Alright: ‘I like that it’s not something that you really see, two men pouring their hearts out’

Lancashire-based band Alright have released their summer anthem track ‘Run Away’, which will get the crowds bouncing.

The band comprises Joe Darnell (vocals), Ben Warwick (guitar), Matt Bunnage (rhythm guitar), Liam Smith (drums) and Brad Mills (bass): ‘It was just after lockdown that it all all started off, really,’ Darnell said. ‘Me and Matt that originally started the band, we’re both from Blackpool and we’ve got mutual friends. Blackpool is one of them places, it’s a small town, so everyone sort of knows everyone. One of our mutual friends had a gathering and said he’d been learning guitar during lockdown. Funnily enough, I had as well. So we just started messing about after a few drinks, playing some of the songs that he had written down. And then from there, we said: “Right, let’s take it into the studio and have a bit of a play about.” We drafted in some of our other mates that were musicians. It started off as a bit of a joke and then one thing led to another and now we’re here! I was always massively into music. I learned piano when I was a kid, but I’d never had the time to learn guitar.’

Of their band name, Darnell says: ‘It’s one of them things that especially from being up north, I must say about 50 times a day, you know, you’re at work and you see someone, you say: “Alright?” “Yeah, I’m alright.” And we thought that’s a good thing. It’s a word that everyone says all the time and I think it’s a good representation of our band as well. I don’t think we are anything crazy (laughs). We’re just a bunch of lads doing normal bits of music.’

‘We thought we were missing a festival sing along song for somebody who hasn’t seen us before’

‘Run Away’ has a shimmery, summer vibe and would be a perfect festival song. The harmonies throughout, particularly on the chorus, peppered with “da da da’s” are bound to make it a fan favourite: ‘Before ‘Run Away’, it was always me and Matt that wrote the tunes,’ Darnell said. ‘Brad had never really been a songwriter but he’s got a good ear for what a song needs. ‘Run Away’ is the first time that Brad’s written a tune. We thought we were missing a festival sing along song for somebody who hasn’t seen us before, that they can watch and pick up, that’s what the “da da da’s are for” (laughs). When we got together and started pulling it all together, we were so excited about it.’

Darnell quips that he tried to get out of Mills exactly what the song was about but he was quite cryptic: ‘My perception of it is that you’ve met someone, whether it be a friend or a lover, and you want to go and be free together to do your own thing,’ he said. There’s the line: “If the world was on fire, would you say goodbye? Would you hold my hand under the burning sky?” We were sat in Brad’s front room when he said that and honesty, it must have been about an hour where we both just sat there like this, thinking what could come next?’ I say that it reminds me of Ultravox’s ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ which is also about two people together at the end of the world. ‘Well, I’ll have to have a listen to that because that’s what I was thinking of,’ he said. ‘It’s very apocalyptic, isn’t it? And it’s quite a nice line to think, you know, “We’re together, we’re going to go and party together on the weekend and whatever life throws at us, we’ll be together through it”.’

Warwick joined the band at the beginning of the year after their former guitarist Joe Platt, with whom Darnell went to school, stepped back last December: ‘There’s no bad blood whatsoever, he said that it was getting a bit much in terms of the commitment and travelling all over the country but said he’d still help us out when we need it, so he’s playing in Birmingham with us next month. Ben, who I’ve been mates with for years, he was the guitarist in Twisted Wheel. ‘Run Away’ was the first song that he’s put the guitar down for. It was nice to have something different as well, going into the studio with him. He has a different ear for things and he’s got slightly different effects on the guitar. I think that alongside the fact that Brad had written the song, that has given us a bit of a shift in the style. We’re really happy with it. I think it definitely feels like a level up for us, in my opinion, anyway.’

I feel like everywhere you turn in this song, there’s something else that your ear latches on to’

The harmonies in this track give it a new depth and edge: ‘Smithy and Brad are both really good singers, probably better singers than me, in terms of their voices, so we were really going to town on the harmonies and the layering with the vocals on this. I feel like everywhere you turn in this song, there’s something else that your ear latches on to, whether it be a vocal part or a little bass riff. I think that just comes from the time that we’ve spent on it. We’ve probably spent longer on this tune than we ever have with any other song.’

Darnell describes learning the guitar as something ‘you’ve really got to stick at’: ‘During lockdown, I had nothing else to do apart from I was going running all the time and then just going through the chords, trying to learn it. I wouldn’t class myself as a good guitarist (laughs), but I’m to a level where I can write a song on a guitar now, which is massively helpful.’

When I saw them at Naah Then earlier this year, their energy onstage was infectious and it was no surprise to learn that Darnell is a PE teacher by day. Other musicians have told me about the symbiotic relationship between sport and music and I ask what the connection between the two is like for him: ‘I think it’s massive,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘I’ve always been into music and things but growing up I was quite good at sport. I played football all my life, I still play football and the music was just always on the back burner. It definitely helps me on stage, you know, the fact that I am quite physically fit. When you’re about to play sport and you need motivation, you can have songs that get you in the zone, can’t you? When you’re in the gym, music makes the gym easier. You get a similar feeling from both of them, don’t you? You feel like you’re a part of something, whether that be playing for a team, or watching a sport, and it’s the same with music when you’re creating as part of a band.’

