WATCH THE VIDEO: HERE
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* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Saturday, 25 April 2009
VIDEO - The Enemy Talk About New Album To NME
The Enemy spoke to NME magazine about the new album 'Music For The People' and in this video from NME.COM, Tom Clarke goes through track by track and explains where the songs came from.
WATCH THE VIDEO: HERE
Visit NME.COM for more videos
WATCH THE VIDEO: HERE
Visit NME.COM for more videos
Andy and Liam Talk To MTV
The Enemy have spoken to MTV News about their new album and much more- basking in the sun with presenter Laura backstage at the Camden Crawl in London.Singer Tom could not attend the interview because of problems with his throat- which is currently being rested.
Speaking to us about Saturday's (25th) headliners at the same venue bassist Andy said they are big fans.
“We saw Kasabian in Japan when we were doing Summersonic festival last year and they were absolutely brilliant (live). We’ve hung out with them a few times.” he explained.
The Enemy and Kasabian will support Oasis this summer at Wembley Stadium and drummer Liam told us the group are excited.
He said: “If we could choose a dream line up for any gig- then would be it. Us, Kasabian and Oasis.”
Speaking about their new album Andy said: “We are just really proud of it. We played quite a few songs on the tour and people are into it- especially our new single No Time For Tears.”
Despite never playing the festival before Liam said the boys would be getting into the spirit. He said: “We’ve never been to the Camden Crawl but we might be going to the Marathon bar for kebab later.”
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The Enemy Sponsor Cov City Game
COVENTRY City football club have agreed a unique sponsorship package for this Saturday's clash with Watford.
The Enemy, the city's most successful band since The Specials, will be the official match ball sponsor for the game ahead of the release of their much-anticipated second album 'Music For The People' on Monday.
Tracks from the new album will be played in the build-up to City's last home game of the season and the band's promotional material will be around the Ricoh Arena.
Bass player Andy Hopkins has also conducted an interview for the club's matchday programme.
Coventry City commercial director Nathan Kosky said: "I am not sure a band has ever sponsored a match ball before - certainly not here at Coventry City.
"We know they have been supporters of the team and they have put the city back onto the musical map in the past couple of years.
"It's great they have decided to support the club in this way and also realise that reaching out to Sky Blues fans is a great way to promote the new album in their home town".
"We will be playing tracks from the album before the game and hopefully that will help to generate a good atmosphere ahead of our final game here at the Ricoh this season. The album has received great reviews.
"We are also looking forward to seeing them here at the Ricoh in the summer when they are supporting Oasis as part of their tour."
*Source: CCFC
The Enemy, the city's most successful band since The Specials, will be the official match ball sponsor for the game ahead of the release of their much-anticipated second album 'Music For The People' on Monday.
Tracks from the new album will be played in the build-up to City's last home game of the season and the band's promotional material will be around the Ricoh Arena.
Bass player Andy Hopkins has also conducted an interview for the club's matchday programme.
Coventry City commercial director Nathan Kosky said: "I am not sure a band has ever sponsored a match ball before - certainly not here at Coventry City.
"We know they have been supporters of the team and they have put the city back onto the musical map in the past couple of years.
"It's great they have decided to support the club in this way and also realise that reaching out to Sky Blues fans is a great way to promote the new album in their home town".
"We will be playing tracks from the album before the game and hopefully that will help to generate a good atmosphere ahead of our final game here at the Ricoh this season. The album has received great reviews.
"We are also looking forward to seeing them here at the Ricoh in the summer when they are supporting Oasis as part of their tour."
*Source: CCFC
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* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Friday, 24 April 2009
Music For The People - Negative Reviews
You can't expect everyone who works in the media to love an album or a band like The Enemy. Music For The People has had plenty of good reviews over the past few weeks, but in the name of fairness, here are a few negative reviews from the press:
- * The Quietus: Music For The People? Why We Deserve Better Than The Enemy
- * The Independent: Music For The People Review - 2 out of 5
- * The Times: Reviews Music For The People - 3 out of 5
"One can only hope that The Enemy join the rest of the landfill indie groups currently drying on the gibbet in this glorious spring sun of 2009, leaving the people of Britain to be rewarded with the music that they so richly deserve." - The Quietus review.
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Music For The People Billboard Advert
The Enemy's new album 'Music For The People' has been seen out and about around Coventry this week with several giant billboard posters advertising the release of the new album. The poster above can be seen opposite the Royal Mail building in Bishop Street with another poster situated opposite the Coventry sports centre in Fairfax Street.
When 'We'll Live And Die In These Towns' was released in July 2007, The Enemy took over Coventry's train station with a massive poster featuring the debut album. The new album has had mainly positive reviews and the release of the bonus DVD from the Coventry Ricoh gig is worth watching.
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Thursday, 23 April 2009
The Enemy Talk To XFM About New Album
The Enemy headed back to XFM radio for an interview with John Kennedy who talked to Tom, Liam and Andy on their second album, ‘Music For The People’. Hear their track-by-track interview now.The Enemy’s debut created waves on the scale of a tsunami. It was so vital, fresh and exciting we even awarded it our very first XFM ‘New Music Award’. The big question, we thought, was how you follow it up.
The answer, however, was very, very simple. You come back with a bigger, bolder and better record that not just puts their debut in the shade, but pretty much everything else we’ve heard since. John Kennedy was suitably enthused by it and pulled the band in for an in-depth track-by-track interview.
