26 | October 30, 2014 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News

Surly on thephone butabsolutelyelectric live, ELLAWALKER talksto vocalist andbassist Mike Kerron being one halfof the biggestrock band of theyear

Editor:Ella Walkeremail:ella.walker@cambridge-news.co.uk

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THE HEADLINER: MUSIC

the critical listThis week’s entertainment highlights

Royal Blood:

HOT TICKETS WHAT’S ONWHAT’S ON HOT TICKETSCambridge Junction, Saturday,November 8 at 7pm. SOLD OUT.

“I would like Jesus to come to oneof our shows. I think he’d be into it.”

Cambridge News | cambridge-news.co.uk | October 30, 2014 | 27

THE HEADLINER: MUSIC

IT’S usually a total joy to get aninterviewee who has entirelybypassed the whole media training

spiel. Usually.Royal Blood’s Mike Kerr is

something of an exception to thatrule.

Turns out he’s rather a fan ofmaking sarcastic statements inbemused inverted air commas (eg“yeah, it’s been a mad rollercoasterwithout a seatbelt . . .”). It’s hard toappreciate late on a wet Thursdaynight, but, you could argue, this two-piece rock band formed in Brightonin 2013 does nothing but break therules. So really, why expect anythingless?

Things first kicked off for the duo atGlastonbury last summer, when ArcticMonkeys drummer Matt Heldersloped on stage wearing a Royal BloodT-shirt for their Friday night headlineslot. Frontman Alex Turner’s spanglyblazer, new American twang andKenickie quiff might have drawnheadlines, but it was Helders’ tee thatreally started something.

Earlier that year Kerr had arrived

back in England after living inAustralia for a stretch, to be pickedup by childhood mate Ben Thatcher.He already had a few ideas knockingaround in his brain, bass notes, riffsand the like, so on seeing Ben – adrummer who got his first proper kitaged 6 after whacking at pots andpans almost since birth – he thought,why not go for it? They did, just thetwo of them, with Thatcher doingwhat he does best, and Kerr addingvocals to his bass playing skills. Theirfirst gig went ahead in Brightonand was mainly populated by theirfriends, who enjoyed it so much,Thatcher and Kerr promptly vanishedto go write some more stuff.

On their return, beardier andwearing new leather jackets, thatstuff, thanks in part to that fêted tee,started getting played on the radio. Itwas only ever meant to be a hobby.

Then came the fans, shedloadsof them. People are obsessed withRoyal Blood’s brand of introspectivelyrics layered over thrumming bassand the thrash of drums (“I haveno idea why. I almost don’t wanna

know why,”). They crunch throughthe loud, punchy likes of BetterStrangers and Figure It Out, and eventhe jauntier Two Tonne Skeleton, andwithout a guitar (there are no plans torecruit one, Kerr’s basslines often getsynth treatment that render a wholeguitarist pointless), which hasn’tprevented comparisons with Muse,Queens of the Stone Age and LedZeppelin. These boys make enoughnoise on their own.

Despite such serious rockcredentials, in previous interviewsthey’ve actually admitted to growingup on not-so rock records, like popanthems by the Spice Girls andBackstreet Boys (Kerr), and the glamsynthesis of Goldfrapp (Thatcher),but it definitely hasn’t done them anyharm.

In fact their debut self-titled albumsold 66,000 copies in its first weekback in July making it the best-sellingrock debut since Noel Gallagher’sHigh Flying Birds (and he relied on alot of old Oasis fans for those sales).Even so, Royal Blood hadn’t reallystarted playing their own headline

gigs until February of this year, andnow they’re facing down a stringof sold out shows, including atCambridge Junction.

When we speak, the unsmileypair are holed up in Winnipeg,Canada, having just finished touringin America. An “awesome” and verysuccessful stint that culminated in alate night visit to the white clapboardhouse from the movie Mrs Doubtfire,with Metallica’s legendary drummer,Lars Ulrich. Yes, seriously, theyinstagrammed it and everything. Thecaption deadpanned: “Tonight took aturn. Lars @Metallica took us to MrsDoubtfires house.” (sic)

“That did happen yeah,” Kerradmits nonchalantly. “Lars Ulrichcame to our show, popped his headinto the dressing room and yeah, hegave us a tour of San Francisco. It waspretty amazing. Not many people cansay that Lars Ulrich took them to MrsDoubtfire’s house.”

