IT'S A
HIT! Why did you make the ‘All The Hits’ EP, and how did you pick the tracks?
do. Although there lies the problem, because every fucker is writing an album now aren't they – we'll be flooded. We were allowed a break, but now we're ready to push forwards again. I spent most of our time off writing in a tiny pink room anyway – 'the womb', I call it." He laughs at our visible confusion, explaining: "I used to live in a nursing home in Peckham, one of those guardianship things where you get cheap rent for living in condemned buildings, basically. I wasn't there legally..." Forbes laughs. "You've got to print that, it's very punk rock, people will love it." "I was told if I could build myself a room I could live there," Steen continues. "So I made this bedroom out of this tiny closet and painted the walls and ceiling pink. I was in my mum's stomach for ten months, so I called it 'the womb'. I've been evicted from the womb now actually, but that's where I wrote most of this album."
50. DORK
Talk of writing the album turns to their hopes when it finally sees the light of day. While 'Songs of Praise' received acclaim across the board, it only tickled the Top 40, peaking at No.32. "At the time, getting a Top 40 was a massive deal," says Steen. "We were told throughout the campaign that to get into the Top 40 would be great, but that was before any of the other bands that we were mates with released a record. Since then the playing field has changed completely, and now it isn't 'can you get into the Top 40', it's 'can you get into the Top 5'. That's the reality of the situation, which might be a bit intimidating, but it's a great thing to have, and it's great to see the audience for this kind of music opening up. "Having said that, you spend all this time worrying about chart positions, and then you look and realise that 'Rumours' by Fleetwood Mac is still in the Top 20 or whatever. It's like, 'oh for fuck's sake', you know?"
"I DON'T THINK I MEANT FOR THE ALBUM TO BE FUNNY, BUT I KEEP HEARING THAT FROM PEOPLE..." CHARLIE STEEN
What Shame are too modest to say is that they blazed a trail for more than a few of those Top 5 albums,
and it could be argued that the expanding audience for punk and post-punk influenced bands in the UK
Forbes: “The 'All The Hits' EP was a fun time. We made it because we got Rough Trade’s Album of the Year, so it went out as a bonus to subscribers there, and we sold it on tour too.” Steen: “Me and Sean were best mates growing up, and the film soundtrack that ‘Big Rock Candy Mountain’ was on just constantly played in our houses, so that was us paying tribute to that really. “‘Feliz Navidad’ I have no idea about, but I think it was probably the most fun we've ever had in the studio, we loved it. “‘Where's Bill Grundy Now’ was... when we started at the Queen's Head, Television Personalities were one of those bands that were, for me and Josh at least, quite important in showing this other, lo-fi side to music. The lyrics really capture something, the humour that they had in their music, and I think Josh just loved their vibe.”
started with the release of their debut. Steen shrugs at the possibility. "There are bands other than us doing this stuff, and they're succeeding on their own merits," he says. "Like IDLES," Forbes offers as an example. "Obviously we're very different bands, but they've got balls to go for it and commit to being a band. When we say we quit jobs to be in a band we mean working in pubs, they were dentists and shit like that. It takes a lot of guts to quit a job you spent years training for to tour tiny venues and hope you can make a living at it." "It's not like we're all in competition, either," adds Steen. "Fontaines are doing really well, but we're good