In the five years since last LP ‘Howdy!’ things have changed for TFC. The band’s deal with Sony/Columbia expired following the release of 2003’s best of compilation (2003’s ‘Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Six Seconds – A Rough Guide To Teenage Fanclub’) and the new LP is their first release on their own label PeMa. And what’s more, ‘Man-Made’ was produced by post-rock veteran John McEntire (Tortoise, The Sea And Cake).
So who better than stormin’ Norman to give us the lowdown from the frontline…
Why were there five years between ‘Howdy!’ and the new album?
“We did the compilation, which was a great way for us to bring to Sony deal to an end. We were down in the studio making ‘Howdy!’ And Alan McGee came and told us he was ending the label. He told us to finish the record and Sony would pick it up or we’d get paid off.
But Sony picked up the option for the two remaining records – they did the same with Primal Scream and Super Furry Animals as well. And you know, it did OK, but we were well down their list of priorities at the label and it kind of got lost. I don’t think they’re really structured to work with a band like us. We spoke to the MD and came to an arrangement that we would do a compilation, which was great ‘cos it meant we didn’t have to give them many new songs (there were three on the compilation). It was great for them so it meant they wouldn’t have to give us lots of money to make a new record. But we spent a lot of time and effort getting the artwork right. We had a battle with them about that too.
That brought us to the end of that, but because we wanted to do the compilation properly, we spent a good year on it. Then we toured that record, so before you know it there’s another two years gone!
We did the record with Jad Fair (2002’s ‘Words Of Wisdom And Hope’). That album was released on Alternative Tentacles! We were in San Francisco and Jello Biafra came to see us! We met Jello! I thought it was fantastic 'cos I was really into The Dead Kennedys when I was younger and he was a brilliant guy. I just thought it was brilliant that this Glaswegian pop band ends up on Alternative Tentacles.
We toured the Jad record and that took up more time. We done some bits and pieces here and there, tried to keep our hand in. And we’ve been planning the label for a bit.”
So why go it alone? Can you explain how it happened?
“We nearly went with Domino, but to be fair to them, they did say to us ‘You can do it yourselves’. That was decent of them. It took us a bit of time to set up, getting a distributor and all the other things you have to sort out. We can now release what we want whenever we want. We’ve got a few things coming up, for example, at the live shows we’ve got a 7” single we’re gonna be selling, tracks we did with Jad Fair. Daniel Johnston’s going to do the artwork. We’ve got the freedom to do that, and we’re going to exploit that. We’re gonna do things like that, limited stuff which we can sell at gigs and on our website.”
And how does it differ from having to answer to a label?
“It’s a bit more exciting, getting back to what making records is about. We’ve built up different friendships over the years, which has helped us. It’s nice to be working with old friends. We’re back to where we started, we’ve got the control that it’s so difficult for bands to have nowadays. We’re much much happier. It becomes a bit soul destroying. You become product, there’s no art. That had gone for us for a period of time. “
So what does owning your own label entail then?
“Raymond (McGinley, lead guitarist/singer)’s been filling in forms for different collection agencies, generating bar codes, weird things that you have to do. We did a press trip last week, and we’re on the budget. We did the Ryanair’s all over Europe. I even had a hotel room that didn’t have any windows! Wasn’t far from being a prison cell. But we’re much more comfortable doing it like that anyway. With the first record Raymond sold a fridge and a washing machine his neighbour had left him, and we made ‘A Catholic Education’ from that. When we first went America we were skint, didn’t have any money. Drove around in a stolen car with false number plates and a hole in the floor. Totally busking it. We don’t have the stolen car anymore. But we’re getting things done.”
Any plans to release records by other acts?
“We’re fucking with someone else’s life if we get it wrong, so we’re aware of that. So we’ll experiment on ourselves first. Once we know the ropes, it’s something we’ll consider. Maybe not on a large scale, but a 7” or something. Hopefully we can get Franz Ferdinand to do it, sell a million, and that will set us up!”
Speaking of Franz Ferdinand, how do you feel about their massive success?
“I’m very happy for them. It’s about time. It’s been building up in Glasgow for about 10 years, it’s the culmination of a lot of work, from the likes of Belle & Sebastian, The Pastels, Mogwai, it’s really good that there’s a music community. People are pretty confident there. People abroad are very reverential about Glasgow. It’s kind of exotic for an American, this quaint little place.”
Onto the new album then - why record with John McEntire?