‘In the sauna, it’s a time where your mind’s just free to go wherever it wants’

Darnell has even got inspiration for songs at the gym: ‘I’m not the type of person who can decide I’m going to sit down and write a song now,’ he said laughing. ‘Every song I’ve written has been an idea that has come to me and I’ve had to then go for it. ‘Everybody’s Onit’, for example, I think I wrote that whole song in my head in the sauna (laughs). I go in the sauna probably three or four times a week after the gym, and I was sat in there, and that line ‘everybody’s onit’ just came to me. I was thinking back of memories of my life and things and before I knew it, I had this full song in my head. So, I had to run out of the sauna and get my phone! I was writing notes and doing little voice notes. In the sauna, it’s a time where your mind’s just free to go wherever it wants, isn’t it? Once I had enough, I went back in the sauna, and then I got home and found the riff on the guitar. It must have been a process of about two hours. I sent it to the band. I said: “Yeah, I’ve got a tune here!”‘

‘Dress Code’, with its groovy bass line and chanty chorus, got the crowd bouncing very enthusiastically when I saw them live: ‘It’s genuinely the story of my life,’ he said laughing. ‘I just want to wear shorts all the time, no matter where I’m going or what the occasion is! I just feel most comfortable in shorts. And obviously, a lot of places don’t allow that, do they? So, me and my girlfriend clash sometimes, if we’re going somewhere and I’m like: “I’m going to put my shorts on”. She’s like: “Well, what if you get turned away?” So then I’m fuming that I’ve got to put a pair of pants on (laughs).’

However, the song is also more nuanced than that and delves into what it’s like to be controlled in other ways: ‘I’m trying to be subtle with it. Obviously, it’s the fact that you get told what you’ve got to wear, but it’s also about when you’re being told what to do in wider aspects of life. I think a lot of people like to have that control over people. That was where that one came from, my frustration at society, really.’

‘I was thinking it’s going to be amazing when he walks out to ‘Road to Nowhere’ but when ‘Tangerine Dream’ came on, when he walked out, I thought: “Fuck!”‘

Sport and music are connected for Darnell in other ways as well. His brother Jake is a boxer who walked out to their song ‘Tangerine Dream’ (in February 2002), causing interest in it to skyrocket: ‘I didn’t know he was going to do it,’ he said. ‘He’s had loads of fights but he got that really big fight that was on Sky four days before, so I didn’t really have much chance to speak to him. Our dad had died a few years ago as well, which is what ‘Life of Nelly’ is about. My brother said he was going to walk out to the song that meant a lot to us as a family, ‘Road to Nowhere’ (by Talking Heads). And I was buzzing off that, I was thinking it’s going to be amazing when he walks out to ‘Road to Nowhere’ but when ‘Tangerine Dream’ came on, when he walked out, I thought: “Fuck!” I couldn’t believe it. It was mad! I wasn’t really bothered about anything to do with the band or anything like that, I was bothered about watching my brother have his fight. It was only afterwards when my phone had gone bonkers with people saying how much they liked it. Even the person he was fighting, Fraser Clarke, he’s class , he’s now fighting for big titles and things, even he ended up loving the tune. He follows us and messages us all the time saying how much he loves the tune.’

‘Tangerine Dream’ is one of their most heartfelt songs and his tribute to his home town of Blackpool, kicking off with the lines: “We′ve been living in a Tangerine Dream but that’s not, that′s not enough for, for me. You’ve been waiting your whole life for something around the corner. You play the cards you’ve been dealt. You can′t help how you′re brought up.”

It’s one of their slower tracks and, like the name suggests, has an ethereal feel to it, helped in part by the beautiful strings that weave in and out: ‘I’m massively into The Verve and Pink Floyd, so anytime we have a slower song, I always want that dreamy feel to it,’ he said. ‘I’m always floating the ideas of strings (laughs). With ‘Tangerine Dream’, they were a late edition. There’s a lad also from Blackpool who is a ridiculously talented musician in all different types of music projects, he’s called Danny Marland. We fired it over to him and said: “Can you put a bit of sparkle on this?” So he added the strings. There’s a very subtle organ towards the end as well. He gave it that real magical feel.’

‘It’s got its flaws but even though it’s got the problems, it’s amazing to be from there’

Darnell describes it as ‘about being from a small northern working class town that doesn’t have much going for it’: ‘It’s got its flaws but even though it’s got the problems, it’s amazing to be from there,’ he said. ‘I think the story of our band and the story of my brother fighting shows what Blackpool is like because our band would have never have got to anywhere near where we are now if it wasn’t for the people of Blackpool. You know, they sold out our first gig straight away because people back each other and share things on social media and they’ve all connected with ‘Tangerine Dream’ for that reason. The Blackpool football team wear the colour tangerine, which is where that’s come from. I think a lot of football fans automatically think it must be a football song but it’s not, they’re just the symbol of our town.’

