CityLife

Futureheads down to Academy

UH-oh-oh! The Futureheads scored their solo top ten hit with the ubiquitous Hounds Of Love, which although a Kate Bush cover, now seems frankly more their property than the original authors.

Certainly, housewife (still supremely talented - but honestly, these days she's more The Woman With the Fry-Up In Her Eyes) Kate thought so-ho-ho-ho-ho. She heard it, thought it was the dog's whatsits, and decided to contact the art-punkers.

"We got news that she was going to ring us," says Head-Futurehead Barry Hyde.

"Every time the phone would ring, I'd be like "you get it". And Ross (Millard, guitarist) would be quivering, "No, no you get it." Seeing as it takes her seven years to record an album, you might have legitimately expected Bush to get around to dialing somewhere between 2008 and 2015.

But no-oh-oh (Enough! - Ed). "She rang when she were touring France, and left an answerphone message. We listened to it and it was just, "Hello Futureheads! It's Kate Bush here. I just wanted to say that I absolutely loved your version of Hounds Of Love. We haven't had a chance to meet yet, but I hope we will. Hope you have a lovely Christmas."

"We didn't call her back," laughs Barry. "It was too scary. What would you say to Kate Bush?"

Postcard

Answers on a postcard! Bush isn't the only celebrity fan of the Sunderland four-piece (completed by bassist Jaff - who's dating former Kenicke member Marie Du Santiago and drummer and Barry's brother, Dave Hyde).

Ambassador For Baldness, Michael Stipe, made a beeline for them for them when they played Manumission. "I met Dennis Hopper," smiles Barry. "We played a talk show in the US and it was a proper LA world. He had his fourteen-year-old son with him, and it turns out they're both fans of our music."

Not only that, Mr Personality himself, Dave Grohl invited them to support the Foo Fighters.

"He came into our dressing room and me brother Dave was the only person there. And he had a mouthful of sandwich. All of a sudden, this international rock star's there going, "Your drum beats are amazing, man!" And he replies: "Mmmmnnnn... Ejjjjuooo... mhgggsssstnnn"

"Dave Grohl said: 'I listen to your album at home when I smoke. I'm not allowed to smoke at home so I go into me garage and I always put your album on and smoke.'" (Can you imagine it? "Whenever I have a coughing fit, I think of you!").

Private jet

He adds: "We had a trip on their private jet which was kind of sweet."

Is that one of those moments when you think, 'Huzzah! We've made it!'?

"No, it's one of those moments when you think, 'wow, they've made it'" chortles Barry. "They've really made it. I don't think we feel that. This album could really backfire. We've made an uncompromising album in a climate which is very compromised."

He has a point - The Futureheads have always been more critically than commercially successful. Witness their appearance on the NME tour a year ago, where they played alongside The Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party and Maybelline's Mr December, Brandon Flowers and his Killers.

They garnered the best reviews, but are probably the least well known. If there's any justice, this should change with the release of ace sophomore album, News and Tributes.

Discovered

First single, Skip To The End, showcases their new sound. Previously, there was "speed of sound", "speed of light" and "speed of a Futureheads record". But now they've discovered the ability to pause for breath as opposed-to-shouting-as-fast-as-humanly possible.

"We wanted to make an album that was quite spacious and less `Hey! We're The Futureheads! We sing in four-part harmony, but we're quite technical as well," explains Barry. "I wanted this album to be sonically more dense and not as scratchy as the first one."

Title track, News and Tributes, is about the 1958 Munich Air Disaster, which tragically saw the deaths of four Bubsy Babes, when a plane containing players and backroom staff of Manchester United plus a number of journalists and supporters, crashed in a blizzard while taking off from Munich-Riem airport.

"That's one of Ross's songs," says Barry. "He's a massive Man United fan. His dad's from Manchester. I think it's good he honoured his love of football with a song. He's done a great job on it, because it had the potential to come across as crass. Such a subject matter, if he didn't do it right, could have ended up like Candle In The Wind. Overly emotional rubbish. But he's done it in a subtle and respectful way. It's integral to the way in which we feel we've progressed with this album. It's quite brave, we feel."

The Mackem massive - who met at a lottery funded music scheme for getting kids off the street in 2000 - decamped to a farm miles away from any sort of civilization (or as it's more commonly known, 'Scarborough') to record. "Our producer Ben Hillier (Depeche Mode, Blur) can be quite scientific about things. For example, he knows that chalk is the best material to make a room out of to record drums in."

Farm

Well, there's a conversation-starter for the pub tonight!

"Exactly. So we headed to a farm, where there was a massive barn made out of chalk. And the drums sound kicking. My guitar was in the greenhouse for a while. We recorded percussion in the cellar, and backing vocals in stadiums."

Rigggghht. Hard to believe, isn't it, that none of them drink or do drugs? Did you get a chance to use your milking hand, Barry?

"There was a couple of cows, but a calf as well. If you went into the field, they'd attack you. There was a horse." He got castrated - the horse, that is, not Barry. "It did affect the album," he says in mock-horror. "Or at least our minds more than anything. There's a few tense moments on the album, and they're a tribute to the horse's b***s."

Are they finding that - with their broad Sunderland accents - their US gigs contain surtitles?

"An English person can pick up on the different peculiarities of the voice, but an American just hears an English accent. It's only when you speak in interviews that they don't know what the hell you're saying. (Laughs) They nod politely. I think they like it. They find it charming. I mean, it's not like any of us are Billy Elliott."

Nope, let's face it - they have better music to dance to and far nicer, whiter, pointer disco shoes.

The album, News And Tributes is out now. The Futureheads play Academy 1 on Friday, June 2. é12.50. Call 0161 832 1111 to check for returns.