Editors - Manchester, UK - Winter 2005
By: Hannah Bayfield
Meeting in the Back Room
Just don't call them Joy Division.
Over the past twelve months, Birmingham's Editors have been slowly but, very surely, causing some called-for hysteria. The four-piece (who met at Stafford University before relocating to Brum) have been plagued with comparisons to '80s luminaries - the Bunnymen and JD - but their intense, brimming and harmonic clatter has earned them a bastion of alleged 'doom 'n' gloom' followers, around 2,000 of whom will be present tonight.
'I can't believe here's sold out. It's mind-blowing, really - playing the Night and Day a couple of months ago and then just upgraded to here,' fidgets drummer Ed excitedly.
So, you're not at all nervous?
'It's a little bit nerve-wracking, obviously, but I just can't wait to get on. It's that kind of room where, if it's full, it's going to be incredible.'
So it would appear, so far, that Editors are wont to this, seeing the larger shows as an opportunity to reach more and more people; much like the re-release of first single, 'Bullets'. When it was put out in January, the 500 copies were sold in just two days.
'When we first put it out, it was always regarded as the most poppy song we had and so I think we made a conscious decision to re-record it. We were happy with the album version, but we didn't think it really filled its full potential, so we had a little bit of a rework and we're really pleased with the results.'
He becomes self-conscious at the commercial politics of such a decision. 'I know it's a re-release... but I think it's changed substantially.'
So you're aware that it would be one of the most popular tracks then?
'We were quite conscious that it'd be radio-friendly. But hopefully not in a James Blunt kind of way.'
No danger there (otherwise we wouldn't be here); 'Bullets' is a stirring and intensely powerful song that perfectly showcases their stand. And so on to that sound: although the '80s comparisons are inevitable, it turns out that they are completely unintentional.
(In fact, the band's biggest influences are REM and Manchester's very own Elbow.)
'Tom (Smith, Editors vocalist)'s favourite album is REM's 'Murmur', so they were his favourite band whilst growing up and I think they've always maintained a certain cool vibe about everything they've released. They haven't sold out at all, so they're big influences not just in songwriting, but the way they've protected themselves as musicians and as a band.'
And Elbow?
'We are huge fans of (Elbow) and we all agree, they're the only band we all have the same opinion of; everybody likes them to that great extent. I'm pretty sure Guy (Garvey, of Elbow) will be along tonight, poke his little face in. We've become really good friends with them after that, so it's been a fantastic opportunity. We were all quite star-struck.'
So although the collective appear to be racking up column-inches (an absolutely musically-unrelated romance with Smith and Edith Bowman doesn't deprive the lazy press hounds), they're still pretty grounded; still excited by opportunity and savouring every second. Ed feels that this unpretentious view of themselves comes partly from being based in Birmingham; although not a city famed for its musical prowess, Ed believes this has assisted them along the way.
'I think, in a way, that helped us when we were playing and getting a batch of songs together for the album. We weren't in any scene and I think that really let us test things out and hone our sound. It just set us apart geographically from everywhere else, which meant that A&R people had to make the effort to come and see us rather than just turning up on the off-chance one night and not really in the right frame of mind to listen to us.'
Listen they did, and how could one not when the results assembled debut album 'The Back Room', where it at once becomes more apparent that Editors are not just 'gloomsters' (of course, neither Ed nor I were speaking of any particular pigeon-holing publication here), but talented, solvent creatives that can create atmospheric and yet optimistic, beautiful music. Somewhat surprisingly, like Franz before them, they too want to get people moving.
'Musically, obviously, there's some quite atmospheric stuff going on, but it's quite lively; a lot of the songs are upbeat and, I'd like to say, danceable. I've always thought we're not a terribly moody, moody band.'
Certainly not moody in person, as Ed goes on to enthuse about recent supports for this tour ('We did a few dates with We Are Scientists back on the 'Munich' tour and they're just such a laugh, incredible guys. They're so quick witted, it's untrue. And The Cinematics, too; played a couple of shows with them and really enjoyed their stuff, a great bunch of guys.') and meteorology ('Why is it always raining in Manchester?').
It may be tipping it outside, but in Editors' world, there's still plenty of warmth. Their goal is one we can all be seduced towards - to make you feel something special, the way Ed feels about bands such as Radiohead.
'I remember I was driving to a party late at night and I was on my own in the car, and I had 'OK Computer' on. The rain was hammering down and I was so satisfied. It was incredible, I was so happy, in my little bubble. It couldn't have made me any more joyous. It's that contradiction between it's a sad song, but everything's so perfect in it.'
If it's conjuring a moment of security in a dark place, then Editors are sculpting a befitting enclosure for not just themselves, but the rest of us, too.
Artists in this article: Editors