I tell him that it reminds me of the song ‘Northern Town’ by Whitby-based band Sunbeam and it turns out that they know each other: ‘Jimmy (their lead singer), he’s got an incredible voice,’ he said. ‘They played with us in Manchester and we had the best night! We’d never met them before. I always listen to people we’re going to play with because I like to enjoy their sets, to know who they are. So I listened to them about two weeks before we played with them and honestly, I couldn’t get enough of it. They were on before us and I was in the crowd for their set, singing along to all the words! They must have been thinking: “Wait, who is this weird guy that we’re supporting that knows all the words to our songs?!” But I genuinely love them. We had a really good night with them after and we’ve become quite close to them. We played with them at Y Not since and then they were going to support us in Blackpool but something came up, so they couldn’t make it. We’re in touch with them all the time, we get on massively. I think we’re similar types of bands as well, with big energy on stage. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.’

Their debut single ‘Rat Race’ (2021) also has a dreamy feel, with Darnell’s vocals pulled along by the melancholic, haunting melody: ‘We pretty much did it all ourselves, so I think if we went back and redid it, we could make it so much better,’ he said. ‘The other thing is when we play it live, and this happened from the first ever gig we did, the song has a completely different vibe because like you say, it’s melancholic and chilling. I have quite a soft vocal on it but when we play it live, the crowd seems to really bounce to it (laughs), so we play it with a little bit more energy, a little bit faster. It’s just got a little bit more oomph to it. When we wrote it, we joked did it sound like an M&S advert? You know, dreamy and spacey and calm (laughs). But then when we played it live for the first time, all the crowd were bouncing to that solo and chanting it back to us, it became this anthem. We’ve doubled up the solo live and added in the chant bit but if you just listened to the record, you wouldn’t think that this song would be able to achieve that live!’

‘I like that it’s not something that you really see, two men pouring their hearts out, essentially. I think it’s a nice moment, to say, look, we’re just normal blokes’

Next up, they have a few songs in the works, including one that Darnell feels is similar to ‘Tangerine Dream’, which he describes as ‘soft, with dreamy guitars’: ‘It’s one that Smithy wrote when he was younger but we’re a bit unsure after releasing such an energetic song as ‘Run Away’, do we then release one that’s a little bit slower or the demo that we’re currently working on, which is another upbeat tune? There’s absolutely no right or wrong way to do it. Everyone does things differently. The one that’s a bit similar to Tangerine Dream is called ‘Bye Bye Now Baby’, we’ve played it live a couple of times, including at our Blackpool headline and at HMV in Manchester a couple of weeks ago. Both times that we’ve played it, it’s had such an amazing reaction. Smithy is an unbelievable singer, so we decided it would be a waste for me to just take it and sing his vocals, so we actually duet the song. He leads on a bit of a verse with me back in, then we switch over and we both harmonise with each other on the chorus, but there’s no drums in it. When we played it live, and Smithy hates me for it (laughs), he always says: “No, I’m just going to stay behind my kit”. I always make him get out and we sing into the same mic, because I think it gives that real emotional feel, you know, from two fully grown men, who are quite sporty and stuff (laughs). I like that it’s not something that you really see, two men pouring their hearts out, essentially. I think it’s a nice moment, to say, look, we’re just normal blokes, but look at us singing here, you wouldn’t expect it.’

Smith likes to keep his cards close to his chest but Darnell says the track was inspired by Fleetwood, near Blackpool, where he grew up: ‘There’s a big issue with people using drugs and things. I think, if I’m right – and apologies if I’ve got it wrong – Smithy wrote it following a breakup, looking at his friends and his social circle of people that were doing drugs and thinking it was a dead end situation. He was saying: “That’s not for me, essentially”. It’s a very, very, very well-written song.’

If he could go for a drink with anyone, Darnell mulls whether to go with Liam Gallagher but eventually picks Roger Waters from Pink Floyd: ‘I lost my dad a few years ago and he was massively into Pink Floyd,’ he said. ‘He took me to see them as a kid. Their music is so deep and obscure, I’d love to pick his brain musically. I like his views on real world issues, I’d like to have a political chat with him, to find out more about how his brain works, he’s such an interesting man.’

They’ve had some hilarious moments on the road and recording, as Darnell recounts: ‘We are constantly laughing and messing about when we’re together,’ he said. ‘There’s one weekend in particular that stands out, we were in a studio in Stoke recording ‘Everybody’s Onit’ and it was just mad from start to finish. Constant laughs and to top it off, the hotel we booked was shut, so we ended up in a fancy golf resort, partied all night in the hotel room and ended up with sore heads for the final day of recording!’