You can listen to the full fifty minute XFM interview again right here:
Part 1: The Enemy talk about the evocative title and the recording of their second album. [Hear The Full Answer Now]
Part 2: ‘Elephant Song’ and ‘No Time For Tears’ open the album. Tom, Liam and Andy talk about these block-busting tracks. [Hear The Full Answer Now]
Part 3: ‘51st State’ sees the band revert to Clash-influenced territory and ‘Sing When You’re In Love’ is an old favourite re-visited. [Hear The Full Answer Now]
Part 4: A string-laden ‘Last Goodbye’ and the national identity-baiting ‘Nation Of Checkout Girls’ gets discussed. [Hear The Full Answer Now]
Part 5: The band put ‘Don’t Break The Red Tape’ under the microscope. [Hear The Full Answer Now]
Part 6: ‘Be Somebody’ is next, a track that’s become one of Tom’s favourites. [Hear The Full Answer Now]
Part 7: Talk of the final two tracks, ‘Keep Losing’ and ‘Silver Spoon’, close the chat. [Hear The Full Answer Now
]*Source: XFM
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
VIDEO: The Enemy Answer Fans Questions
The Enemy have posted a video on the official website which answers questions sent in to them by their fans. Tom, Liam and Andy answer those burning questions in the video.What influenced the new album?
Which animals they’d like to make extinct?
Who takes the longest to get ready for a gig?
Those and more are answered in this EXCLUSIVE video -
WATCH THE VIDEO NOW»
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Exclusive Download With Music For The People
There is an exclusive download available from Play.com when you pre-order The Enemy's 'Music For The People' album. 'It's Not OK' (Live At The Union Chapel) will be given to everyone who orders the album from the website. Better still, at £8.95 with free delivery Play.com is one of the cheapest places in the UK to buy the album!Here is the review of 'Music For The People' from Play.com:
Coventry's finest indie rockers, The Enemy return in fighting form with their second studio album, Music For The People. Keeping their working class roots firmly in tact, the feisty trio have pushed the boundaries to the limit and produced an ambitious, grandiose album that takes the talented youngsters out of the gritty streets and into the stadium.
When The Enemy released their debut album, We'll Live And Die In These Towns, the tenacious threesome took the nation by storm with their raw blend of good old fashioned British rock'n'roll and frank statements. Combining Oasis-style chords with The Jam-influenced cultural references, the band constructed contagious anthems such as the top 10 smashes 'Away From Here' and 'Had Enough', that hit with venom and struck a chord with the masses. So, now that the rough-edged revellers have grown out of their teens and original surroundings, will they lose some of the grit and power that made their debut so appealing? 'Elephant Song', the opening track from Music For The People, would have you believe not. It's a coarse stomper of a song that builds from a symphonic introduction into a glorious riff-heavy anthem of epic proportions. The force and scale of the impressive opener continues on the album's first single, 'No Time For Tears'. Hitting hard with social declarations, lead singer Tom Clarke dabbles with a higher vocal range to get his message of hope across with permeating effect. The momentum continues on the thumping tracks 'Nation Of Checkout Girls' and 'Don't Break The Red Tape' where the band with organic beats and chanting choruses showcase a punk-fuelled side reminiscent of The Clash. The tempo is only broken down with slow-burners 'Sing When You're In Love' and 'Be Somebody'. Executed with passion and power, the songs bristle with sensitivity and declare that The Enemy are able to shift out of their comfort zone and experiment with subtle and stripped-down styles. Bringing the album to a close in extravagant fashion and offering an appealing contradiction to the organic rock numbers are layered tracks 'Keep Losing' and 'Silver Spoon'. Splicing piano balladry, gospel stylistics and orchestral crescendos, the tracks spiral into vast and textured epics that are certain to fill arenas.
Whilst The Enemy's debut album punched out robust messages over brutal beats, Music For The People offers experimental and intriguing musical twists to the band's social declarations. Bringing to life their relatable statements with flourishing techniques and shifting structures, this eclectically styled release is a confident and well-executed album that delights with glorious musical progression and keeps it real with the Coventry lads' inherent rawness and strength.
Music For The People is also available in a CD & DVD Edition.
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Zane Lowe Makes The Enemy Album Of The Week
'Music For The People' is Zane Lowe's album of the week this week. So, every night this week (Mon-Thurs) he'll be playing a different track from the album. Listen in to Radio 1 between 19:00 and 21:00 to catch the latest track and don't forget to let The Enemy and Zane Lowe know what you think.Monday night Zane played 'Sing When You're In Love'. If you missed it listen again here.
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Listen To Music For The People For FREE!
You can listen to The Enemy's new album 'Music For The People' completely FREE this week thanks to NME.COMHead over to the website and listen to the album ahead of it's release on Monday 27th April 2009. You can also rate the album, so if you are itching to find out what all the fuss is about go to NME.COM now!
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Monday, 20 April 2009
The Enemy Video Banned From Music Channels
The Enemy's new single 'No Time For Tears' has been 'banned' from music channels like 4Music and VH1 on shows like 'The Official UK Top 40'. The programme refused to show the video claiming it was "not suitable for the whole family".
The video shows band members Tom Clarke, Andy Hopkins and Liam Watts performing their track inside a glass box, while onlookers throw items and attack the screens with paint. The video concept was directed by Rankin & Chris Cottam who encased the band in a box, where they have to face waves of well hard, good old British hate – plus the odd moment of adulation.A thoughtful concept to reflect the song’s stoic, ‘take it like a man’ theme of which music channels have missed the point and decided to 'ban' The Enemy's video from some of their programmes.
Watch the video and judge for yourself - Should it have been banned or not?
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
The Enemy Competition
COMPETITION
To celebrate the release of the new Enemy album NME have two limited edition album box sets up for grabs (more details below) and five signed t-shirts.
To be in with a chance of winning just enter your email at NME.COM.Winners will be drawn on Monday 27th April and notified the same day.
If you haven't come across it yet here's the limited edition album box set.
It includes the album on CD and 12", an extended DVD from last years Ricoh Arena, a lyric booklet and a personally signed print from Si Scott.
Want one of those? There are only 2,000 being produced so order yours now. Plus, delivery is free when you pre-order it.
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
The Enemy 'No Time For Tears' Sales Figures
The Enemy entered the UK singles chart at #16 with 'No Time For Tears', the first single from the much anticipated album 'Music For The People'. 'No Time For Tears' sold 12,606 copies. Singles have increased in sales by 33.56% year on year as people download individual album tracks and may have had an effect on the final chart position for The Enemy.
We can all be proud of the amount of copies sold - based on last year, those sales figures would have meant The Enemy scored another Top 10 hit.
