KiD BRiTiSH: the future of ska?

Muso’s Guide: Tonight sees the band support legends The Specials on their 30th Anniversary Reunion Tour; what has it meant to be able to support them?

James: It’s been brilliant, really good. We actually hadn’t heard their music that much until people started to compare us to them but then we checked them out and they’re a band that have lasted.

MG: How do you think an audience that is here for a predominantly ska band has reacted to your music?

Adio: I think we’ve been going down pretty well, hopefully. I think it helps that this wasn’t the type of support slot that you could ring around for or anything, The Specials asked us personally. So maybe their fans are more ready to give us a chance in that sense.

MG: Speaking to the band themselves today, they have expressed a real appreciation and interest in your music so how does such praise make you feel?

James: Well, that’s amazing really. Lynval said that we were the future for that type of music so I guess there’s no higher praise than that, really.

MG: Where did the name Kid British come from?

Adio: We were originally doing gigs under the name of Kid British & The Manky Movement. Sean was producing as Kid British so when we got together, you know, promoters were advertising as just ‘Kid British’ because to have the full name was too long. So eventually we decided just to shorten it to Kid British, you know, its catchy.

MG: We like it, very original! Of late there has been a fair gap between there being a band on the scene playing music with reggae and ska influences - maybe the last band before yourselves was the likes of The Ordinary Boys - do you think the time is right for a band with such a style to break through?

James: Well, it’s difficult with the industry the way that it is at the minute you know. It’s not as if we’ve set out to try and recreate any particular sound, each of us bring in our influences and the result of that is the sound of Kid British.

Adio: Yeah, I think it’s really important that you stay true to the music that you believe in. All of the music riding the charts at the minute is electro, electro is pop right now and we could make a record like that but it wouldn’t be natural.

MG: Your debut album, ‘It Was This Or Football’ is due to be out next month – how excited are you for its release?

Adio: Yeah that’s right; it should be out very shortly. Definitely by early July, anyway. We just hope that it does well and that we can build from there. We’ve got loads of new material that we’re waiting to work with so we’re just hoping that this first one goes well and then we can bring out our new stuff.

MG: Where did the album title come from? And following on from that, which teams do you support?
James: We all used to go to school together and that’s just how it was for us growing up really, you were either interested in playing football or you wanted to do what we’re doing – being musicians. There’s 3 Reds and 1 Blue within Kid British [laughs].

Adio: Yeah, I’m a City fan.

MG: Well done for staying true to your team, it can’t be easy with the rest of the band all following United.

Adio: I thought you were going to say you were a City fan then and we could have ganged up on James. [laughs].

MG: I’m actually a Middlesbrough fan but I think the less said about that the better [laughs]. Recently you were on tour with The Enemy, how was that and they did give you any good advice on the industry, et cetera?

James: They didn’t give us any specific advice or anything. After the first gig we just went into the dressing room and a chat with them and they were good guys. We just had a chat about loads of things. I think the best form of advice for us was just watching them, how they went about things – it was important to watch them as they’ve been around a while now you know.

Adio: Yeah, we were all into them beforehand so to be going on tour with them was a big thing. The Enemy and The Specials in 3 months, it’s been wicked.

MG: Where is the strangest place you’ve been where you’ve heard your music or someone talking about Kid British?

James: That’s a good question. It happens at different times I think. It’s not really happened to me but I’ve had friends shopping in places like River Island and our songs have been on in there. Or people texting me to say one of our videos is playing on the big screen in the Trafford Centre. To have that kinda thing going on, especially in our hometown of Manchester has been great.

MG: Finally then, the songs that you boys have if you were to play a Kid British showcase gig where you could only play 3 songs to show what the band were all about, which would they be and why?
Adio: I think ‘Lost In London’ is definitely one for me. Then I’d probably go for ‘Rum Boys’ which is going to be on our album.

James: Yeah I’d agree with that I suppose but the main one for me would be the song that we use to close the set at each gig we play, ‘Let’s Have A Party’. By then the crowd has really warmed up and everyone’s getting into it so we love playing that one.

Kid British’s debut album, ‘It Was This Or Football’, is scheduled for release through Mercury Records on June 29th 2009.

You can also catch them on their headline tour this month and into June, for more info on the dates – visit http://www.iamkidbritish.com