Pete And The Pirates

Pete And The Pirates today release their new single, Come To The Bar, as a prelude to their Brendan Lynch (Primal Scream, Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene) produced album, One Thousand Pictures - which will be released in May. We Q+A front man Tom Sanders to quiz him about working with Lynch, being championed by Zane Lowe and discover a general ignorance of Monty Python’s Life Of Brian.

Describe your music in five words.
Bricks, hair, fruit, nudity, autumn.

What are the inspirations behind your music?
My songs often appear from nowhere, often at quite inconvenient times. Romantic frustrations often feature. More recently though, lyrics have been more of a train of thought. Kind of abstract, like a series of nice pictures. In the band we are all inspired by each others stuff too, we kind of have an ongoing, unspoken competition of who can write the best new song. It’s me.

Your new album is called One Thousand Pictures – what was the last picture you took? What is the significance behind it?
The latest picture I took was of the back of my head. I was cutting my hair and need to see what the back looked like.

You’ve been working with Brendan Lynch for the new album – how was he to work with?
Working with Brendan was a breath of fresh air. Recording is often viewed as a process of breaking things down and separating them. On the contrary, the approach on One Thousand Pictures was all about capturing the sense of togetherness. We spent the last seven years either in practice rooms or on stages, playing on top of each other and in each other’s pockets. So it’s the most natural thing in the world for us to record that way; that’s where the true energy comes from.

Who else would you like to collaborate with?
Dave Allen did a couple of tracks with us a while back. He did most of The Cure’s best stuff. I’d like to work with him again. He’s an interesting dude. In general I don’t like the idea of collaborating – it scares me. The idea of relinquishing any aspect of control. I need to get over that.

Will you be taking to the festivals this summer?
Oh, I don’t know. We will be in a field somewhere at some point. Hopefully Bestival is one we will be doing. That is a guaranteed hoot.

Come To The Bar was championed by Zane Lowe as “Hottest Record in the World” – how has this praise affected the band?
That kind of praise is very welcome! But the next day some other band have the hottest record in the world. It’s very short lived. There are some texts from friends saying ‘wow!’ Then it’s all over like a sneeze.

Which track would you champion as “Hottest Record in the World”?
Can it be one of our songs?? I’m a little out of touch with current songs. But I love the latest Grinderman song - think its called Palaces of Montezuma.

You have a voice a little like Eric Idle – are you a fan of Monty Python?
I don’t know who that is. I’m sure you’re just poking harmless fun at me though.

Do you always look on the bright side of life?
When you remember to chill the fuck out and stop worrying about things that haven’t even happened then it feels much better.

[Originally published on wonderlandmagazine.com/blog, February 2011.]