Calvin Harris (#1) sold 62,012, Eminem (#8) sold 26,166, and Patti LuPone (#45) sold 4,987 by way of comparison.
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Observer Review of Music For The People
Here is The Observer review of Music For The People by Jon Savage
The Enemy are squarely in the tradition of the early Clash and the Specials: plain-speaking music that addresses Britain's forgotten towns and forgotten teens. Hailing from Coventry, they know of what they speak. Theirs is a big sound for a three-piece, matched by big themes. As they state on Elephant Song: "Ever feel so small, stood in a world that owes you nothing at all."
There's No Time For Tears takes you to "the morning after the revolution", while 51st State and Don't Break the Red Tape offer succinct anti-government polemics. They are less convincing on slow numbers like the Springsteen-esque No Time to Cry, where the production and the vocal delivery force attention on prosaic phrases like "a concrete jungle" and "a million miles of traffic jams".
That's the problem with social realism, but the Enemy do their best to vary their sound and mode of address. There is always pleasure in hearing a young group stretch out - as they do on the climactic Silver Spoon - and they unveil a great line in Be Somebody: "No one ever gives you anything for free/ Unless you start sleeping with the BBC."
Both these records will be deservedly successful. They both achieve what they set out to do, which is to inject into British rock music the sense of standing for or against something, the feeling that there is something more at stake than money, fame and self, the belief that human beings are important. Although they are not particularly aimed at me, I applaud their spirit.
• Download
Silver Spoon (The Enemy)
The Enemy, Music for the People, Warners, 4 stars
*Source: The Observer
The Enemy are squarely in the tradition of the early Clash and the Specials: plain-speaking music that addresses Britain's forgotten towns and forgotten teens. Hailing from Coventry, they know of what they speak. Theirs is a big sound for a three-piece, matched by big themes. As they state on Elephant Song: "Ever feel so small, stood in a world that owes you nothing at all."
There's No Time For Tears takes you to "the morning after the revolution", while 51st State and Don't Break the Red Tape offer succinct anti-government polemics. They are less convincing on slow numbers like the Springsteen-esque No Time to Cry, where the production and the vocal delivery force attention on prosaic phrases like "a concrete jungle" and "a million miles of traffic jams".
That's the problem with social realism, but the Enemy do their best to vary their sound and mode of address. There is always pleasure in hearing a young group stretch out - as they do on the climactic Silver Spoon - and they unveil a great line in Be Somebody: "No one ever gives you anything for free/ Unless you start sleeping with the BBC."
Both these records will be deservedly successful. They both achieve what they set out to do, which is to inject into British rock music the sense of standing for or against something, the feeling that there is something more at stake than money, fame and self, the belief that human beings are important. Although they are not particularly aimed at me, I applaud their spirit.
• Download
Silver Spoon (The Enemy)
The Enemy, Music for the People, Warners, 4 stars
*Source: The Observer
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Saturday, 18 April 2009
The Sun Interview With Tom Clarke
The Sun Review by Jacqui Swift : THE ENEMY - Music For The People 4/5A LITTLE man with a lot to say, Tom Clarke has never shied away from telling it straight.
When Coventry trio The Enemy emerged in 2007 with We’ll Live And Die In These Towns, their vociferous tales of small-town frustration, earning the minimum wage and football hooligans selling tellies struck a chord with the masses of disaffected youth.
Tom’s lyrics lashed out in a way that Paul Weller’s had in The Jam three decades earlier.
With bags of self-belief and a cocksure swagger, when SFTW first met the frontman — then a no nonsense, opinionated 19-year-old — he told us: “There’s no point being in a band unless you think you’re the best in the world.”
His big mouth proved justified in July 2007, when their debut album went straight to No1, selling 450,000 copies and helping them scoop various best new band and album of the year awards.
Sombre in his mood and serious in his delivery, today Tom tells me: “In some ways we were too early. A lot of the stuff we were singing about is what people can relate to more now with the recession. In towns like Coventry, people understood those frustrations, but there were still a lot of people elsewhere who didn’t.”
Two years on, and set to release follow-up Music For The People, have things changed for Tom in light of their success?
Well, the first noticeable thing when we meet is that he is accompanied by one Jerome, his very own burly bodyguard.
But before I ask if Tom has gone all rock star, he says he isn’t there because he is needed, just for insurance reasons.
Sitting down in the bar of one of Southampton’s newest hotels, Tom, still looking like he’ll need ID to buy a drink, tells me another thing that definitely hasn’t changed is his friendship with his band mates.
He says: “The biggest achievement is me, Liam and Andy can sit down and still have a pint with each other. We’re still mates. No one’s got an ego.”
With success came respect for the band who, just 18 months earlier, had been in dead-end jobs; Tom and bassist Andy Hopkins selling TV sets while drummer Liam Watts temped in an office.
Says Tom: “At the beginning people wanted to pigeonhole us as lad rock. But we knew where we were going musically and didn’t accept that. When We’ll Live And Die In These Towns came out, people realised there was more to us than just three-chord thrash.
“I never expected the album to go to No1. We were absolutely euphoric when it happened and on top of the world. It was at that point we felt like we’d broken into Simon Cowell’s back garden and p****d in his fountain. It felt like we shouldn’t be there.
“With the first album we literally went from touring in a Fiesta to, suddenly, people turning up offering us designer clothes for free.
“I can see where bands go wrong. They start getting driven about and it goes to their head. We had to stop people and say — ‘Look, I can open a f****** door’.”
There have been moments of indulgence — buying his own flat as well as a classic E-Type Jaguar — purchases Tom defends with his own matter-of-fact logic.
“Well, everyone leaves home at my age anyway and I haven’t lost the plot with the car.
“It was far, far too much money for a car, but it wasn’t to be flash. I bought it because in 1972 my grandad used to work in Jaguar’s Browns Lane plant. I wanted a car he’d worked on. He’s dead now but every time I look at that car I think of him, that his hands have touched that car. And that’s something very special to me.”
