#rascalize

I wondered why it had suddenly appeared on Spotify…

THE Rascals have had a nightmare journey. Travelling back from their European tour on Friday, the boys were pulled over by the police. They are late for this interview, frontman Miles Kane explains, because “they thought we had drugs on us”. Miles and bandmates Joe Edwards (bass) and Greg Mighall (drums) are buzzing after being back on the road together. The Rascals had a bit of a break earlier this year while Miles toured with his side project, The Last Shadow Puppets, with Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys. Then they had to postpone the UK leg of their tour while Miles recovered from laryngitis. But it’s all back on track, Miles explains: “We had a three-week open tour. We’ve been to Germany, Holland, Austria, France – Paris is one of the best gigs anyway. It just felt so satisfying – a great crowd. “I’m looking forward to these England dates. I’m glad I’m ending the year doing what I’m doing. I’ve finished the Puppets tour and put that to bed and I feel so relieved in my own mind. Next year I just want to make a second record.” Of this tour he says: “We’re covering songs about this girl that had my attention for a bit. She was sound, but it’s a hard work. There’s this new song that’s really working well live called Chills and Fever. You can really dance to it. The new stuff’s going to be amazing. It’s a bit more like Tom Jones and Phil Spector. I’ve been listening to lots of things – John Lennon’s like my hero, we’ve been doing a cover of Instant Karma as an encore.” They’ll be supported by Liverpool band Beakerfolk of the Bronze Age, and Miles is taken with them: “They’ve never done a proper gig. They are really rough, but I’ve only heard a couple of songs on MySpace. They’re like Talking Heads.” Although extremely chatty and supremely confident onstage, Kane wasn’t always like this. “In school I played saxophone in the orchestra, then picked up a guitar – I was always listening to music,” he says. “Writing came later. I was never really confident and it took me a while to sing. I was holding back a bit. But it was that determination. Then something clicked.” His cousin James Skelly, lead singer of The Coral, gave him confidence: “They inspired me. When I was growing up they were doing their first album, they were amazing live. It was like nothing I’d ever seen.” Kane, still only 22, admits he loves his home comforts. So for Christmas he’ll be at home in Wirral. “Christmas Eve I’ll stay in,” he says. “Christmas Day go to my Auntie Julie’s and have lots of nibbles. Get full up on cheesy crisps before the main meal. On Boxing Day go round to Auntie Julie’s again with more family. I’ll have January and February to write then hopefully in March we’ll do our second record.”

* The Rascals play at the Astoria on December 13 and Scala on December 16.