Page 65 - Classic Rock (January 2020)

creatively as well it's broadened our horizons.
I mean, I earn a little bit more money now, which
I’m consciously spending on upgrading my tickets
when we fly. I enjoy that. Any more than a seven-
or eight-hour flight, I’ll do Business.

Going and playing in the US for the first time must
have been exciting.
It’s hard to describe what four guys in their mid-
twenties will do with a tour bus and good shows.
Like the back lounge, you’d be riding along and
you’d hear this ‘sshsshsshssh…’ – every single
drawer was just filled with those empty nos
[laughing gas] canisters you get. It was like a giant
fucking maraca going off on the bus every night.
And some of the guys were newly single, so there
was a lot of mischief to be had. American girls…
I don’t know what it is.

Were you with Laura Cartier Millon (his model
girlfriend) at this point?
I was, yes. But I witnessed a lot. I’m no longer
with her, so I’ve been kind of… making up for lost
time [laughs].

The band work and tour constantly. The last time
we spoke, you said: “If our label asked us to jump
off a bridge, we would seriously consider it.”
As long as [the label] keep writing cheques, we’ll
jump off buildings. I mean, we need them to be
the vehicle for our dreams. And to be honest, for
the most part they’ve given us nothing but love
and freedom to go out there and push ourselves
and do what we want. Obviously you take into
consideration our work as well, and our effort
that we put in on stage every night is obviously
going to play dividends. But I’m proud to be on
Interscope. I think we’ve got so much more to
go. I hope and pray that they keep us until we can
really bring in something.

Thinking about other bands for a minute, as
a serious Queen fan yourself what do you think
of the Queen + Adam Lambert partnership?
For me it’s… I don’t want this to sound insulting,
but I think they present a lot of the music now
in a sort of Disney aspect. Adam Lambert has
a fucking fantastic voice, his pronounciation
is en pointe, it’s borderline musical theatre,
and he’s hitting every single note – notes, for
example, which Freddie would never have hit.
I think they’re preserving that legacy in a super-
digestible way, which I think is what they want.
And that’s great.

What advice would you give your twenty-one-year-
old self?
You’ve got to be in it for the long haul, and I would
say be patient. The most important things are
the music and your live performance… [pauses]
and speak your mind more. I think I was pushed
around a bit more in the early days.

How are you spending Christmas?
With my mum and dad in Devon. I’ll be travelling
to Heathrow on Boxing Day and flying out to the
East Coast, where we’re doing a couple of sold-
out shows in Philadelphia, and then finishing off
with another fantastic show for New Year’s Eve
in Nashville.