Bryan Ferry. The Futureheads. Kenickie. No matter which way you look at it, Sunderland’s impressive track record for pedigree musical output cannot be denied (WHAT?). Anyway, this year the home of the gaw-juss Geordies has brought us Frankie and the Heartstrings – an energetic quintet with sexy quiffs and great big bouncing tunes. Phwoar.
Here’s a quick Q&A with Frankie: The Singer and Dave: The Drummer that took place in the back of a tour van, where we discovered a picture of Wesley Snipes’ penis and the word ‘Rider’ scribbled on it. That’s a little glimpse into Rock & Roll In The Year 2011 for you. GLAMOUR IS ALIVE AND WELL.
Disclaimer: Don’t go reading this Q&A if you want to learn anything insightful about the band and/or their music. If you’re a fan of the word ‘shit’ and anecdotes about sexing it up with 40-year olds in nightclubs then this Jeremy Paxman line of interrogation is just the ticket for you.
So where does the band name come from?
Frankie: Well my name is Frankie. ‘And’ is a common word in British language.
Dave: ‘The’ is used quite a lot too.
F: ‘Heartstrings’ we thought was quite an old fashioned and romantic term and we’re romantic as music lovers. We buy all our music on vinyl and very passionate about supporting independent music.
D: When we started there was fuck all ‘and the’ style bands about.
What’s been your proudest moment?
F: When our record went to number 32 in the chart. We were sandwiched between Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. That’s some sexy sandwich right there.
D: A guy came up to me recently who had punched me in school ‘cos I had a Morrissey t-shirt on. I was a big Morissey fan you see. He broke my nose and then said, ‘I fucking hate Van Morrison’. It’s one thing to get your nose broken, it’s another to get it broken because of the wrong reference. I saw him for the first time at a pub last month, he bought me a drink and then asked for a ticket for our show. I was like, ‘Fuck off. Go kill yourself.’ We’ve always had a bit of revenge in us.
F: Yeah it’s good when ex-girlfriends subscribe to magazines and your face is in it and you know they’re going to see it. It’s a moment when you can be like, ‘Yes!’ (sticks middle finger up)
How often do you Google yourselves?
D: I think that’s a very personal question!
F: Dave Googles himself in the shower every morning.
D: I Googled the shit out of meself in the shower this morning. Sometimes I Google Frankie. But seriously, if you’re going to Google, don’t rub raw.
You apparently use the word ‘cheeky’ quite a lot – what’s the cheekiest thing you’ve ever done?
D: Do we?
According to one of your interviews…
F: Really? I think it’s quite cheeky of them to suggest that. Unless we were talking about the Cheeky Girls.
D: I wouldn’t touch their bum, like.
Which famous lady’s derriere *would* you pinch?
F: Tell her who you like!
D: Oh God, Ruth off This Morning. I’d Google the shit out of her. I’ve got a real bad thing for her, like. She’s one of those who you think, she’s gotta know what she’s doing. She’s going to slam you down and have her way with you. I think Schofield’s had his way with her.
F: I hope when I get to Schofield’s age I’m like him. The silver fox.
D: He’s had sex in his back garden.
F: He’s amazing, Schofe, like.
Being from the north east, what other northern towns are you a fan of?
D: Have you ever been to Spiders nightclub in Hull? I once had sex with a 40-year-old teacher in there.
F: Weird. I went there for my 18th birthday and shagged a 43 year old.
D: If you go to Spiders you get sweets in your drinks.
F: Those aren’t sweets Dave. That’s date rape.
Who’s the most boring person you’ve ever met?
F: People would suggest that Steve Davis the snooker player is very boring, but that’s not the case at all. In fact, he’s probably our best friend and one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.
D: We text each other about chip shops because he used to have a wife from Sunderland.
F: We did our album launch in London at Heaven and he was in the crowd. Then he came backstage and we played pool with him. It were class.
D: I made a terrible faux pas about five years ago. There’s a guy in Sunderland – I won’t mention his name.
F: He’s called Paul.
D: He was kind of a friend but fuck me, he was so monotonous. He took me to one side at a festival once and said (affects monotone), ‘Dave, can I have a woooord?’ I went ‘Aye, I’m kind of watching a band’ but he insisted. I thought, ‘this must be fucking important’. He said ‘I’d like to show you some pictures….this is me making a coffee table…this is me next to me dad with the coffee table. This is me with the finished article. What do you think?’ A couple of months later I was emailing about a gig and you know when you put people’s nicknames in emails? I didn’t realise they could see them and he was in there as Boring Paul. He hasn’t spoke to me since.
What quote you’ve given has most been taken out of context?
F: In one of our first interviews Dave said something about us being better than The Beatles and bigger than Jesus. But that’s actually true because we don’t believe in Jesus and we’re not particularly big fans of The Beatles.
D: It’s not that we hate them, I just wouldn’t stick one of their records on. I’d rather dance around in me pants to The Kinks.
What’s the biggest mystery you wish you could crack about women?
D: Oh God, bras. I don’t understand them but I’ve had to learn quickly. I’m a fan of the balconette.
F: I want to know why when women have a drink, why do they go mental? They either go extremely happy and amazing or the complete opposite.
D: Why is it OK for men to approach women and for women to be horrible to them but not vice versa. I would’ve thought they’d like the compliment. I find that really difficult, I’ve never ever chatted a girl up in my life.
F: You don’t have to when you’re as good looking as you.
D: Exactly. Not when you’re a good-looking spunk like me.
Catch these good looking spunks play at Camp Bestival (30 July), Reading and Leeds Festival (26-28 Aug) and Bestival (9 Sept) if you feel like you’ve learnt enough about their sound and would like to hear more, that is. Here’s a video in case you’re undecided.
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