Interview: Andy Hopkins And Liam Watts On BBC Coventry And Warwickshire Radio

[pic: BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Shane O'Connor with Liam Watts and Andy Hopkins from Twitter]

The Enemy's Liam Watts and Andy Hopkins popped into BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Shane O'Connor's Breakfast Show for an interview about the new album and upcoming tour. The interview was broadcast on Friday 11th September 2015 and will be available until October 10th.

Listen HERE [2hr 22mins into programme] 

VIDEO: The Enemy BBC Midlands Today Interview

Here is the BBC Midlands Today interview with Tom Clarke, Andy Hopkins and Liam Watts, broadcast on Tuesday 8th September 2015 and extra footage.

[Video footage: BBC]

The Enemy - It's Automatic (Lyrics)

VIDEO: The Enemy - It's Automatic

Here is the first video from the fourth studio album by The Enemy due for release on 9th October 2015. The title track, 'It's Automatic' received it's first radio play on XFM's Jon Holmes Breakfast Show today (25/08/15) and went down a storm with fans. The video premiered on NME

Conor Doherty described it saying, "it's different, but sounds brilliant." Twitter user matteos herringos said, "I got goose bumps listening to that! It's bloody massive ..... what a tune!"   Die hard fan, Amy Langham thought the new track was, "big" - saying Jon Holmes should play it again.

Tickets for the November tour and pre-orders for the new album are available now: pledge.com

VIDEO: The Enemy - 'It's Automatic':

The Enemy Explain Why Yeovil Gig Was Cancelled

The Enemy were forced to cancel their Yeovil gig last night following health and safety reasons. The band took to social media, answering questions about the reasons why the gig had to be cancelled at the last minute. The overwhelming majority of fans backed the bands decision to put their safety first. Here is The Enemy's full response to the situation:

"We've seen a few people raise the same points online and we'd just like to address them here.

Didn't you know the barrier wasn't sufficient in advance of the gig?

Most venues don't have a crash barrier in place permanently, so when we advance a spec to a venue we always state that sufficient barriers must be hired in if not already in place. Usually when we get there the venue has done so and there is no issue. On this occasion the promotor/venue hadn't done so despite it having been specified.

Couldn't you have just done the gig with the hand rail instead of a crash barrier?

Not without risking the safety of fans on the front rows. We've seen people say Enemy fans don't care about safety they just want to go mad, what they perhaps fail to realise it that Enemy fans are afforded the opportunity to go mad because of controlled safety measure put in place to allow people to jump around and crowd surf safely. The barrier is also there for the safety of the crew working the pit, without it the crowd would surge and the unweighted hand rail would topple and they'd face injury too. So no, we really felt it wouldn't be responsible to play the gig without the barrier. We're aware that some bands have played the venue with a hand rail, but every bands fans are different and we will always put fans safety first.

Why was the show cancelled so close to doors?

We'd been working throughout the day to try to resolve the situation, we didn't want to give up at any point. Ten minutes before doors when the correct barrier was still not in place we took the decision that it was unreadable that one could be installed before the public entered the building. Unfortunately the promotor of the show was unobtainable, leaving us in a very bad place right up until just before doors. We did all we could from our end to get the message out quickly and effectively on social media but we recognise there was a lack of communication with ticket buyers from the promotor. This left us picking up the pieces and looking rather bad and it's an issue we're talking to the promotor about today.

We also saw a couple of people suggesting we never even made it to the venue. This simply isn't true, in the photos you can see all our equipment was set up and we were ready to play a show. We all arrived at the venue for sound check and I personally observed the flimsy hand rail.

Yesterday we really were put in an impossible position, I can only apologise to the fans for being let down, we feel let down too. We want you all to understand, we didn't sit in a van on a motorway for hours just to turn around at the other end and head back. We were as disappointed as you guys. The situation may of been resolved were we actually able to speak to the promotor who put the show on but he was unobtainable all day so we were left with no choice. We're pretty angry about the whole situation too.

To those who read these points and still can't grasp why we had to pull the show, maybe you should consider the safety of those around you. Yes it's disappointing, but we have a moral and legal responsibility to protect people attending a show.

We're working with the promotor today to try to reschedule the show to give them chance to provide acceptable barriers."