Like their first album, Music For The People provides a snapshot of the band’s surroundings. But this time they’ve been inspired by travelling to far-off countries such as Japan, America and across Europe.
Tom says: “Success meant we got to tour the world and if we hadn’t had the opportunity to do that, the second album wouldn’t be what it is. Music For The People is the same lads, two years older, but just a bit more worldly.
“It’s still a document of our lives but made over a much longer period of time.”
Opening track Elephant Song, a triumphant, Led Zep-style howler, is named after the symbol of Coventry and was inspired by the band’s first trip to Japan. Tom says: “It’s about being on a plane for 12 hours and landing in Tokyo and it seeming like another planet.
“It’s an amazing place, it’s like Mars.”
First single No Time For Tears was written after Tom was in a fight with a Coventry bouncer.
Explains Tom: “He didn’t like the jacket I was wearing. It was a brand new Harrington.
“I was totally sober. I was left with bruised ribs but after dealing with a d***head bouncer I then had to deal with a d***head copper too.
“He attended yet never helped me a bit. So I went home absolutely furious and wrote that song to vent my anger.”
In the anthemic psychedelic piano finale Silver Spoon, Tom unleashes an attack on people in the music industry who have fame handed to them on a plate.
“Some people think there’s a fast track to fame. But forget X Factor and that route, you don’t need a golden ticket, you can do it on your own through hard work.” Nation Of Checkout Girls, inspired by the Jeremy Paxman book The English: A Portrait Of A People, is a pro-English song.
Tom says: “I think too often people whinge about how s*** England is, when it’s not. England is one of the best countries in the world with one of the most advanced societies. We’ve got a National Health Service, which the rest of the world is envious of. I’m massively proud of our country.
The Enemy ... Music For The People
“The song is looking at the changing face of the UK. People fear it.
“Like America, we now need a return to democracy. We just have two political parties which are exactly the same. And that’s why young people don’t vote.”
But despite these rants and song subject matter, Tom insists The Enemy are not a political band.
“No we’re not political because we can’t change anything. The amount of times I’ve seen me labelled ‘voice of a generation’ and it’s boll***s.
“We don’t have the answer, we’re just highlighting the problems. The reason this band has got to where it has is because we’re not spectacular.
“We’re normal lads, with normal backgrounds and people relate to us.
Musicians have been trying to change the world since music began and it doesn’t work. It’s down to those politicians who are genuinely good people and who want to change the world for the better.”
Music For The People — the title signifies handing over songs to the fans — is a natural musical progression for the band, who have become better musicians.
And Tom says they are looking ahead to a year of high points — in particular touring with Kasabian and Oasis in the summer.
He says: “I remember playing with the Stones, the band that got me into music, thinking this is what life’s all about. It will be the same with Kasabian and Oasis.
“This is the best job in the world. People in bands forget how lucky they are. I hate hearing bands who moan.
“I will never forget how much I dreamed of touring the world. You must never forget where you started.”
Music For The People is out on April 27.
“The song is looking at the changing face of the UK. People fear it.
“Like America, we now need a return to democracy. We just have two political parties which are exactly the same. And that’s why young people don’t vote.”
But despite these rants and song subject matter, Tom insists The Enemy are not a political band.
“No we’re not political because we can’t change anything. The amount of times I’ve seen me labelled ‘voice of a generation’ and it’s boll***s.
“We don’t have the answer, we’re just highlighting the problems. The reason this band has got to where it has is because we’re not spectacular.
“We’re normal lads, with normal backgrounds and people relate to us.
Musicians have been trying to change the world since music began and it doesn’t work. It’s down to those politicians who are genuinely good people and who want to change the world for the better.”
Music For The People — the title signifies handing over songs to the fans — is a natural musical progression for the band, who have become better musicians.
And Tom says they are looking ahead to a year of high points — in particular touring with Kasabian and Oasis in the summer.
He says: “I remember playing with the Stones, the band that got me into music, thinking this is what life’s all about. It will be the same with Kasabian and Oasis.
“This is the best job in the world. People in bands forget how lucky they are. I hate hearing bands who moan.
“I will never forget how much I dreamed of touring the world. You must never forget where you started.”
Music For The People is out on April 27.
*Source: The Sun
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Friday, 17 April 2009
Interview: The World According To The Enemy
Coventry Telegraph Interview by Les Reid
THE ENEMY are back with a new mature sound and worldly experience. In an exclusive interview, Coventry’s biggest and best band for a generation talk about music, the recession, politics and their families.
THE ENEMY frontman Tom Clarke this week drove his 1972 E-type Jag up to Jaguar’s Browns Lane plant - returning the glorious machine to its birthplace where his grandad Fred had worked on it.
It led to both narrow and broad reflections on families and the state of the world which have made this always impressive and thoughtful 21-year-old one of the most quotable figures in music.
Since the three unlikely striplings exploded into the nation’s consciousness two years ago with the number 1 album We’ll Live And Die In These Towns - with songs exploring both the mundanity and celebration of ordinary lives - the singer and guitarist has demonstrated a canny refusal to be pigeon-holed into being an overtly political voice or the spokesperson for a generation.
Yet his reflections on jobs, governments, the economy and humanity continue on the long-awaited second album, Music For The People, out on April 27, the first single from which was released this week – No Time For Tears.
Those reflections remain grounded in personal experiences, those of his family and friends back home, and his deep sense of community.
But they are also now infused with a broader perspective, partly inspired by worldwide touring which recently took them to America in the run-up to Barrack Obama’s historic election victory.
As Tom, drummer Liam Watts and bassist Andy Hopkins belted out the new single at Coventry’s HMV store on Wednesday – accompanied by keyboard and female backing singer – the musical progression was immediately apparent.
The new material is substantial. More mature and layered with more instrumentation, yet still direct and anthemic.
Lyrically, the first album’s protest against manufacturing decline, dead-end jobs and getting wasted on Saturday night is replaced with a greater acceptance of the changing economy.
One song – Nation of Checkout Girls – speaks of the dominance of the service sector and the uniformity of British high streets.
