Biffy Clyro At Concorde 2 Thursday 25th Sept 2003
Published 1st Sep 2003 by Concorde2

Thursday 25th September Biffy Clyro. Possibly the most exciting new
band in Britain & they wanna prove it. There is no frontman - all three
members sing lead vocals. They are not a nu-metal band, nor are they a
grunge band & they can rock as hard as anyone you could care to mention
+ support. 7.30pm. ?7

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Simon Neil ? Guitar/Vocals
Ben Johnston ? Drums/Vocals
James Johnston ? Bass/Vocals

A few things you should know about Biffy Clyro?

There is no frontman. All three members sing lead vocals.
There are twins in the band. But they are not identical.
They are not a ?nu-metal? band. Nor are they a ?grunge? band. But they can rock as hard as anyone you could care to mention.
They are quite possibly the most exciting new band in Britain.

Biffy Clyro formed in the mid-?90s between Kilmarnock and Ayr in Scotland ? a sleepy region, almost devoid of any meaningful music scene. Simon Neil was 15, and had spent his early teens listening first to Guns N? Roses, then Nirvana, Weezer, Korn (?before they turned into dicks?) and anything else he could get his hands on. He got together with schoolmate Ben Johnston and an Oasis fan called Barry and the threesome began cranking out a mixture of covers and simple, noisy tunes of their own ? calling themselves Screwfish. But Barry?s indie sensibilities soon led to his departure from the group, and the remaining two recruited Ben?s laid-back twin brother James to handle the four string duties.
?At that point we probably sounded like every other band who?d ever heard Nirvana,? admits Simon. ?We were just discovering distortion pedals really. Then we went slightly more punky for a bit. I guess it takes a while to work out exactly what you want to do. At the start you just want to sound like your favourite bands but after a while you realise, maybe you could become your favourite band?

After a passable first gig supporting local favourites Pink Cross at a youth centre, it soon began to develop into something more serious. The trio moved to Glasgow in 1997, where Ben and James went to college, and Simon went to university, but only so that they didn?t have to get proper jobs and could carry on developing their band. The brothers studied audio engineering, while Simon enrolled for electronics with music. As time passed, they discovered more and more of the underground American rock scene, and bands like Far, The Red House Painters, Mineral and post-hardcore legends Fugazi began to inform their sound.
?The more complex styles gradually came through,? says Simon. ?As your tastes change and you discover bands like Fugazi, you realise that you can do crazy stuff and still make it sound bloody excellent. Also, when you watch bands like Fugazi, it?s totally inspiring. They?re in their 40s now and they still play like it?s their first gig ever, or their last gig ever. It?s the greatest thing.?

The band were spotted by the man who would become their manager, Dee Bahl, who offered them the chance to put out an independent single (?Iname?). This eventually led to them linking up with the Electric Honey label and recording a limited edition EP, brilliantly titled ?thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow?. Biffy Clyro were now regularly gigging alongside such Scottish indie-rock notables as their good friends Aereogramme, Lapsus Linguae and Stapleton, so by the time they caught the eye of Beggar?s Banquet in the unsigned bands tent at T In The Park 2000, they were a formidable live unit. Combining moments of extreme aggression, with achingly tender guitar pickings and passionately lovelorn lyricism (borne out of a broken heart Simon suffered in his teens), they had begun to sound very, very special indeed. Add to this the fact that all three were now singing lead vocals and you have a truly unique act.

?The singing thing basically came out of when we were a covers band,? says drummer Ben. ?There were some tunes that Simon?s voice couldn?t reach so we?d share the vocal parts out. And when it came to writing tunes it felt right to continue that. I actually find playing drums and singing easier than playing guitar and singing ? it just comes really natural. It makes us more of a band rather than a frontman and rhythm section, which is great.?

So, having inked a deal with Beggar?s Banquet, Biffy Clyro began the task of upping their profile outside of Scotland, with support slots alongside the likes of Sunna and The Llama Farmers. They also started recording tracks with Paul Corkett (Placebo, Nick Cave, Six By Seven) and having them mixed by Chris Sheldon (Feeder, Foo Fioghters, Idlewild), however none of the band are entirely comfortable with the concept of single releases.

?It?s horrible,? declares bassist James. ?The album is a piece of work as a whole ? it?s not about tracks in a random order or something. I don?t buy singles at all ? I don?t think they?re about the music ? it?s just a marketing tool. It?s about figures and posters and crazy things like that, and that?s something I find pretty difficult. But it?s a sad fact that as a new band you have to play the game a little bit just to get yourself into a workable situation.?

To soothe their unease with the machinery of the music industry, Biffy Clyro vowed that their singles should always include quality B-sides, and so their first releases on Beggar?s - the bruising ?27? (Single Of The Week in Kerrang!) and the tender, emotional ?Justboy? were more like EPs, with the extra tracks being almost as important as the single itself. But still, it is the debut album ?Blackened Sky? ? a majestic, powerful, almost spiritual labour of love ? that will reveal the true face of Biffy Clyro. It is an album of light and shade, packed with tense and release dynamics and a masterful grasp of melody that is quite jaw-dropping, especially for such a young band. It sounds quite unlike anyone else, and it deserves to make these three affable Scots very famous indeed. But, typically, becoming celebrities is not a priority for the band.

?I don?t want to start thinking about where we want to go too much,? shrugs James. ?I?m quite happy to let it go where it wants to. I just want to keep playing shows ? I find people exciting, and our gigs are all about the connection between band and audience. That?s the stuff I love.?

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