An Interview with Athlete (2/2) By Steve Rudd

(1/2), (2/2).

Back when you released your debut album, Vehicles and Animals, did any of you conceive in your wildest dreams that you might become as commercially successful and as highly respected as you have? I don't think we ever really thought about it. We've always just tried to enjoy what comes our way. I remember when we first heard ourselves on radio. We were Jo Whiley's 'record of the week' with our first single Westside. At that point I didn't think it could get any better. Since then so much has happened and I still pinch myself all the time to see if this is actually happening.

Who actually first came up with the band name ... and why? It's a boring story; band names are the most difficult thing to come up with. They're all bad. Oasis, Blur, U2, and even The Beatles are all terrible names when you actually think about it. Radiohead and The Sneaker Pimps are the only good names that have ever existed. Although a friend has a kind of Casio Electro Indie-Pop band called Camp America, and that's pretty good!

How have the recent tour dates been going and do you have a favourite UK town or city in which to play? The tour is going great. Having been in the studio for quite a long time it's so good to get out and play live again. I actually think that that we're enjoying playing more than ever. It seems to get louder every night which is great in my book! Glasgow is always our all time favourite city to play, although we didn't do it on this tour because we did it recently, although we did do Aberdeen last night, so that gave us a good helping of the Scottish spirit

Finally, what does the rest of 2008 hold in store for the band and Athlete fans alike? Well were just finishing up our UK tour at the moment, then there's some talk of going to the US. Then we're looking forward to doing some festivals over the summer which should be amazing. We've not done festivals for a couple of years now so I can't wait, especially with so many new festivals happening all over the place.

Also, we were talking last night about maybe doing a Highlands and Islands tour. Loads of Scottish bands seem to do that and I've always loved the idea of it, so why not give it a go? Apparently you find yourself in all sorts of little pub back rooms and village halls. Sounds perfect! For more info, please visit www.athlete.mu

People - Interview with Outspoken Silence By Bekki Stephenson and Michelle Dee
	This site has long been the first choice for information on the local Indie scene, but due to the voluntary nature of submissions each and every genre does not always get covered. One of those genres is Emo and so to remedy this we travelled to Chocolate Factory rehearsal rooms on Wincomlee to meet leading band Outspoken Silence. Read more...

People - An Interview With Tajinere By Steve Rudd
	Tajinere is an extraordinary Hip-Hop artist who is based in Hull. He's been writing songs from a young age and has recently set up his own record label in order to better promote his music, including his recent single release Ours Tonight. He not only dabbles in Hip-Hop, as there are plenty of other musical influences thrown into the artful mix from Soul, Pop Read more...

People - An Interview With James Lovegrove By Steve Rudd
	James Lovegrove is an extraordinary writer of novels in every respect imaginable. His novels are in turns surreal, life-affirming and bizarre. He has written a number of acclaimed novels such as The Hope and The Foreigners, and his latest masterpiece in Provender Greed has recently been published to rave reviews. He is also the author of Wings, a bewitching Read more...

People - An Interview With Local Writer Ian Newton By Jane Foster
	Ian Newton, aka Ahmed Debani, is a local writer known for his exposure of John Prescott in his book Dustbingate, which caused a scandal a few years back. Ian is also the author of two other books with a local theme - Pizza Wars, about corruption in the takeaway industry, and The Night Shift, a comedy written in the form of a sitcom about the antics of a group of local Read more...

People - Meet Michelle - A Tale of Two Halves By Jo Allison
	From tanning salons, to nightclubs and inventions galore, we meet Hull's most fabulously fascinating tranny. Michelle, or Mike, depending how you know her, proves that transvestites are not, as widely believed, like vampires who only come out at night. Sitting in a hotel, cigarette and coffee in hand, Michelle blends into the classy, traditional setting. Dressed like all the other Read more...

People - An Interview With Hey Negrita By Steve Rudd
	Hey Negrita are an awesome Americana-laced indie-rock outfit based in London. Fronted by singer and guitarist Felix, the band has recently released a new single, Can't Walk Away, which is a sublimely catchy song that precedes their forthcoming album, The Buzz Above. Here Felix chats to Steve Rudd about their new material, touring and some of Read more...

