"I had been in bands before, but they were mainly instrumentals, and I wanted to do something more song based"...
Little Barrie are led by Beeston lad Barrie Cadogan and have recently released their debut album, the imaginatively titled We Are Little Barrie. It was produced by ex-Orange Juice man Edwyn Collins, who has described Barrie as, “the best guitarist of his generation”.
Edwyn is not the only one who has been giving the band accolades. He has recently been touring with DJ Format (who was raving about him in the last issue of this magazine) and according to the music press Noel Gallagher is a fan (of Barrie’s guitars at least). We caught-up with him for a chat as he was on his way to rehearsals…
How did Little Barrie start?
I had been in bands before, but they were mainly instrumentals, and I wanted to do something more song based. So I got some rough demos together and started to get some interest. Then I met Wayne and we started jamming together. We bought a drum kit, and Wayne learnt how to play drums, so that we had a drummer. Then we moved to London to try and get noticed and that’s where we met our bass player Lewis.
You played guitar in Morrissey’s band last year, how did that come about?
I’m friends with his long-time guitarist Boz Boorer and when Alain Whyte got ill, I got a call to ask if I could step in and play guitar. This was the Tuesday and on Friday they were playing Ireland. I asked how many songs were in the set, and they told me twenty. So I had to learn twenty songs in three days. But the tour was good, I went to Italy and spent a lot of time in America.
What’s Morrissey like?
I didn’t really get to know him, he keeps himself to himself. I would see him in rehearsals and soundchecks, but that’s about it. We did go for a night out in Copenhagen and he bought everyone drinks.
Did Morrissey get drunk?
No he didn’t. He didn’t stay out long. He’s a very personal guy.
What was it like making the video for the single, Long Hair?
It was made by Chris Cairns who I liked working with. It was shot in Chris’ house, he has this big open planned room. He did the editing as well. It was all completely finished in a day. Tom Vek was there too, so we met him. Yeah, I like Chris. I like his animations.
Noel Gallagher has been singing your praises. What is it like to be rated by someone like him?
Has he really? I didn’t know that. Well, it’s cool. It’s always good to know that people like you. I’ve met Noel a few times actually. I used to work in a guitar shop and I sold a few guitars to him.
You’re also good friends with DJ Format...
Yes that’s right. We have toured together and we are label mates. People thought that it was a bit strange that we were touring with someone who is quite Hiphop, but to us it made sense, as the influences are the same. The tour was a bit mad actually, we did 23 dates in 24 days and we were on the same bus together. We used to jam on stage together, and we went down really well, it was good. We are actually talking with Format about collaborating together in the near future. We are also thinking of doing something with his emcee Abdominal.
The festival season is upon us, have you been doing any?
Well, we were due to play Glastonbury and we were on the M4 on our way to the festival when we found out that the tent we were due to play in had collapsed. The beer tent next to it had been struck by lighting. It’s a shame, because it’s not on next year. We’re playing a lot of the small festivals that are happening around the country. We’ve just played in Coventry with bands like The Others and The Paddingtons. We are playing a festival in Blackburn next week and we’ve done a few festivals in France as well. I’m off to Japan soon to play the Summer Sonic Festival and it’ll be good as things are stating to happen there.
What have the crowds been like?
They’ve been good generally. In France we were on really late, but still got a good turnout. It is really positive.
What do you think of the Nottingham music scene at the moment?
To be honest, I don’t really know that much about it. It does seem much more vibrant then when I was around. That is one of the reasons we moved down to London, because there wasn’t much happening in Nottingham.
Are you still in touch with any bands here?
I do quite like a band called the Sound Carriers. I used to be in a band with them.
Well, it’s Friday, any plans for this weekend?
I’m off to a gig tomorrow at the Koko in Camden. Then the band is off to Blackburn to play a festival. Keeping busy…
Little Barrie website
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