NME.COM: Tom Clarke Talks About New Album

Tom Clarke spoke to Mark Beaumont from NME.COM:

When most musicians claim they had to get clean to find inspiration for their new album, they don’t mean it in quite the same way as The Enemy’s Tom Clarke. “Every now and then I just get in the shower and write lyrics,” he says, discussing the creative process behind their forthcoming fourth album ‘It’s Automatic’ and its giveaway “transition track” ‘Don’t Let Nothing Get In The Way’. “For some reason that’s the place that I write songs more frequently than anywhere else. I got in the shower and those lyrics were just there… I always just want to get home and get in my shower because I know I can write songs there. I’ve been looking at redoing my bathroom but what if I get rid of the shower and it doesn’t work anymore?”

Magical musical faucets aside, ‘It’s Automatic’ is an album driven by romantic woes (“a lot of this album is about relationships, I’ve had a lot of them now and none of them have worked. It’s definitely the most personal record”) and the need for a fresh start. “We’re at the point where we want to try and take a bit of a risk and put an album out that’s different and progressive and a bit of an evolution,” Clarke explains, still burnt, perhaps, by the scathing critical response to 2012’s Top 10 third album ‘Streets In The Sky’.



“It started before we released the singles and rarities album [2014’s ‘Dancing All Night’, released via PledgeMusic]. We were playing a gig in the middle of nowhere in Scotland and I sat Andy [Hopkins, bass] and Liam [Watts, drums] down and kinda said, ‘Look, I can’t do another ‘We’ll Live and Die In These Towns’. I don’t wanna cover old ground, I don’t wanna make another Enemy album, I wanna go and do some solo stuff’. Andy was like, “Well I don’t wanna make another Enemy album either, we really have covered it and I wanna do something completely different”. That’s where the talks started of, ‘Maybe we do it as The Enemy but we do something that people wouldn’t expect.’”

They set about cribbing sounds and ideas from their favourite contemporary records – Diiv, Death Cab For Cutie, the Drive soundtrack, R&B beats and even, thanks to their new producer Gethin Pearson, their mortal enemies from the school of 2008. “Gethin’s the person who basically made me listen to the Horrors album. He said ‘I don’t care what you think about them, you’ve got to listen to this album cos it’s too good not to’. So I drove back from work listening to the album going, ‘He’s right, it’s fucking amazing’. That latest album (2014’s ‘Luminous’), it’s like Simple Minds but there are bits of The Cure. I love it. I just listen to it from a musical perspective, forgetting anything previously [Horrors singer Faris Badwan mocked The Enemy at the 2008 NME Awards, declaring that they’d “defied natural selection”].”

Delving into psychedelic and progressive sounds, ‘It’s Automatic’ and first single ‘So Much Love’ are about “when you almost don’t want to be in love with someone but you are and you probably always will be no matter who else you meet – it’s venting that feeling”.

Tom is confident it’s a new-era Enemy record that will catapult them straight back into the public eye. Although he insists he won’t be returning to Twitter, which he quit over “cyber bullying” last year. “Twitter is a bit like an infection that you don’t really know you’ve got but it drags you down and you’re never really firing on all cylinders,” he says. “Since leaving Twitter my productivity has gone up, my mood is generally better, I can’t see me going back… There’s so much pressure to be on social media, you’re like an outcast if you’re not. But I’d rather be a happy outcast.”

Article: NME.COM

The Boys Are Back In Town

The Enemy 2015 Tour Dates

The Enemy 2015 tour dates are out and fans have been able to pre-book from 9am today Wednesday 8th July 2015) ahead of general release on Friday 10th July. The full 12 date tour covers England and Scotland at the moment. Any additions will be updated via the bands social media sites.

A new official website for The Enemy has also be launched at theenemyband.com and it looks like the fourth album is already stirring up a lot of interest among fans and the media.

