Question Time with The Glitterati

I first saw The Glitterati back in 2004 when they opened for The Wildhearts and Therapy?, it was a hell of a show. No one knew who they were but the band played like they were headlining a stadium and you cant fault that! The bands self-titled debut album on Atlantic records was released the year after, with a top 40 single and a huge headlining tour of the UK along with some festival appearances (including Download) followed, then things went very quiet in The Glitterati camp.

Lets cut to 2010 and The Glitterati are back and better than ever with a new line-up, a long-awaited brilliant new album ‘Are You One Of Us?’ on DR2 records. First video ‘Overnight Superstar’ is out now. We caught up with singer Paul Gautrey to tell you all about whats happening with the band right now.

How did you get started?
We started out in Leeds, we all decided to move to London, five of us living in a two bedroom house.
Luckily before long we started getting attention from various labels, it all happened really quickly, which was lucky as we wouldn’t have been able to afford living in London for much longer. We released our first single “Do you love yourself?” on Alan Magees Poptones label, that did really well, and we ended up signing to Atlantic Records, the label that released our first album.


What have you got going on at the moment?
We are on a new label now, Global Music/DR2 Records. We have just released our second album, the reviews have been great and now we are just waiting to confirm tour dates for the UK and Europe. I think the plan is to start touring from September.
 

Favourite music and why? 
Well the music that really influenced me to want to be in a band are bands like Guns n Roses, New York Dolls, The Wildhearts. But the music I listen to most is 50s rock n roll, I love Chuck Berry, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, things like that.


Favourite book and why?
I only really read autobiographies, I don’t really have a favourite but I like reading about my heroes.
 

Favourite film and why?
I could lie and say some cool art house film but without doubt my favourite films of all time are Rocky 1-4 (haha). 5 is rubbish and the Rocky Balboa one is ok, if I had to pick a favourite it would be Rocky 3.
 

Best experience in the business?
We have had so many. I’ve met a lot of my heroes and been all over the world, and those are the best memories.


Why should Soundscape readers care?
I think we are a bit different from what’s out there.we aren’t metal,we aren’t indie, we play modern rock music but with classic rock influences and most importantly we can back it up with great songs.
 

Tell our readers an interesting fact about the band?
Hmm, Gaff our rhythm guitarist has been in Hollyoaks and a Persil washing powder advert alongside Michael Owen. So find that on youtube and see if you can spot him, although he was about 10 at the time, I’m sure he hasn’t changed!
 

Best thing about playing in Wales?
We love playing in Wales! The Cardiff Barfly was like our second home when we started out, we always seemed to play there. Wales is also home to the Hard Rock Hell festival which we did last year and it was great. Hopefully we can play again this year.


Hardest thing about the current business?
It’s tough for a band playing rock music in the UK at the moment. The labels don’t have the money to throw around anymore, and the mainstream media isn’t supportive at all towards rock music. There isn’t a lot of money to be made, but there are ways to survive and surviving in this industry is a pretty big achievement in itself.

You have to love any band whose singer’s favourite film is Rocky 3, right? Head over to 
www.myspace.com/theglitterati where you can check the band out (tell them Soundscape Magazine sent you), and you can pick the new album up from iTunes and other retailers, and I really urge you to do so, it’s a great album full of quality tunes.