The Courteeners

Talk about pressure. The Courteeners know all about it.

Talk about pressure. The Courteeners know all about it. In fact scrub that. The Courteeners don’t give a fuck about pressure.

Want proof? How about a simple shrug of the shoulders knowing that you’re on after U2. “That surprise gig (at London’s Union Chapel) was fucking mega man,” laughs cocksure frontman Liam Fray. “They were playing the likes of ‘Desire’ and ‘Angel Of Harlem’ and everybody was on their feet by the end. We knew we couldn’t top that so it was pretty funny really because we had absolutely no pressure on us at all. If anything it made it really easy for us. We met Bono after the gig and exchanged pleasantries and all that. He didn’t give us the Bono talk though [the U2 singer is renowned for taking bands under his wing and giving them advice]. If anything I think he was a bit star struck to be honest.”

I made on cuff the remark a while back and everybody thinks we hate ’em. But there’s nothing in it man.

Hailing from Middleton and just over a year in the making, this Manchester quartet led by Liam, guitarist Daniel Conan Moores, drummer Michael Campbell, and bassist Mark Cuppello, have already been dubbed the gobbiest motormouths to come out of Manc since Oasis. The Enemy, Jack Penate and er Donny Tourette have all come in for a kicking. So Clash is as surprised as anyone when Liam is quick to point out that his band ain’t the bullish bad lads they’ve been bigged up to be. “To be honest mate I’ve got nothing against The Enemy,” he protests. “I made on cuff the remark a while back and everybody thinks we hate ’em. But there’s nothing in it man.”

Sounding like The Libertines brawling with The View, The Courteeners are this year’s band of the people. With over 100 gigs under their belt already, the buzz around this lot continues to snowball like a storm across the Pennines. “I remember playing a gig last Easter Sunday in Manchester and about 400 people turned up,” says Liam. “I was feeling pretty cocky so I just stopped singing one of the verses at one point and the whole place started bawling the words back at us. I couldn’t believe it. I just thought, ‘fucking hell, we’ve got ’em, now let’s go for it!”

Catch The Courteeners on their current UK tour now.

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