Lyrics: The Enemy - Don't Let Nothing Get In The Way

Don't Let Nothing Get In The Way

Beautiful morning with a blood red sky
Man with a briefcase asks you why
He doesn't know that today's the day
that the brothers and sisters come together again

They got no morals, they got no code
They got no names for the places they go
They wanna rob you, wanna steal your soul, but ya
You gotta fight for the ones you love, singing

Don't let nothing get in the way, hey
Don't let nothing get in the way
Don't let nothing get in the way, hey
Don't let nothing get in the way

Beautiful girl with the blood red eyes
Mother and father asked her why
They didn't know that today's the day
that the brothers and sisters join together again

They got no morals, they got no code
They got no names for the places they go
They wanna rob you, wanna steal your soul, but ya
You got to fight for the ones you love, singing

Don't let nothing get in the way, hey
Don't let nothing get in the way
Don't let nothing get in the way, hey
Don't let nothing get in the way

Don't let nothing get in the way
Don't let nothing get in the way
Don't let nothing get in the way
Don't let nothing get in the way

Ohhhh ohhhh
You gotta fight for the ones you love
Ohhhh ohhhh
You gotta fight for the ones you love

Don't let nothing get in the way, hey
Don't let nothing get in the way
Don't let nothing get in the way, hey
Don't let nothing get in the way

The Enemy Announce New Album And Tour

Coventry band, The Enemy have announced tour dates and a 4th album are on the way later this year. The band are also returning to Warner Bros music via VAM records and look set to win over a new audience with their definitive rock sound. Music manager John Dawkins has described the latest album saying, "new album is frightening. Cant wait to unleash. Even the give away track on pre order launch are strong" on Twitter.

With three top 10 albums already under their belts, The Enemy look set for a fourth if the free track 'Don't Let Nothing Get In The Way' is anything to go by. Fans have been pre-ordering the new album, 'It's Automatic' from various websites and Pledge Music have signed copies, t-shirts and UK tour VIP upgrades - allowing fans to get access to the soundcheck before a show on the UK tour and a photo with the band.

The twelve date tour kicks off at Fibbers, York on the 16th of November and concludes on the 1st December at Rock City in Nottingham. Popular locations such as London, Manchester and Glasgow form part of the tour and home fans will be pleased to know The Enemy will be performing in Coventry on Saturday 21st November 2015. Tickets go on general sale at 9am Friday 10th July 2015, but fans who sign up at http://bit.ly/EnemySignUp can get pre-sale access on Wednesday 8th July 2015 from 9am.

FULL TOUR DATES:

November:
16th - Fibbers, York
17th - The Ritz, Manchester
18th – HMV, Birmingham
20th – Forum, London
21st – Empire, Coventry
22nd – Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
24th – Riverside, Newcastle
25th – Stylus, Leeds
26th - Garage, Glasgow
28th – Leadmill, Sheffield
29th – Waterfront, Norwich

December:
1st – Rock City, Nottingham

Tom Clarke Helps Launch The Big Audition

Tom Clarke has teamed up with Kerrang! Radio and helped launch 'The Big Audition', a brilliant competition for unsigned bands that's also raising thousands for 'Cash For Kids'!

The winners will be played on Kerrang! Radio and ALL the bands that enter will get feedback from The Enemy's Tom Clarke and Kerrang DJ's!

As well as being played on Kerrang! NEXTBiGTHING are offering the winners a weekend in their recording studio with Tom Clarke and the NEXTBiGTHING experts!

Click the below link and watch the video to find out all you need to know about the competition. Check it out NOW!

http://www.kerrangradio.co.uk/charity/get-involved/big-audition/

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Likely Lads Named As The Enemy Support Band

Up and coming band Likely Lads will be supporting The Enemy on several dates during their UK tour in February. The four-piece rock band from York have been causing quite a stir, sharing the stage with Pete Doherty and The Rifles (plus Shed Seven and Inspiral Carpets). The lads are no strangers to the big stage, they performed at Leeds Festival last year and are set for a bright future after glowing reviews. Likely Lads will be supporting The Enemy at Bournemouth (24th) and Leicester (25th).

Check the band out and listen to their tunes ..... well worth a listen!

      

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The Enemy Heading To America

The Enemy are heading back to America for several gigs, they will be joining good mates, Reverend And The Makers. Two dates have been announced for New York City and West Hollywood in California. Tom, Liam and Andy will fly straight over after they finish their latest UK tour, which ends in Liverpool on Friday 9th March 2013 - but will have no time for jet lag as they will be performing on Monday 11th March the Knitting Factory, Brooklyn in New York.