People - An Interview With Nick Quantrill By Steve Rudd
	Regular visitors to thisisUll.com should be familiar with the writing talents of Nick Quantrill, as he often contributes short stories to the site. His Complicity novella recently featured on the site, an exciting Crime Short that was unmistakably set in Hull and that featured a number of decidedly shady characters getting up to no good in and around various well-known Read more...

People - The Genius of Eric Bogosian By Steve Rudd
	Eric who? Eric Bogosian! What do you mean you've never heard of him? Ah, well that's your loss, ain't it? Still, there is a chance that you might have seen him and not even realised it, as he's appeared in numerous US movies such as Under Siege 2 and Dolores Claiborne for starters. Having said that, over in the US he's probably far better Read more...

People - Interview with Afterglow By Michelle Dee Photographs By Ashleigh
	Bathing in the Afterglow at Quintessential Sessions Quayside The latest band to catch my ear Afterglow, take their name from the nineteen sixty-eight, Mod anthem Afterglow (of your love) by East end boys The Small Faces. I met up with the fresh faced group in new music venue Quayside, where they were playing live later Read more...

People - An Interview With Peter Moore By Steve Rudd
	Peter Moore has been described as the Jim Carrey of travel-writing, and whoever boldly coined such a cunning comment actually isn't half wrong. Anybody who has read any of Peter's genuinely madcap travel books, such as The Wrong Way Home or The Full Montezuma, will surely agree, as he manages to negotiate all manner of Read more...

People - An Interview With Woody Woodmansey By Steve Rudd
	Brace yourselves, one and all. Michael Collins, who is actually related to the famous Irish Nationalist of the same name, is the author of acclaimed novels The Keepers of Truth, The Resurrectionists and Lost Souls. He has just finished tying up all the loose ends of his latest story in The Secret Life Of E. Robert Pendleton, which is due to hit bookstores very soon indeed. Read more...

People - An Interview With William Landay By Steve Rudd
	William (or Bill, for short) Landay is a hot new American crime writer who has recently published his debut novel - Mission Flats - to widespread critical acclaim. William is currently hard at work on his second novel, which is due to be published next year. Still, amidst his busy writing schedule, William kindly managed to take a little time out to chat exclusively to Steve Rudd Read more...

People - An Interview With Peter May By Steve Rudd
	I'd like to introduce you to Peter May, a writer of thriller novels that are genuinely exhilarating affairs from start to finish. Peter is famous for writing his series of China Thrillers - a series that includes his Firemaker novel, along with the racy Snakehead story that is set in Texas. Peter always carries out intensive research into the places in which he sets his stories; he also Read more...

People - An Interview With Peter Gadol By Steve Rudd
	Peter Gadol is the exciting author of a number of uniquely exhilarating novels including the deliciously dark, drama-driven thriller The Long Rain. His latest novel is Light at Dusk, and here he spares some time to chat to Steve Rudd exclusively about his life and times, and trials and tribulations as a highly respected and hugely talented writer of the type of stories that Read more...

People - An Interview With Meg Gardiner By Steve Rudd
	Meg Gardiner is an incredible Thriller writer, brought up in the US but currently residing in the UK. Her debut novel called China Lake provided the perfect showcase for her amazing talents, and since its publication there has been no stopping her when it comes to writing novels, with Mission Canyon, Jericho Point and Crosscut being other well-known books of hers that been Read more...

People - DJ Chris Plant Heads for the States
	DJ Chris Plant is heading to America in an effort to make his dream come true. Chris, 23, a former resident DJ at Fuel and various other nightclubs, has a quite breathtaking CV. He worked for Sunshine Radio in Ibiza, has commentated on live football matches in Chicago and was Agent X on Foxy & Tom's Viking FM breakfast show. However, after trying to crack Read more...

People - An Interview With Edwina Hayes By Steve Rudd
	Edwina Hayes is an acoustic singer-songwriter currently enjoying success opening Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues band tour. Dublin born and raised in Lancashire, Edwina now resides in Yorkshire. Here she talks to Steve Rudd about her music. Hi Edwina, how are things? Hi Steve, really well thank you! What have you been up to lately, and how has 2005 been in general? Read more...