THE ENEMY are a trio from Coventry who sprang to fame in 2007 with the top 10 hits Away From Here and Had Enough.
The band supported Oasis, Kasabian, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, the Kaiser Chiefs – at Elland Road – and the Rolling Stones – at the O2 Arena.
They performed at all the major festivals and their songs featured in video games such as Guitar Hero World Tour and Fifa 10.
Their third album, Streets in the Sky, was recorded in London and Los Angeles and is due out in mid-May. The same month they appear at the Live at Leeds festival. We spoke to singer and guitarist Tom Clarke about the show.
I understand that The Enemy have been announced as one of the headliners for Live at Leeds this year – are you excited to play Leeds again?
Yeah, the reason we picked to do this one is there’s a lot of noise happening about the new album and we’ve chosen very carefully the few places in the country that we want to play, essentially to give people a first taste of the new stuff.
Leeds has always been a key place for us, it’s been a place where people have jumped on the band from our very first gigs in the Cockpit, playing the small rooms to hardly anyone. It’s just built up from there – one of the best gigs we’ve played was Leeds Festival.
When is the new album going to be released then? Will there be a full tour?
It’s going to be May – we haven’t got an exact date yet, but it is going to be around the middle of May. Things obviously change, I mean, it depends on when we get it all finished. We are at the final stage now where we are mixing the tracks which have been recorded and finished off, and now it’s a mad rush to get it finished. We’re hoping to get it done pretty quickly. We are doing a small tour of four cities to launch the album; Live at Leeds, London, Manchester and Glasgow.
You were giving away a single from the new album called Gimme The Sign. Why did you do that?
The reason we did that, to put it bluntly, is that we have the best fans of any band in the world. They are so loyal, always there and always proper excited to see the band. They love the band.
I don’t know quite where this loyalty comes from – if it comes from them hearing us at the right time, if the lyrics are relevant to their lives – but for whatever reason we have got some of the most superbly, brilliantly, loyal fans, and I think it’s right that you respect that.
You have to pay homage to that, show them you appreciate it, and this album has been made with the fans in mind. This is what do Enemy fans want, not what can we do, or what can we put in here.
We wanted to make sure that the fans knew we appreciated them, and we wanted to make sure the first thing we did was give them a single for free. We know that a single doesn’t cost that much, but we appreciate that people are strapped for cash, but it’s a gesture. It’s your band; this is your single, just for the fans that have always been there.
You mentioned you’re aware that people don’t have a lot of money these days; do you think that’s affecting the live music scene?
I think it’s in a very precarious position, but I also think it’s in a very exciting position.
Whilst people haven’t got the money to invest in music the way they used to, I think it makes it exciting, it makes it a challenge due to the economy and due to circumstances out of our fans’ control. The challenge is how to get music to fans. They still want the music, it’s just that their resources are limited.
These [Live At Leeds] tickets are quite reasonably priced, but one of our aims this year is to keep our ticket prices low. I mean, you have to be in touch with what people can afford at the moment, and they simply don’t have the cash to throw about like they used to.
I heard that Live at Leeds was running a competition to give the lucky winner a pair of tickets to see you there. Is this something you guys organised?
I had no idea about that, but I think it’s quality. Hopefully that’s someone else looking at the bigger picture and realising one fan’s enjoyment will pay you back ten fold. It’s good to see someone else thinking the way we do. It’s really important to reach people you wouldn’t ordinarily reach.
You support other genres of music and encourage fans of other genres to get involved in your scene. Why do you think that’s important?
I think we all have common ground. Every type of music, every creative person, we all took it upon ourselves to go out and make music probably because we had no other way to vent our frustrations or to express ourselves, and that’s across every single genre.
I think you should be open-minded and give everyone a chance. I learnt that at Reading Festival when I was dragged to see this trendy band who I didn’t really think I’d like, and was a bit wary of. I remember watching this band thinking they were absolutely amazing, and I think if you want to enjoy music to its fullest, you have to keep an open mind.
May 4-7, Live at Leeds, various venues, from 12pm, £20. www.liveatleeds.com
*Source: Yorkshire Evening Post / Neil Short
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