“We’d liked what John had done on the Stereolab records, so we got in touch with him. He was up for it, and suggested we come to Chicago. He did us a great deal on the studio, and put us up in really nice B&B round the corner. So we could afford to do it. When he was mixing things he would be pulling things out rather than putting stuff in. We just left him to it, generally we liked all the ones he did. It was a really easy process.
We hardly took any equipment, just some guitars and a pair of drumsticks. We even borrowed a guitar from Jeff Tweedy. We know him from way back, when we played shows with Uncle Tupelo. I’m glad we did, otherwise we’d have been fucked. We’d have had to buy one! Chicago’s a great place.
We wanted to concentrate more on the performances. We recorded it all in 5 weeks. We went back in the summer and mixed it, while Euro 2004 was on. Seven weeks, recorded and mixed.”
What are your plans for the future?
“Touring, as much as we can. We want to go to places we haven’t been before. Then we’ll just see what happens. Once we pay the studios and our tax bill we can make another record – either that or we’ll be going to jail for tax evasion! Either of those scenarios could happen. As long as we feel like we’ve got something to contribute then we’ll do it. But people still seem to be interested. We’ve never really looked further than six months ahead. We’d rather just keep doing that. Although we’d like to do a B-sides/rarities collection at some point.”
How do feel about all the goodwill you’ve received?
“It’s great that people say they like what we’ve done and that we’ve influenced them. I think people would raise their fists for us!”
By Alan Woodhouse
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london
sorry, it's been 5 years, they make thee effort to work with a studio maverick and guess what? they make the same record again, only this time bereft of tunes. What is there to applaud here? Am I seriously the only one who thinks this band are overated in the extreme? Put them up against genuine power pop heroes like the Velvet Crush and the Posies and they'd be eaten for breakfast.
Berkshire
Teenage Fanclub have consistently produced great pop records which have consistently been undervalued by almost everyone. They've struggled to get any rating , let alone had the fortune to be overated. The charts should have been beaten to a pulp with the amount of killer hits that this band have penned.
London
Why do bands like this get all the glory? Lets face it, they've had their moment, and it was a good one, but now they've lost it. And i don't just mean the record deal.
All respect to them, but how about letting the new wave of power/guitar pop types in with a chance? Hal, 28 Costumes, Farrah and many many more genuinely talented independent label bands are doing there own thing and have largly been overlooked by mainstream press such as Uncut. They go unnoticed because lazy journalists take the easy option and cover what monied up PR companies tell them to.
The music press is filled with name-check articles such as this or major label flavour-of-the-month haircut bands.
Yes, strictly speaking the Fannies are indie and "credible", but are they any good any more?
Please, try covering (or even discovering) contemporary talent and give the arse kissing a miss. It's not about the money.
I don't know. Finally Teenage Fanclub get a bit of recognition and they are labelled overrated!
TFC are one of the most consistant British bands of the last 20 years, all their albums are great. The fact that they are still around making great music is something to treasure. Can you honestly see the likes of Snow Patrol or The Killers releasing great records in 17 years?
I saw them live recently and it was the best I've seen them. Fantastic! All you moaners deserve the likes of The Bravery and Keane.
Norman is right. There's a buzz about Glasgow. You should have been at the Tsunami gig. Alright it was a bit rough around the edges but even Texas sounded good that night.
So what'ye think of Man Made then? Superb! A couple of duffers on it but the rest more than make up for it.
There are loads of bands that can rattle out 3 minute rock tunes like these guys can - including the fomulaic Franz Ferdinand. But most of them are empty. Man Made is a beautiful piece of work. I have bought only half a dozen albums in the last year because there have only been a few albums worth buying. The Trashcan Sinatras "Weightlifting", JJ Gilmour "Sunnyside PAL" are two of the best. But Man Made is simply a classic album. Well done guys!
Jimbo
MADRID
I cannot believe that anyone can say TFC are overated. They have been one of the best and most influential power-pop bands of the ninenties. Besides, I think their new record is their best work since maybe Bandwagonesque.
I am from Spain, were there is a big fan base for power-pop, and Teenage Fanclub has always been one of the top bands of the genre. I would say The Posies and Teenage Fanclub are the best examples of power pop in the last decade. Velvet Crush put out some great records, but long ago they began losing inspiration and his latests records aren't very good.
And of course there are very good bands out there that they are not getting any recognition, like Farrah, Ricky...but that doesn't mean TFC don't deserve it.
Utrecht
Teenage Fanclub "had their moment"? What are you on about? I did not know that there were criteria for having your moment or not. This is a band that still makes Great Pop Songs. There is no restricted period for that, they just do it and this is what pop music is all about. I don't see too many bands doing that nowadays, and I am not even an old fart.