Be Somebody is a pastiche of post-punk/new wave band XTC’s 1979 hit Making Plans for Nigel.
Nigel’s stifling parents then wanted his future to be in British Steel. The Enemy’s Nigel now works in a department store. Yet it is not a criticism, more an accepting reflection on the changing face of Britain.
Which is where Tom’s trip to Browns Lane comes in, and tales of his grandad Fred O’Gara, father of Tom’s uncle Mick O’Gara, once a miners’ union rep at Keresley Colliery who is pictured with then miners’ leader Arthur Scargill in 1984 on the cover of the single You’re Not Alone.
Tom told the Telegraph: “I took the car up there on a day off. We drove it up there and parked it next to the plant, or what was the plant. It was quite weird. My grandad used to live in Sheldon.
"When it snowed at Browns Lane and the coach back to Sheldon didn’t turn up, he used to walk home in the snow from Browns Lane.
“He was just an amazing bloke. He passed away a few years ago now. My memories of him are as an old man looking after me as his grandson, cutting trees down with me and moaning about petrol.
"He used to do the piecework at Browns Lane. He did all the chrome. So I wanted a car I know he would have worked on, and it’s got Jaguar Coventry on the steering wheel so I know it’s one from there.
“I think the whole family throughout the 1980s and the difficult times were all deeply affected by them. I think it’s something that reverberated through the generations of the family.
"But at the same time I’m not an old industrial romantic. I like my old stuff, I love my old Jag, it’s a beautiful symbol of what Coventry can do when it puts its mind to it, that it produces a machine as amazing as that.
“But at the same time I’m also acutely aware that where jobs are lost in the manufacturing industry they’ll be replaced within the service industry. It’s important to put a balanced view out there, otherwise you end up really being quite negative about change.
“We can’t be this great manufacturing nation forever. There are other nations out there that will do it better than us, there are others that will do it cheaper than us. You’ve got to be open and say, ‘OK, what are we going to do then to look after our workers’?
"If we can’t compete with the manufacturing process, what areas of industry can we compete with?”
He said families and friends had been hit by the current recession. “It hits everyone. The whole thing of uncertainty in families throughout recessions and people being uncertain about their jobs – that’s the main thing, it’s the not knowing.
"Once a job’s gone, it’s traumatic but families pull together and they have done through some of the most difficult times in the 60s, the late 70s and 80s through to the miners.”
Andy and Liam say their families were less political. Liam, who has moved out of the Holbrooks family home to Coundon, says: “My mum and dad were very young when they had kids. They were a bit preoccupied with bringing me and my brother up. That shaped their lives before they were even 18.
“My dad played drums in loads of different Cov bands. There was always drum kits. I always remember mum and dad going off and me going to my nan’s while he played gigs.
"So it was something I inherited and my grandad was a drummer on my mum’s side, so there was a whole family tapping on things.”
Andy says: “My uncle played guitar and my dad played drums a bit. He took me to an ACDC concert and Status Quo. That’s how I got my musical influences.”
Tom says one of the most visible manifestations of the recession is one of his favourite haunts – the “curry mile” in Birmingham – which he says is now reduced to just one “old school” curry house.
He said media reports that The Enemy’s first album had forecasted the recession have been slightly exaggerated since, but he adds: “Coventry was hit a long time before anyone else. There are industries that will never recover that have now disappeared out of Coventry. Peugeot axed 3,000 jobs. It’s been visible for quite a few years which is what we were inadvertently writing about on the first album.
“I don’t think we are qualified enough to have predicted a recession. I think that world leading economists will tell you that any economy that rises and rises will crash.
"From the legacy years of Blair that was obviously his intention. To take the economy as high as it could go so that he could go out with a bang in the same way that Bush managed to do in the States and then leave everyone else to clean up after him.
“But its not our business. There are big issues that are the politicians’ responsibility to tackle rather than musicians. It does help with musicians talking about it, but ultimately we’re here to make music.”
The new album belts out lyrics including “Labour’s a joke” and “the morning after the revolution”.
But Tom believes in democracy. He says: “If you’re truly going to exist in a democratic society then people deserve choice. Politically at the moment people don’t really have a choice. We’ve got two main parties that are so close in the majority of their policies it doesn’t excite young people.
"When they don’t think they’ve got a clear choice, they won’t vote, and that’s when elections stop making sense.
“That’s the problem with British politics. And that’s why the reform in America is so important, because they were offered a clear-cut choice – we can go this way as a nation or go this way – and people got excited.
"We went over and toured America in the middle of all that pre-election excitement, and everyone you spoke to had a political opinion. More people turned up to vote than they had in years.”
The new album’s messages are essentially the same as the debut album says Tom, adding: “It’s probably less pop and more proper music.
"We just had these songs at the end of a two-year tour. We went into the studio and did what we do and it sounds that size because that’s the size the band has grown into over two years.
“The reason so many people relate to us is because we are actually just three typical lads.
"There’s nothing extraordinary about any of us or our backgrounds or our families. That’s why they relate to us. That and good music.
“I think the focus a lot of the time is shifted away from the fact that we made a great musical record, and it takes a backseat – probably because of my big mouth,” he jokes.
Source: Coventry Telegraph
THE ENEMY frontman Tom Clarke this week drove his 1972 E-type Jag up to Jaguar’s Browns Lane plant - returning the glorious machine to its birthplace where his grandad Fred had worked on it.
It led to both narrow and broad reflections on families and the state of the world which have made this always impressive and thoughtful 21-year-old one of the most quotable figures in music.
Since the three unlikely striplings exploded into the nation’s consciousness two years ago with the number 1 album We’ll Live And Die In These Towns - with songs exploring both the mundanity and celebration of ordinary lives - the singer and guitarist has demonstrated a canny refusal to be pigeon-holed into being an overtly political voice or the spokesperson for a generation.
Yet his reflections on jobs, governments, the economy and humanity continue on the long-awaited second album, Music For The People, out on April 27, the first single from which was released this week – No Time For Tears.
Those reflections remain grounded in personal experiences, those of his family and friends back home, and his deep sense of community.
