Guy (bass player) has kindly allowed me to pose your questions to him before their gig supporting Muse. (Coldplay will be touring in their own right as from 8 June and doing the summer festivals). The normal interruptions ensued during this interview, y'know, band members coming and going; people knocking at the door asking the whereabouts of people and being told they're in a pub in Charring Cross Road somewhere; manager, Phil, showing off his Darth Maul Lego keyring (like you do) and, eerily, Michael Jackson's voice being pumped into your subconscious...what the feck song was it????
Wearing a red fleecy top and jeans, Guy's well relaxed and on a high like the other three band members (what's with all the "shy and pale faces" stuff the music journos come out with when describing the band???) ...first album finished called "Parachutes", out 10 July. The cover is stunning, and the album will sound stunning if you believe that day's Melody Maker who reckon "Album of the Year! It's a f***ing masterpiece!". Tell us something we didn't know...
Anorak fact: Guy started playing the recorder at the age of eight, progressed onto the trumpet, grew up liking funk and r n b, met the other guys at UCL four years ago and the rest, as they say, is history.....He is the dark one in the band, I mean hair colour of course, I won't mention the talk of midnight rituals, goats and strange habits, no no no...so in the words of Chris, ...here we go...
Has Chris got a girlfriend? Truthfully. (Sarah, Northants)
No.
Is the name a reference to 'come in and play, the water's lovely'? (Nico, Herts)
No. The name was nicked off Chris' flatmate who had a band of that name and decided it was rubbish. We liked the sound of it. They're now called The Bettina Motive.
Supergrass were "In it for the Money" - what are you in it for? (Trace, Milton Keynes)
"Parachutes" (out 10 July)... and to try and make an impression on/reach people, get our music across.
Where was Shiver recorded? Digital or Analogue? (Russell, Broxbourne)
At Rockfield Studios in South Wales. Analogue. Chris re-did the singing, Jonny re-did the guitar. 'Shiver' was originally written about two years ago.
You played Liverpool Royal Court last year supporting Gomez, what is it like to play to a massive audience who don't know who you are? (Liz in Cyberspace)
It's exciting. You put that bit extra into playing for a crowd who don't know you and your music. We try to make an impression, we always try and make an impression. We just want to get our music across.
What do you think of the anti-capitalist action/Reclaim the Streets stuff on May Day? (Mary, Ealing)
I think it would have been a more effective form of protest if there had not been damage caused on that day. Not everyone there was causing trouble and I question the fairness of the media portrayal of it.
Do you guys prefer cakes or pies? (Mark, Kirkaldy)
I prefer pies from the Carlton on Kirkaldy High Street. (Guy lived there till he was 12, not at that shop you understand but in Kirkaldy).
Would Scooby Doo have been better if Shaggy and Thelma had an affair? (Steve, Liverpool)
No, I think the *Mulder and Scully* thing of not quite making it is far more interesting.
What is your favourite drink? is it really Lilac Wine as suggested by the NME? (John, St Albans)
I don't know what lilac wine is......I don't have a favourite drink, alcoholic or non alcoholic, it depends, I like to try variations.
Why oh Why oh Why oh Why are Aerosmith popular? (John, St Albans)
It's American big rock isn't it? I don't dislike Aerosmith, it's great a band can keep going that long.
(A digressive discussion ensues about bands longevity in general e.g. Blur, OCS, Manics all hitting a decade recently - Guy reckons "Blur have stayed respectable, they're always changing with classic tracks on their albums. As for Manics, the kids like em cos they re-invent themselves. As for U2, they've done what Blur have done, and still affect so many people, ...and the Rolling Stones are cool")
Chris- have you ever noticed the remarkable similarity between you and Jamie Oliver (Naked Chef)? Do you like cooking? What's your best dish? (Liz in Cyberspace)
I don't think he looks like Jamie Oliver and Chris doesn't cook! I do though. We all like eating out.
In the light of the recent Melody Maker's "Does the chart mean anything any more?" article (Britney, Billie etc. go in at no 1 and it's because of their image not the staggeringly high quality of their product) how do Coldplay view the situation trying to get recognition amongst the candyfloss of the top 40? Trace, Milton Keynes
The biggest shame about the charts, if you are into music and of a young age, is having all that thrust upon you - brainwashing whole generations. More individual taste in music isn't nurtured via the charts. The charts don't mean a lot to me personally and when I first got into music there was so much Stock Aitken and Waterman. Songs get to no 1 in the chart now cos they're promoted so far in advance of release that when they come out, there's this rush to buy the song. Time was when you watched a song makes its way up the charts, like a team in one of the football league divisions. It was exciting. As for Coldplay though, I want us to beat all the rubbish - getting to no 35 with 'Shiver' was great!
Do you think Pinsir (#127) is a good Pokemon? Slowpoke is my favourite. What is yours? (Richard aged 7, Broxbourne)
(furrowed brow, thinking really hard, heat emanating from Guy's forehead)....ummm Pikachu ummmmmmmm maybe because he's 'Yellow'.....(Guy grins).
How do you feel about being known in Canada? what are your feelings on playing US/Canada and following umpteen British indie bands? (Kim, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
We are looking forward to going there. We want to bring good music which is concerned with more bare basics and not how many hours have gone into making it sound perfect.
Do any of you suffer from coldsores? And did you know they were a form of herpes? (Rachel, St Albans)
No and No.
Did Chris' remarks to NME about Bobby Gillespie get you any disrespeck when you were on Later with them recently? (Samir, Enfield)
None whatsoever, cos I din't personally see Bobby Gillespie, but I chatted to Mani and he was lovely.
Why B Major ('Shiver' ...'For You') or is the tape slowed deliberately? (Russell, Broxbourne)
Although hard to play in a normal tuning, Chris' guitar is de-tuned so it's easier to get his fingers round playing them.
Any classical music influences....Debussy in 'For You'? (Russell, Broxbourne)
No, not consciously.
How did it feel seeing Shiver at no 1 in NME's Turn Ons? (Sal, Broxbourne)
Very pleased and it stayed in their Turns Ons for a while too.
Has Chris always incorporated falsetto in his singing? or did he suddenly discover it and decide to write songs or emulate anyone in particular? (Heather, East Ham)
I think he's always had a big voice range and if you understand singing and the limits/capabilities of your voice then you are going to push your voice to those limits.
Are you really as affable and avuncular as you seem on stage or are you all raging coke heads with ego problems? (Steve, Cardiff)
Definitely the former - 100%.
What makes people want nothing more than escapism from the music they listen to? Why don't people want to get involved? I wonder a lot about that.....Coldplay's big thing is emotion right? so I want to know what you think of the "nu metal" stuff like Limp Bizkit and Korn....do they mean it. (Meaghan, Ottawa, On., Canada)
They probably don't mean it. Big American over-produced bands seem to be the only thing that work there.
You seem very confident on stage for a relatively new group - does it matter a lot that you sound good live? (Liz in Cyberspace)
Yes, absolutely. We will never stop trying to make our live sound better. You make recordings and you play live constantly. We want to perform the songs as tight as we can.
***********
So I leave Guy and the others supping/chomping on their beer, tango, water, sandwiches and fruit and know it won't be long before they could demand star fruit always be in the rider.......they could, but they wouldn't of course, it's not in their nature. Oh and they played a blinding set that night, and although Jonny doesn't fancy doing arena tours, pretty soon they won't have much choice.
Big ta to Phil Manager for arranging this.…
Sal Smithson