Glaswegians have a particular stereotype surrounding them, they are considered loud, energetic and impossible to ignore. Glasgow based band, Prides are reinforcing this characterisation. Headlining festivals, opening the Common Wealth Games and being a favourite of XFM and BBC Radio 1 are just some of the reasons it would be hard to overlook Prides. Stewart Brock (lead singer, piano) spoke to Impact before the band begin their second headline tour.
Impact: You and the band are about to start touring again. Your last tour had lots of sold out dates, how did you feel it went?
Stewart: It was really really good. It was our first headline tour so to be selling dates out we were really chuffed. All the shows went really well, it was busy and people were getting in to it. It was brilliant.
I: Your Glasgow show sold out so quickly.
S: Yeah, the gig sold out within an hour so we had to upgrade the venue and then that sold out within another hour.
I: Has home support always been present since you started?
S: I guess so, yeah, one of the first shows we ever played was in this really small show in Glasgow to like 100 people. It totally sold out, Glasgow has always been good for that local support. They always get behind it.
I: What is Glasgow’s music scene like?
S: I’m not from Glasgow originally, I’m from Stoke. So, going to Glasgow for me was a totally different experience all together. There is so much music in Glasgow, there are so many venues, there is so much going on and there is a really nice atmosphere. Loads of bands support each other and everyone is in it together.
I: Do your other band mates originate from Glasgow? Why do you call it home?
S: Lewis (drums) is from just outside of Glasgow and Callum (guitar, piano, vocals) is from Shetland. We all went to uni in Glasgow and have lived there ever since.
I: Have you ever felt at a disadvantage not being a band from London?
S: No, it has its positives and its negatives I think, there are a lot of people who say it is better to live in London but (living in Glasgow) has always worked for us. There is a great music scene in Glasgow and it’s a great city to be part of. Plus, everything is online and you can jump on a train and get anywhere to watch a gig.
I: Didn’t you play a show in London recently and entered the stage to The Lion King’s ‘Circle of Life’ song?
S: Yes! We kept playing around with what track we should come out to when we come on stage and we just wanted it to be something that everyone knows and can sing along to so, what is better than ‘The Circle of Life?’
I: There is nothing more universal than Disney. How has your latest song ‘Out of the Blue’ been received?
S: It has been amazing so far, it has got playlisted on XFM and Greg James and Zane Lowe have been playing it, so far so good! It is the track that has spread the furthest since we started up as a band. It is also a track that is close to our hearts so it is nice seeing it do well and it is on the Fifa soundtrack!
I: Do you guys all have football clubs that you support?
S: No, we are the least ‘football-y’ band. No football connections at all. We have a few of our tracks on sport related things and it is weird really because we are not sporty. But it kind of lends itself because old friends will call us up and say “We have just heard you on Match of The Day”.
I: It is good brownie points with your mates. A lot of reviews have associated you with ‘eighties synth pop’ do you think that is a fair likening?
S: Yes, I think so, there is definitely a big eighties influence with our music and we are not trying to deny that. The biggest thing is to take them influences and do our own thing with them, we want to put our own spin on things.
Higher Love was released yesterday
I: Do you have any plans for a debut album?
S: We are releasing an album in the first half of this year if everything goes well. We are excited and hopefully people will take to it and be pleased with it.
I: Have you recorded all of the album and finalised it yet?
S: Yes, the way we work is that Lewis produces all our material and we record everything ourselves in Glasgow. We kind of record as we go along, that makes it easier to find studio time because we are always there. We are writing all the time and will probably keep writing new things until the day the album comes out.
I: Last Summer seemed crazy for Prides, you had loads of festival slots and played the opening of the Common Wealth games. Do you have any adventurous ambitions for this Summer?
S: The big thing for us is to hit as many festivals as we can because we had a really good Summer at festivals last year. It would be great to get some sun and play some European festivals, that would be the dream.
I: What has been your highlight of your music career so far?
S: That is tough, we were so lucky last year so many good things have happened. Playing the Common Wealth was a pretty big highlight, it was such a turning point for us to get to stand in front of so many people. But there are so many, headlining Reading and Leeds Festival’s BBC Introducing stage was incredible. There are loads of stuff, playing with Blink 182 at Brixton, I can’t pick one but that’s a sign of a good year.
Prides will be playing Nottingham’s Bodega on 13th Feb. Get your tickets here.
Daisy Foster
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