But they are also now infused with a broader perspective, partly inspired by worldwide touring which recently took them to America in the run-up to Barrack Obama’s historic election victory.
As Tom, drummer Liam Watts and bassist Andy Hopkins belted out the new single at Coventry’s HMV store on Wednesday – accompanied by keyboard and female backing singer – the musical progression was immediately apparent.
The new material is substantial. More mature and layered with more instrumentation, yet still direct and anthemic.
Lyrically, the first album’s protest against manufacturing decline, dead-end jobs and getting wasted on Saturday night is replaced with a greater acceptance of the changing economy.
One song – Nation of Checkout Girls – speaks of the dominance of the service sector and the uniformity of British high streets.
Be Somebody is a pastiche of post-punk/new wave band XTC’s 1979 hit Making Plans for Nigel.
Nigel’s stifling parents then wanted his future to be in British Steel. The Enemy’s Nigel now works in a department store. Yet it is not a criticism, more an accepting reflection on the changing face of Britain.
Which is where Tom’s trip to Browns Lane comes in, and tales of his grandad Fred O’Gara, father of Tom’s uncle Mick O’Gara, once a miners’ union rep at Keresley Colliery who is pictured with then miners’ leader Arthur Scargill in 1984 on the cover of the single You’re Not Alone.
Tom told the Telegraph: “I took the car up there on a day off. We drove it up there and parked it next to the plant, or what was the plant. It was quite weird. My grandad used to live in Sheldon.
"When it snowed at Browns Lane and the coach back to Sheldon didn’t turn up, he used to walk home in the snow from Browns Lane.
“He was just an amazing bloke. He passed away a few years ago now. My memories of him are as an old man looking after me as his grandson, cutting trees down with me and moaning about petrol.
"He used to do the piecework at Browns Lane. He did all the chrome. So I wanted a car I know he would have worked on, and it’s got Jaguar Coventry on the steering wheel so I know it’s one from there.
“I think the whole family throughout the 1980s and the difficult times were all deeply affected by them. I think it’s something that reverberated through the generations of the family.
"But at the same time I’m not an old industrial romantic. I like my old stuff, I love my old Jag, it’s a beautiful symbol of what Coventry can do when it puts its mind to it, that it produces a machine as amazing as that.
“But at the same time I’m also acutely aware that where jobs are lost in the manufacturing industry they’ll be replaced within the service industry. It’s important to put a balanced view out there, otherwise you end up really being quite negative about change.
“We can’t be this great manufacturing nation forever. There are other nations out there that will do it better than us, there are others that will do it cheaper than us. You’ve got to be open and say, ‘OK, what are we going to do then to look after our workers’?
"If we can’t compete with the manufacturing process, what areas of industry can we compete with?”
He said families and friends had been hit by the current recession. “It hits everyone. The whole thing of uncertainty in families throughout recessions and people being uncertain about their jobs – that’s the main thing, it’s the not knowing.
"Once a job’s gone, it’s traumatic but families pull together and they have done through some of the most difficult times in the 60s, the late 70s and 80s through to the miners.”
Andy and Liam say their families were less political. Liam, who has moved out of the Holbrooks family home to Coundon, says: “My mum and dad were very young when they had kids. They were a bit preoccupied with bringing me and my brother up. That shaped their lives before they were even 18.
“My dad played drums in loads of different Cov bands. There was always drum kits. I always remember mum and dad going off and me going to my nan’s while he played gigs.
"So it was something I inherited and my grandad was a drummer on my mum’s side, so there was a whole family tapping on things.”
Andy says: “My uncle played guitar and my dad played drums a bit. He took me to an ACDC concert and Status Quo. That’s how I got my musical influences.”
Tom says one of the most visible manifestations of the recession is one of his favourite haunts – the “curry mile” in Birmingham – which he says is now reduced to just one “old school” curry house.
He said media reports that The Enemy’s first album had forecasted the recession have been slightly exaggerated since, but he adds: “Coventry was hit a long time before anyone else. There are industries that will never recover that have now disappeared out of Coventry. Peugeot axed 3,000 jobs. It’s been visible for quite a few years which is what we were inadvertently writing about on the first album.
“I don’t think we are qualified enough to have predicted a recession. I think that world leading economists will tell you that any economy that rises and rises will crash.
"From the legacy years of Blair that was obviously his intention. To take the economy as high as it could go so that he could go out with a bang in the same way that Bush managed to do in the States and then leave everyone else to clean up after him.
“But its not our business. There are big issues that are the politicians’ responsibility to tackle rather than musicians. It does help with musicians talking about it, but ultimately we’re here to make music.”
The new album belts out lyrics including “Labour’s a joke” and “the morning after the revolution”.
But Tom believes in democracy. He says: “If you’re truly going to exist in a democratic society then people deserve choice. Politically at the moment people don’t really have a choice. We’ve got two main parties that are so close in the majority of their policies it doesn’t excite young people.
"When they don’t think they’ve got a clear choice, they won’t vote, and that’s when elections stop making sense.
“That’s the problem with British politics. And that’s why the reform in America is so important, because they were offered a clear-cut choice – we can go this way as a nation or go this way – and people got excited.
"We went over and toured America in the middle of all that pre-election excitement, and everyone you spoke to had a political opinion. More people turned up to vote than they had in years.”
The new album’s messages are essentially the same as the debut album says Tom, adding: “It’s probably less pop and more proper music.
"We just had these songs at the end of a two-year tour. We went into the studio and did what we do and it sounds that size because that’s the size the band has grown into over two years.
“The reason so many people relate to us is because we are actually just three typical lads.
"There’s nothing extraordinary about any of us or our backgrounds or our families. That’s why they relate to us. That and good music.
“I think the focus a lot of the time is shifted away from the fact that we made a great musical record, and it takes a backseat – probably because of my big mouth,” he jokes.