Amazing is something of anunderstatement, but recently they’vebeen growing rather used to theirheroes dropping by their shows.

“Lars Ulrich came toour show, poppedhis head into thedressing roomand yeah, he gaveus a tour of SanFrancisco. It waspretty amazing”

FUN FACT: Mike Kerr, pictured right,used to be a chef‘I don’t really get time to be marinatingthings now, put it that way, but when themood strikes and the circumstances arecorrect I might get my cook on. But itdoesn’t happen as often as I’d like.’

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THE HEADLINER: MUSIC

Aside from Arctic Monkeys, Muse,Rage Against The Machine’s TomMorello, Haim’s Alana and Pixies,who they’ve been supportingrecently, are all fans. As is SimonPegg, according to Twitter, but he’snot quite so Rock & Roll Hall of Fameworthy . . .

Do they ever get star struck? Kerrpauses, before deciding: “Umm, no,they’re just regular people. No, nottoo much.”

But it must be pretty incredible – ordaunting at least – to have these kindsof musicians, from internationallyadored bands, turning up to watchyou play, I persist. “It is great youknow, they’re not just any old people,are they?” Kerr drawls. “They’rehuge influences on us, so yeah, tohave them at the show is a bit of amindf***.”

For a guy who underplays mostthings though, his ultimate choice –if he could have anyone screamingand sweaty right down at the frontduring a show – is a tad ambitious.

“I would like Jesus to come to one ofthe shows,” he says. “Yeah, that’d begreat. I think he’d be into it.

“I’m waiting around for him tocome, like a lot of people are.”

The band has been nominated forthis year’s prestigious Mercury MusicPrize and are hoping to follow in thefootsteps of previous winners JamesBlake, alt-J, Arctic Monkeys and Thexx. They’re battling it out with thelikes of Cambridge boy Nick Mulvey,Jungle, Bombay Bicycle Club andDamon Albarn, but two weeks ago,when our chat took place, RoyalBlood were tipped to claim the title.At the time Kerr wasn’t quite surewhat that meant to him. “We’re oddson favourites to win?” he muses. “Ican’t really feel that. I don’t know, Imean, what does it mean for you?”

To be honest, I reply, I don’t know.I haven’t been nominated for theMercury Prize.

“It’s just great to be recognisedin that light I guess,” he says, histone vaguely bored. “So yeah, good

feelings.” Surely it was excitingwhen you got the call saying youwere nominated? “Yeah, I don’tremember.” Not a life changingmoment then? “Well, of course, butwe’re always busy, always doingsomething. I’m constantly in andout of time zones you see,” he says,vaguely remembering that they had adrink “or three” to celebrate, whichpresumably they’d repeat if they didwin (fingers crossed: the winner wasannounced last night, just after theNews went to press).

“Things like this seem to happena lot,” Kerr says, not bragging, juststating a fact.

While from the outside it mightappear the band’s fortunes havechanged dramatically in a veryshort space of time, on the inside,away from the media hype, it’sfelt “spectacular” but far lessstratospheric. “It’s grown organically,but that doesn’t mean to say it hasn’tbeen fast,” Kerr admits. “I like tothink that when people come and

watch us live, we remove that hypeelement, because I don’t really knowwhat hype is. It’s a weird one; it’s notreally worth anything, to be ‘hyped’about.”

He adds: “It’s like being excitedabout a film you haven’t seen yet.You have to go and watch it and seewhat it’s all about.”

On tour, despite things beingintense with the travel, the endlessvenues, the lights and the drama, Kerrsays he and Thatcher are a “happycamp”, mostly because they recentlygot a proper tour bus which meansbeing able to write on the roadproperly. “[It’s] a blessing because itmeans you can play guitar while yougo without hitting someone in theface accidentally because they’re inthe seat next to you.”

Which is excellent news seeing astheir foreseeable futures are boundup in touring the world, duringwhich, Kerr puts it succinctly: “Themayhem will continue.”

Oh, it certainly will.

“It’s a blessing[having a tourbus] because itmeans you can playguitar while yougo without hittingsomeone in the faceaccidentally becausethey’re in the seatnext to you”

What’s your favourite songto play live?‘Better Strangers is apersonal favourite of mine.I get to do a sweet solo init.’

l Follow Royal Blood on Twitter@royalblooduk and visit theirwebsite at royalbloodband.co.uk.