Decade-spanning power-pop phenomenon, Bowfinger, have seen it all and more, but they’re far from done yet. Looking to the future with brand new material, while celebrating the past with a gig featuring Luton favourites Akiva and The Occasion – Bowfinger singer & guitarist Ed Coleman stopped by for a tell-all chat…
Photo – Neil McCarty. neilmccartyphotography.co.uk
Bowfinger are a band that need no introduction round these parts, but for the new breed, how would you introduce and describe the band?
Bowfinger formed in 2000 from the ashes of our old bands, Brilliant Things and Sheen. To cut a very long story short, Bowfinger are the same core members of Barry, Dave, Iain and myself from those early bands.
The thing I love about us is we don’t particularly stick to one genre of music. We would probably describe ourselves as a power-pop band, with our influences including all the great stuff from the late 70s, like The Jam, Costello, The clash and 60’s bands such as The Beatles, The Kinks and The Small faces, to name just a few. Anyhow, throw them all in a mix and you have Bowfinger. We have to write songs with hooks and melodies – it’s in our DNA.
A brand spanking new single, Boxing Clever, is out now – which you recorded with the musical wizard that is Faz. Tell us about the track and working with Faz…
As our guitarist Iain said of the track, it could be a torch song to a lost love or a love letter to one of our favourite bands, The Wannadies. I remember at the time of writing the lyrics I was reading the Springsteen autobiography, and I liked the way he said he always likes to tell a narrative in his songs. So that’s what I tried to do. We are very proud of the song.
As for working with Faz, the man’s a wizard. He managed to get the very best out of us. He didn’t want us to record to a click track, he wanted that live feel to the recording. The whole recording process was an absolute joy for us and his production was excellent. He’s a top man!
How much has the process of releasing material changed throughout the band’s career?
We started our first band in the late 80s and so much has changed since then. The only way to get your music heard back then was through constant gigging and chasing a record deal. Nowadays, you can be an unsigned band and get your music heard through the numerous streaming sites out there, and promote yourself through the likes of Facebook. It is however a double-edged sword. Whilst you can get your music out there into the world, you do get paid fuck all for it. I do still think gigging is a very important part of the whole process.
You’ve a gig at The Castle on 24th February alongside some old Luton favourites, Akiva & The Occasion. How did this reunion come about?
It all came about last October, as all three bands played at local legend and lead singer of The Occasion, Andy Sizmur’s, 50th birthday party. We enjoyed the night so much we all decided to do it again.
What are your memories from the “old days” of having these bands together on the scene?
Ah the old days… we’ve been round long enough to see many local music scenes and promoters come and go. I have real fond memories of playing with these 2 bands. Both bands are very good at what they do and we all instantly clicked when we first met. The gig coming up at the Castle is going to be special.
Are there any local bands that have caught your ear now?
I don’t really get out as much as I would like to, so I don’t really know as much about the scene as I once did, but, if you like your 80’s influenced indie then I recommend Bedford based Carbon Daydream. Also Luna Rosa, one of the bands that VB@H look after, there is something about them I really like. I’m sure there are other great local bands out there – you boys would know more than me.
What does the future hold for Bowfinger?
At this moment in time, Bowfinger is in a good place and we are all getting on with each other. Which can be tricky after playing over 30 years together.
We continue our run of gigs supporting Noasis in March and a mate of ours and long-time fan of the band, Lindz, has agreed to manage our diary and get gigs for us. She represents another band Talk In Code with great success. Hopefully she will be able to weave her magic with us.
We have just released our new single Boxing Clever and very much looking forward to the gig down the Castle on the 24th with The Occasion and Akiva.
The old boys are back in town!