Source: Coventry Telegraph
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
Thursday, 16 April 2009
The Enemy Brixton Gig Review For Music Vice
The Enemy at Brixton Academy, London, UK - Show Review and PhotosGig review and photos by Music Vice contributor Lauren Towner - April 15, 2009
Gig/Concert:
The Enemy supported by Twisted Wheel and Kid British
Venue:
Brixton Academy, London (map)
Date:
April 11, 2009
Headliners:
The Enemy
In one word:
Magical
Your say:
Talk about it
The first time I saw The Enemy live was in a tiny record shop in the middle of London in April 2007, where only thirty people turned up. If someone had told me then that The Enemy would have a number 1 album in the UK charts, support Oasis on their next stadium tour, sell out the London Astoria six nights in a row (beating Blur’s record) and then sell out Brixton Academy two nights in a row all in the next two years, quite frankly, I would have laughed. A lot.
Nearly two years to the day, The Enemy are doing just that; they’ve just sold out one of the biggest venues in London for two nights in a row and I was lucky enough to have gained access to the photo pit in such a legendary venue that has hosted many of the biggest names in music.
New Manchester band Kid British were the first band on stage, kicking off with Elizabeth and Lost in London, and covering Madness classic Our House they put on a spectacular show, proving you can mix ska with a bit of indie. Sadly, due to a technical fault, they could not play their new single Sunny Days which was a real disappointment.
I was particularly looking forward to seeing Twisted Wheel live. I had seen them support The View, where they even set up their own equipment, and perform at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Maidstone in the unsigned ‘shed’ where the venue was almost full while a big name act was on the main stage at the same time. I couldn’t believe that I would see them for the third time in just under a year.
Twisted Wheel arrived and launched into new single We Are Us which expresses their individuality to other bands.
"You will never stop us,
‘Cause you are you
And we are us"
At the Academy, bands choose their own lighting. An error on my part was that I did not make friends with the lighting manager, as when the band played She’s a Weapon, the lights were blinking ferociously during the chorus. They were almost giving my camera an epileptic fit, making it hard to focus on the subject.
Bottles were thrown and fighting occurred during Twisted Wheel’s set which surprised me. Security acted faster than I first originally thought, although frontman Johnny Brown told the members of the audience involved in the incident to ‘ignore the security and carry on’. However, I was completely oblivious to this. I had made myself comfortable on the photo pit barrier ledge, which means I had the best seat in the house.
It was a very nervous wait for The Enemy to appear on stage. My heart raced after the usual warm up songs of The Specials' A Message to You, Rudy and The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony. The band appeared in silhouettes with the backlit stage when ‘LONDON’ was on the screens up above. The crowd was going wild behind me, but surprisingly again, no crowd surfers or beer throwers in sight, which meant I could get on with my job without smelling like a walking pub.
Tom Clarke stands proudly smiling in front of his microphone with his empire standing in front of him. Starting with new song The Elephant Song which comes off their forthcoming second album ‘Music For The People’, The Enemy have shown that they can write in different styles, and make it sound even better than their first record, the second single off the bands first LP ‘We’ll Live and Die in These Towns’, Had Enough follows.
By this point in the concert, the mosh pit had changed its attitude from ‘jumpy’ to proper ‘moshing’. After my stint in the comfort of the photo pit for the ‘first three songs, no flash’, I was back on the floor with everyone else and I had at least five crowd surfers almost managing to knock me out. Almost.
No Time For Tears had almost every member of the crowd singing the chorus. This Song was particularly special. Tom Clarke introduced Tom as The Enemy’s keyboard player, and the whole venue erupted when the band paused for the final chorus.
After all the knocks to the head from crowd-surfers and everything else, I would say it was definitely worth it and I even found myself saying “I love my job.” The concert in its entirety was excellent, but ask yourself this question: How often is it that all three bands on the line up are excellent? Usually there is one band who generally don’t live up to your expectation, and may ruin your night. Tonight was one of those rare gigs where everyone was on form. © Lauren Towner
Photos of Kid British, Twisted Wheel and The Enemy at Brixton Academy:
*Show photo notes: After the gig, whilst sharing my photos via Facebook, a friend asked how I wanted to portray the band. The answer to that is that I didn’t want to take the ‘press’ photos by surrounding Tom Clarke for the entire three songs, I wanted to take photos that showed the band in their finest hour, and at their biggest show to date.
[Lauren, these photo's are stunning! A fantastic collection of shot's from your first contribution here at MusicVice! Welcome to the team!! - Brian.]
Kid British - www.myspace.com/kidbritishmusic
Twisted Wheel - www.myspace.com/thetwistedwheel
The Enemy - www.myspace.com/theenemycoventry
*Source: Lauren Towner for Music Vice
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
The Enemy @ HMV Coventry
The Enemy took time out of their gruelling tour and returned to Coventry as they performed some of their tunes in front of several hundred fans at the Hertford Street HMV store. Tom Clarke, Andy Hopkins and Liam Watts then spent time signing copies of their new single, 'No Time For Tears' and chatting to fans. The Enemy were as down to earth as the first time they performed here and happily posed with fans during the record signing.
Here are the videos from the HMV Coventry performance, although I couldn't see anything - The Enemy still sounded great!
The Enemy - Away From Here @ HMV Cov
The Enemy - Happy Birthday Jane @ HMV Cov
The Enemy - You're Not Alone @ HMV Cov
The Enemy - No Time For Tears @ HMV Cov
The Enemy - We'll Live And Die In These Towns @ HMV Cov
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
The Enemy Frontman Tom Clarke To Take Part In Gumball Rally
THE ENEMY’s frontman Tom Clarke is going behind the wheel of two Jaguars to express his pride in Coventry.
The first is an E-type Jag from 1972 he bought recently because he says his granddad would have worked on it during the halcyon days of the city’s Browns Lane plant.
He is also due to drive a new Jaguar around America next month to fulfil a “lifelong ambition” to take part in the legendary Gumball Rally.
Tom, aged 21, said: “We’ve got to do it in a new Jag because my old one just wouldn’t make it. I’ve taken it out twice and it’s broken down both times!
“My grandad worked at the old Browns Lane plant in Coventry and I wanted one old enough so that I knew he would have worked on it.”