The Coventry lads were in America last January recording their third album 'Streets In The  Sky' with Joby J Ford but last performed live gigs in several locations back in 2008. This time The Enemy are performing with Reverend And The Makers at two locations:

Monday 11th March 2013 - Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, New York

Wednesday 20th March 2013 - Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, Califoria


Pictures from The Enemy 2008 American Tour can be seen: HERE

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The Enemy Propaganda Live Tour Dates

New Year has started with a bang as The Enemy wasted no time in setting up dates for their latest tour. Tom, Andy and Liam will be hitting the road in a few weeks for some late night club action, as the Propaganda website said:

We’re delighted to announce that The Enemy are playing an exclusive Live Propaganda Tour!

February and March 2013 sees the Coventry trio play 10 dates across Propaganda around the UK. Expect a full band live set, an electric atmosphere and guitar music at its best!

Despite our very special live guest our normal admission and drinks prices remain unchanged. Grab your tickets early, advance tickets are limited and will sell out!

Check out the full list of dates below.

Fri 1st Feb – Propaganda Glasgow @ o2 ABC Glasgow

Sat 2nd Feb – Propaganda Edinburgh @ HMV Picturehouse

Fri 8th Feb- Propaganda Sheffield @ o2 Academy Sheffield

Sat 9th Feb- Propaganda Dublin @ The Academy

Sat 16th Feb – Propaganda Leeds@ o2 Academy Leeds

Fri 22nd Feb – Propaganda London @ o2 Academy Islington

Sat 23rd Feb – Propaganda Oxford @ o2 Academy Oxford

Fri 1st. March – Propaganda Birmingham @ o2 Academy Birmingham

Sat 2nd March – Propaganda Newcastle @ o2 Academy Newcastle

Fri 8th March – Propaganda Northampton @ Roadmender

Grab your tickets HERE (please remember when booking - these are club nights and not normal gigs)

* The Enemy also announced that they will be at Bristol on Friday 15th February 2013 (Click HERE for details)

The band will also being doing a few seperate headline shows:

Sun 24 Feb - Bournemouth - Old Firestation
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/nhh2402

Mon 25 Feb - Leicester - Academy
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/aeh2502

Wed 27 Feb - Isle of Man - Villa Marina
ticket link coming soon...

Thu 07 Mar - Hatfield - Forum
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/eud0703

Sat 09 Mar - Liverpool - Academy
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/beh0903

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VIDEO: The Enemy On This Feeling

The Enemy performed 'This Is Real' during their appearance on 'This Feeling' and spent some time being interviewed by Gordon Smart from The Sun. Find out if Andy Hopkins is the biggest tosser in the video below ......

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The Enemy Forced To Cancel Gig

A string of gigs left The Enemy front man voiceless at the weekend, forcing Tom Clarke to announce the band would not be able to play their final Scottish date at Fat Sam's in Dundee. The gig has been rescheduled for Sunday 28th October, meaning it will now be the final gig for the 'Streets In The Sky' tour.

Tom Clarke gave a personally written apology to fans via his blog saying, "We've been playing the longest sets we've ever done to try to give everyone the show they've always wanted, but I'm gutted to tell you that the strain has taken its toll on my voice, and I've got to rest it for a couple of days for it to come back. As a result, the show tonight in Dundee is having to be rescheduled. It's especially gutting for us because coming up to Scotland to play to what we consider the best crowds in the world, is always what we look forward to most on a tour."

Tom went on to say, "I know that you were all looking forward to it too, we're so frustrated but there's no quick fix for a broken voice." Tom went on Twitter to answer fans questions on Sunday afternoon, with most offering words of support and 'get well soon' wishes. He was hoping to throw in a few extra songs at the rescheduled gig at the end of the month.

The tour has been a hit with fans, even though bassist Andy Hopkins might need to stock up on footwear after stage diving each night has left him without his trainers on more than one occasion. It was left to fellow band mate Liam Watts to carry him on his back from one of the Scottish gigs after fans nabbed Andy's footwear during his crowd surfing.

Tom Clarke is heading to the doctors on Monday and the rest of the tour should continue as planned, with Newcastle on Tuesday night and a string of English dates for the rest of the week. Tom concluded, "I HATE rescheduling a show. I really hate it, but sometimes it's unavoidable" as he spoke about the Dundee date.

