We Chat to Beans on Toast Ahead of His Show at Rescue Rooms

Hi Beans! How’s Australia treating you?
Hello LeftLion! It is treating me very well. Pretty much day after day I’ve been sat in my friend’s home studio in his garden in Hunter Valley from William Crighton who I’ve been doing some shows with. The gigs have been brilliant, and today I actually did a song writing workshop in a maximum security prison, just North of Sydney which was both inspiring and heart-breaking, I guess, in equal measure. But the gigs have been great and yeah, I’ve got another couple of weeks left. January is a brilliant time to visit Australia because it’s right in the height of their summer and everybody’s kind of like going at it full power.

You’ve just released The Toothpaste and the Tube – your sixteenth album! How does it feel to have that many records out?
Yeah, it feels pretty good! I mean, I kind of look back, you sort of do that more on the markers like ten and fifteen but sixteen might sort of mean that my albums are like teenagers which means maybe they’ll start behaving more recklessly. But more generally, my mind is more on my next album than it is ever on sort of like mulling over by back catalogue. Once an album is done, my mind moves on, basically. Obviously, I still believe in the songs and I’m still happy to play them live.

How do you think your music has evolved since Standing on a Chair?
I mean, not that much. I don’t know if that’s the right answer but I still do a very similar thing, but the subject matter changes, and my life has changed. I don’t do any drugs in comparison to what I did then, I’ve given up certain things in my life, I’m now a family man rather than I guess the first album when there were a lot of songs about sleeping around and stuff like that. I guess, as I’ve got older, my subject matter has changed but my core beliefs haven’t changed, and I still feel like the same person and I’m definitely still using the same chords. I pride myself on my consistency rather than my evolution, I guess. But at the same time, I work with different producers and different musicians on each record so that it stays interesting, but at its core, Beans on Toast is… still the same person there.

Do you have a favourite song from the new record? If so, what is it and why?
Yeah, it would be a track called Send Me a Bird which is a song about losing loved ones and it was a song that, I remember really clearly. It was Halloween where perhaps the ether is thinner or something like that, but I wrote it in almost the course that it takes to sing the song. I knew when I wrote it that it had the potential to be quite powerful and since I started playing it live, I’ve started talking to people about lost friends and family members that had passed away recently, and it’s not the easiest thing to talk about but I do think it’s an important thing to talk about at the same time. Yeah, I’ve just had a lot of very interesting and sometimes quite sad and quite emotional conversations with people about the song and emails and whatnot, certainly more than any other song I’ve written, so that will always be a favourite for me.

The Dragicorn is one of my favourites on the album – what are some of the most imaginative creature creations that your daughter, Wren, has come up with?
You’d have to ask her really! But she certainly has… she’s created a whole backstory for herself where she lived in dragon world for two years before she came to this world. All of the laws and stuff – she’s very consistent when it comes to the rules and regulations of dragon world. I’m in no position to speak for her though, so she’ll let you know about that.

Once you have an idea for a song, how long does it normally take for you to write it?
Very much depends on the song. Sometimes the songs can come in an evening, others I’ll sit and ponder them for a long time. I can generally have a few ideas for songs kicking around but not actually have the time to sit down with my guitar and a bit of privacy to actually create them. But sometimes super-fast and then even once they’re done I’ll have them in my head while I iron out the creases, and then I’ll play it to someone and it’s born as such.

Last year, you wrote a series of children’s books accompanying The Fascinating Adventures of Little Bee – if time, money and resources were no object, is there anything new that you’d love to create as Beans on Toast?
I would rid the world of weapons, don’t know how I’d do that, I’d build a spaceship and put every gun every nuclear missile in there and fly it off and hope nobody ever finds it. And then set about getting the plastic out of the sea and increase biodiversity to help the climate. What else would I do… I’d make sure all of the people were happy, sheltered, fulfilled and we would all live in some type of utopia.  I don’t know how I’d do that, but if none of those things were an object, that’s what I’d do. If that even makes sense?

Foolhardy Folk Festival has been a wonderful success so far – do you have any favourite memories from running that festival?
Thank you! And thank you for your kind words about it! Yeah, I mean probably it’ll be sending my daughter as she doesn’t get to go to many festivals but she does always come up to Foolhardy. We put a bell tent up, and she ran ‘Wren’s Kids Area’ last year. Now she gets on the stage a fair bit and she’s almost a part of the act when she’s around, but one of her first times on stage was at Foolhardy Folk Festival, and she got on the mic and as usual she was just stood there and everybody thought that she was nervous, but she was just waiting until everybody in that festival was dead quiet and then she just said quite calmly, “I am a unicorn.” And, it was a magic moment, one I will never forget. Foolhardy is full of lovely memories for me, so I’m glad you really enjoying it. 

Which artists are exciting you at the moment?  
A guy called Willie Carlisle! Absolutely fantastic! I’ve been listening to him for a while, but he’s got a new song out called High and Lonesome and I can’t stop listening to it. He does a modern spin on country music and I’ve already asked him if he wants to do Foolhardy Folk Festival. I just thought yeah, this is the place for you. Not that I’ve heard an answer, so I’m not even sure if this is allowed to be printed in a magazine, but what are they going to do?

Forgetting the obvious answer: if your music was a flavour, what would it be?
I presume you mean, Beans on Toast, but that’s obvious for a reason. As much as it’s quite a silly name, it’s one that I’m still quite proud of and I do believe that it is a good description of the music I make. It’s English, it’s cheap and it’s fulfilling and it’s consistent. So I don’t want it to be any other flavour, so I’ll stick to the flavour I named this music after all of those years ago. 

You’re going to be heading to Rescue Rooms in February – for anyone that’s never seen a Beans on Toast set before, what is it like?
I love Rescue Rooms, and I believe it’s a Friday or Saturday… (checks) no, Sunday night ahah, and a Sunday night in Nottingham will be amazing. Yeah Rescue Rooms, amazing venue I feel like I do have a connection with Nottingham now with family friends growing up and obviously now with Foolhardy. I would say it’s going to be a night of good friends with songs that make you look at the world. There shall be some laughing, some thinking, some celebrating, some planning for the future and maybe a little bit of dancing. But a good time with your friends that will make you leave feeling alive and inspired. That’s what I’m aiming for. 

Any final words of wisdom for the LeftLion readers?
Take it easy!

Beans on Toast performs at Rescue Rooms on 25 February 2024, you can buy tickets here