He will be doing the Gumball rally with The Enemy’s keyboard player, also called Tom, who has also bought himself a Jaguar.
The singer and lead guitarist said: “I love them because they’re Coventry cars and on the steering wheel it says: ‘Made in Coventry’.
“They’ll be Ferraris, Porsches and Lambourghinis on the rally but I’d like to do it in a British car and represent.”
Tom, who grew up in the Castle Bromwich area of Birmingham, added: “When you’re sat in a box room of a three-bedroom semi and you see DVDs of people doing it, you never think you’ll get the opportunity to do it.
“I know the guy who runs it and I said I’d love to do it. It’s a lifelong ambition. We’re doing it in a Jaguar because it’s a Coventry-built car.”
The Enemy shot to fame two years ago when their debut album We’ll Live and Die in These Towns went straight into the charts at No.1, a first for any Coventry band.
Today at 5pm, they play a free gig to fans at HMV in Hertford Street, Coventry city centre, to promote their new album and single, out this week, called No Time For Tears.
The long-awaited second album, called Music for the People, in released on April 27, and is already receiving plaudits.
The band are currently touring and will support Oasis at the Ricoh Arena on July 7.
Source: Les Reid Coventry Telegraph
The first is an E-type Jag from 1972 he bought recently because he says his granddad would have worked on it during the halcyon days of the city’s Browns Lane plant.
He is also due to drive a new Jaguar around America next month to fulfil a “lifelong ambition” to take part in the legendary Gumball Rally.
Tom, aged 21, said: “We’ve got to do it in a new Jag because my old one just wouldn’t make it. I’ve taken it out twice and it’s broken down both times!
“My grandad worked at the old Browns Lane plant in Coventry and I wanted one old enough so that I knew he would have worked on it.”
He will be doing the Gumball rally with The Enemy’s keyboard player, also called Tom, who has also bought himself a Jaguar.
The singer and lead guitarist said: “I love them because they’re Coventry cars and on the steering wheel it says: ‘Made in Coventry’.
“They’ll be Ferraris, Porsches and Lambourghinis on the rally but I’d like to do it in a British car and represent.”
Tom, who grew up in the Castle Bromwich area of Birmingham, added: “When you’re sat in a box room of a three-bedroom semi and you see DVDs of people doing it, you never think you’ll get the opportunity to do it.
“I know the guy who runs it and I said I’d love to do it. It’s a lifelong ambition. We’re doing it in a Jaguar because it’s a Coventry-built car.”
The Enemy shot to fame two years ago when their debut album We’ll Live and Die in These Towns went straight into the charts at No.1, a first for any Coventry band.
Today at 5pm, they play a free gig to fans at HMV in Hertford Street, Coventry city centre, to promote their new album and single, out this week, called No Time For Tears.
The long-awaited second album, called Music for the People, in released on April 27, and is already receiving plaudits.
The band are currently touring and will support Oasis at the Ricoh Arena on July 7.
Source: Les Reid Coventry Telegraph
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
The Enemy Newsbeat Interview
By Greg Cochrane Newsbeat music reporter.
The Coventry rockers come out fighting in the lead up to the release of their second album Music For The People.
When speaking to Newsbeat upstairs in a Brixton pub last November, The Enemy's Tom Clarke attempted to sum up his band's new expanded direction.
"Imagine cloning a woolly mammoth and an elephant," he began, "then gluing the two together."
It might have sounded ludicrous but, now the world has heard the first single No Time For Tears, it is also a hint at their lofty ambitions.
According to reports, and the band themselves, the remainder of the record - entitled Music For The People - is similarly "huge" sounding.
'Not ridiculous'
"It's not a big ridiculous, pretentious title like everyone thinks. It's quite a humble little thing," says Tom Clarke, sat backstage at Brighton's decadent Dome venue.
"When we release an album you're sort of giving the songs to people," he continues. "They become their property, they become their songs.
"And it's really just to signify that, the handing over of an album from a band to the people that buy it."
Despite the universal title the band refute any suggestion that they're representing the everyman after the success of their working class chronicling debut album We'll Live And Die In These Towns.
"I don't see that," says Clarke firmly. "I don't like that term 'band of the people' - I think the fact of the matter is, we're a band and we are people.
"The other one you get branded with is voice of a generation and we're not the voice of a generation at all. We're three typical lads that a lot of people can relate to because we're from really typical backgrounds.
"We're not the voice of a generation; I won't be up on a pedestal proclaiming to be the voice of a generation. I'm not interested in that."
The message is clear then. While they make music for the people, it's not solely designed to please the people.
"Most bands make music because they know it'll get played on Radio 1," says Clarke. "It's an easy pay cheque and we're not into that.
"I want to make music which pushes my musical boundaries and our fans' musical boundaries."
Studio sessions
Following a short break last summer the trio spent the majority of autumn 2008 recording in rural Wales at Monrow studios with producer Mike Crossey.
Whilst the plan was to capitalise on the buzz from their debut, the band didn't rush the sessions.
"We totally took our time," Clarke argues.
"It's really important to just not exploit your fans - you've got to look after them because at the end of the day they're the same as you and me.
"I used to queue up for Oasis albums when I was younger. You've got to remember, they're just people who love music."
Indeed, the Coventry band spend a lot of time with their fans. They played a low key club tour earlier this year and deliberately play parts of the UK not often visited ["Margate was mental" pipes in a tour manager].
While they'll argue they're not just producing chart-filling ladrock, they're not about to go tinkering too extensively with their winning formula either.
"I think most bands are bright enough to know - if you put out an indie record and you follow it up with a jazz record you're probably not going to have a career for very long.
"You can't sell your soul at any point, you've always got to make the music you want to make. People like to be acknowledged and not ignored."
"You need to remember the power of numbers - and the power of people," says Clarke concluding.
A solid mantra then, and one which Tom Clarke doesn't seem to be forgetting anytime soon.
Source: BBC Newsbeat
* As seen on: http://theenemy.eu
* OFFICIAL Enemy website: http://theenemy.com
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