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Interview: Andy Hopkins And Liam Watts On BBC CWR

The Enemy's Andy Hopkins and Liam Watts dropped into the BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Radio studio and spoke to Vic Minett ahead of their gig at The Assembly in Leamington Spa. Liam revealed talks are in place for The Enemy to visit USA, Japan and even Australia.

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The Enemy Tour Hits The High Notes

The Enemy began their UK in the seaside town of Weston Super Mare on Friday 28th September 2012, with support from Dexters and The Antics. Songs from the new album 'Streets In The Sky' featured prominently during the packed gig.

Fans have been full of praise as The Enemy returned for their first full headline tour since November 2009. Nick Golledge said, "Great set last night, every song a belter. Whole crowd were right into the new songs. Good luck for the rest of the tour hope it's as mental as it was down the front last night." While Ashley Lapham wrote, "awesome set last night boys, smashed it. Guitars sounded top notch and I was surprised that the pier turned out to be a decent venue!"



The Enemy - "It's A Race" @ Weston Super Mare (filmed by Amy Langham)

Over on Twitter, Kev Coath said the Weston Super Mare performance was the best gig he have been to. Meanwhile Haydn Lewis ‏summed up his feelings by saying The Enemy "smashed it at Weston on Friday." In a review of the gig Rhys Buchanan described it as "punchy, aggressive and manic ..... Tom certainly knows how to stoke a crowd." It seems that The Enemy hit all the right notes with fans and the rest of the tour looks like being a winning formula for fans around the country.



The Enemy - "2 Kids" @ Weston Super Mare (filmed by Amy Langham)

The rest of The Enemy tour dates are:

03/10/12 OXFORD - ACADEMY
04/10/12 LEAMINGTON SPA - ASSEMBLEY
05/10/12 NORWICH - UEA
07/10/12 LINCOLN - ENGINE SHED
08/10/12 LEEDS - ACADEMY
11/10/12 STOKE - KEELE UNI
12/10/12 GLASGOW - 02 ACADEMY
13/10/12 DUNFERMLINE - ALHAMBRA THEATRE
14/10/12 DUNDEE - FAT SAM'S
16/10/12 NEWCASTLE - ACADEMY
17/10/12 MANCHESTER - APOLLO
18/10/12 CAMBRIDGE - CORN EXHANGE
20/10/12 PRESTON - 53 DEGREES
21/1012 SOUTHAMPTON - GUILDHALL
25/10/12 SHEFFIELD - ACADEMY
26/10/12 BIRMINGHAM - ACADEMY

*Top picture by:  Rob Gibbon

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The Enemy Streets In The Sky Tour Setlist

It's been a busy summer for The Enemy with several festivals (including T In The Park and V), a roof top Wembley Stadium FA Cup Final performance and a house move for Tom Clarke just ahead of the UK 'Streets In The Sky' Tour.

The tour kicks off at The Pier in the seaside town Weston-Super-Mare this Friday (September 28th) and will be touring the UK throughout October (tickets available from Ticketmaster and See Tickets) including two Midland dates at Leamington Spa on October 4th and Birmingham on October 26th. Tom Clarke and Andy Hopkins revealed the longest tour setlist so far to fans this week, with seven tracks from the new album 'Streets In The Sky'. Firm favourites also feature on the setlist, with 'We'll Live And Die In These Towns' and 'This Song' included.

Tom Clarke has spent this week in his new house after selling the farm, returning from the wilderness into a more normal surrounding. This didn't stop him popping along to Coventry's Godiva In The Square music festival on Sunday, as he showed his support for local music and also gave his mates from Dexters a lift up from London. The rain might have soaked those in attendance but it was good to know real guitar music is still alive and well in the UK.



Dexters @ Godiva Festival In The Square, Coventry.

Meanwhile Andy Hopkins and Liam Watts (top picture) have been keeping themselves busy before the tour begins - the pair have been getting the studio room project started and hopefully the tracks for the fourth album will be practiced in there over the coming months. The Enemy want to be able to help unsigned bands and the studio room could offer opportunities for up and coming bands. Midland band  The Antics will be supporting The Enemy throughout the 'Streets In The Sky' tour.

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