final section now. It's been wicked - egos are non-existent and all the bands have been getting on famously. Playing Leeds (the Cockpit - ed) was a massive night for us, as you might imagine. We were pretty nervous because Leeds was not a happening town when we left two years back and we didn't know how it would go, but the crowd were fantastic. It was....gratifying, to say the least."
Right. It's intriguing, because from what I can gather about you, you originally left Leeds as you felt it was frustratingly limited, yet at present it's buzzing with new talent - and the infamous A&R men. Did you get the feeling things have changed in a big way on your return?
"Yeah, I mean you can't deny it," confirms John.
"If you look at the amount of attention and just have a night out at a venue it's obvious something's going on. When we left Leeds in 2003 it was as though the city had leprosy, there was no record company interest and people weren't going out to shows, but as soon as we moved out, the A&R men seem to have come flooding in.....maybe it was us with leprosy in the end, not Leeds at all (laughs)"
Well, let's talk about your sojourn in LA. It's becoming famous in industry circles that you were actually chosen by your producer Mike Clink, famous for helming Guns'N'Roses' "Appetite For Destruction" and "Use Your Illusion 1 & 2". How did he come to single you out?
"In truth, it's a bit prosaic," admits John.
"Basically, we started talking about producers and Mike's name was mentioned more jokingly than anything else. We didn't think he'd be in the realm of possibility for us. We discussed a lot of hot, up-to-date names, but we all realised we didn't have a genuine love of any of these guys' track records, whereas with Mike we all own a substantial amount of his body of work."
"So Mike's name did come up in conversation, but we didn't think anything would happen," John continues, still mildly incredulous.
"And the next thing we hear is that our label (Atlantic) came back to us saying Mike was interested! It was shocking, actually, because we were in awe of him, and obviously his reputation and legacy precedes. It was, er, intimidating and kind've daunting really. But then we met him and he's actually the nicest guy ever...he soon puts you at your ease. But because of the level of respect we have for him, we all wanted to be really professional - we didn't wanna embarrass ourselves and let ourselves down with Mike."
Yes, I believe you spent what - 9 weeks or so - basically locked in the studio in LA with him. "The Glitterati" certainly sounds very disciplined an focussed: were the sessions workmanlike in that sense?
"Not necessarily," John counters quietly.
"It wasn't like were were working rigid hours, 10 -6 every day or anything. But it's true we were all very focussed, because of the total respect we have for Mike. Besides, you only record your debut album once, don't you?"
Well, yeah, unless you're The La's or a couple more I could think of, but theoretically that's true.
"Yeah, and I'm proud of the fact we were all so disciplined," John continues.
"I've never collectively seen us all so focussed on one goal. I mean, LA'S wicked, it's true, but because we were taken away from all our home comforts we kinda took an 'us against the world' attitude with us, which probably comes out with the record and made it stronger again."
"Not that we didn't go out an play when the work was done," John finishes with a Machiavellian cackle.
"I mean, come on, it's LA man, y'know!"
Spoken like a true rock'n'roller. But when you did see the sunshine what did you like about LA? Could you see it becoming a home from home in the future?
"Well, we spent 3 months out there over two spells, " recalls John.
"The first time was just a try-out session. I think we initially thought we'd go wild and go out every night and it was a bit...hedonistic. But when we went back for the album sessions, the shine had rubbed off a bit and we weren't tourists the way we were the first time."
"We'd go out for a few drinks with Mike, mind," he continues.
"We really enjoyed a couple of bars and being on Sunset and all that, but the whole experience was very positive, not like some huge Led Zep-style binge. I dunno about living there as such, but I can't deny we enjoy LA a lot."
OK, but let's talk about some of the album's individual songs. "Back In Power" - with its' celebrity-tinged lyrics (e.g: "I want a film star/ I'm on the guest list/ I want a sex life, I want a death wish") seems to discuss that whole Beverly Hills lifestyle thing so many people seem to strive for. Did this song come from being in LA or did you have it previously?
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"No, it was probably the first sone we wrote, or at least a very early one," John admits.
"And it's not an ironic comment, it's entirely aspirational. 90% of the lyric is based on us being skint and trying to get it together," he laughs disarmingly.
"It's about us being at a certain stage and it's our story from a certain perspective, though I should also say there's some poetic licence in there. It'll be interesting to see how our perspective will have grown when we come to record the next album actually."
Another one I like is "Don't Do Romance." It sounds like it's from the point of view of someone who's been bitten so many times they can't commit to a relationship, yet still reminiscing about what might have been. Am I within a million miles with that theory?
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I get out of it too," John replies.
"I rarely talk about the lyrics with Paul (Gautrey - vocals) and tend to read my own meanings into them, but they intrigue me and carry weight because I've known Paul for a long time. That one ("Don't Do Romance") describes Paul to a T. It's wicked musically too. That one and "Keep Me Up All Night" (the album closer and it's second 'mellow' moment - ed) were fantastic to record. There's a slightly country thing to them which I dig a lot. They were the last two songs we recorded and they're very different to the rest of the album. You can get into a different mindset with those two and I also like them because they're not what people might expect from us. Mind you, I should also say that you won't get Coldplay-style ballads from us either!"
OK, message received loud and clear John. But despite "Don't Do Romance"s title, would you say The Glitterati are a romantic band underneath it all?
"Yeah, I think there's a certain amount bubbling beneath the surface (laughs). Though you might not think so when we're out and about at midnight on a Friday. Some romanticism might well enter the picture come Sunday when we've had a nice Saturday night with a young lady, like."
I think I get your drift. But back to the album: all the songs are very immediate and while The Glitterati are a pretty heavy-sounding band, it impresses me the way you make a point of bringing in choruses instead of getting sidetacked by fretwankery. Are hooks uppermost in your mind when writing songs?
"Yeah, we're totally melody-driven," John confirms.
"We're all into really good grooves and allying that with fire and melody. I think it was Aerosmith who said: "don't bore us, get to the chorus", which is a good adage and sums us up too. Some of the songs changed arrangement-wise in pre-production, which helped to pull more out of the songs, but since then we've heard the songs with a better ear and we can understand everything we've done to build up to a chorus makes the song sweeter."
"Doing the album gave us much more confidence," he continues, warming to the theme.
"We've got great hooks in the songs, but we're not flippant, we don't want to squander anything and throw away great songs. That whole Johnny Borrell up-on-a-pedestal thing is so self-indulgent. I mean, where are the hooks in any of Razorlight's songs?"
Clearly The Glitterati are a band dead set of longevity, but it's a hard world out there, and while you might not want to talk it like Johnny Borrell, bands still need to do decisive things to stand out. Before we leave you, why will we still be hearing about The Glitterati in five - or maybe ten - years time, John?
"Because nobody does what we do as well as us," he says emphatically.
"Previously, we had abuse for being arrogant and cocky, but we just know we're better than anybody out there...with only an occasional reservation. I mean the rock scene's all very art school and intellectual just now....and that's not our thing at all. We're here as the antidote to all that, and nobody does it better, basically!"
Arrogance or self-belief? Pie in the sky or absolute fact? As always the public en masse will decide, but to these ears The Glitterati are well worth a punt. After all, such pronounciations never did Noel Gallagher much harm, did they?
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