The last time Friendly Fires came to Liverpool resulted in a blood bath at Korova. This time round, they’ve Glasvegas, Florence & The Machine and White Lies joining them on the Shockwaves NME Award Tour – Vicky Anderson says bring on the carnage.
EVERYONE loves Friendly Fires, from trendy radio stations to the South Bank Show, which recently nominated the dance-rock band for its breakthrough arts award.
Their self-titled debut album was one of the critical hits of 2008 – and the band can’t wait to get more music out there.
Ahead of their latest tour starting in Liverpool tomorrow (THURS) – the Shockwaves NME Awards tour on which they share a bill with Glasvegas, White Lies and Florence and the Machine – the St Albans trio have holed themselves up in an impromptu garage studio in Devon.
“We’ve been touring quite a lot so we’ve been desperate to get back into the studio,” frontman Ed McFarlane said.
“Ideally we’d like to release a little EP between our next album and have it ready for summer.
“We’ve had some ideas floating around and we wanted to do something with them rather than wait til the end of the tour.”
Friendly Fires signed up for the NME tour – that has previously sealed the UK reputations of acts including Coldplay and the Killers – because of their ambition to take things to the “next level”.
“We wanted to play bigger venues. We love playing to big crowds,” Ed says.
“We feel like we’re done playing smaller clubs. I love the buzz and the crowd response when you’ve 1,000 people watching.”
As for the company (disappointingly, the bands are likely to meet at venues separately rather than travel in a debauched, rock ‘n’ roll convoy), Friendly Fires have crossed paths with the other acts on the bill and are interested to see what the mix up will bring.
” I’m looking forward to seeing their live shows and what they’ve got up their sleeves,” Ed says.
“I’m intrigued to hear what they have to offer.”
Friendly Fires have been a favourite for their Liverpool club dates in the past and the band say they’re keen to come back.
“We’ve always had a great response in Liverpool,” Ed adds.
“The last show we did at Korova, someone smashed his head on the stage and bled everywhere.
“It wasn’t great for him, obviously, but it’s good to see a bit of enthusiasm…”
The Shockwaves NME Awards tour stops at Liverpool University’s Mountford Hall tomorrow night. For tickets and information contact the box office on 0151 256 5555.
* We’ve three pairs of tickets to give away for Thursday’s show.
To be in with a chance answer the following question: What number did Friendly Fires come in at in the Getintothis end of year Top 100?
Email your answer along with a daytime contact number to [email protected] before 3pm Thursday.
Entrants must be available to collect tickets from The Liverpool Daily Post & ECHO Building front desk reception on Thursday January 29.
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