Rachael Hutchings speaks with Goldie Lookin’ Chain’s Rhys Hutchings about their plans for a new record and touring.
GLC have been so consistent in the past few years in releasing regular new videos and songs – what’s the plan for the follow-up album to Pill Communication?
We have finished recording the new album and it’s really good. Well, I would say that! I think Kings Of Caerleon was a really coherent album, some of the stuff we have put out have just been a collection of songs and not really an album with a sound, but Kings Of Caerleon was meant to be a crafted album and the new album is like that – crafted. It was going to be a disco album because I sampled and made a lot of disco beats but we changed a few of the tracks so there’s only two or three disco tracks on there now. There is also a banging Craig David rip-off, or should I say “homage” track, on there too.
Who is the biggest pain in the arse when on tour?
Graham The Bear is a massive idiot on tour or just about anywhere. He really wants to do a song about a stag do and he needs to use the toilet every 10 miles when we go on tour. He has the most annoying dog called Eric which he has to take up to his mum’s house before he can come to rap club. So basically, you have to give him a weeks’ notice if you want to record anything. I keep blocking him on my phone and have to add his number again every time we do a gig.
Which GLC member is most likely to do something stupid and get themselves in a scrape?
Mystikal or Billy Webb are most likely to get themselves in trouble. We played a gig in Manchester and Mystikal was getting the train after to stay with a mate who lived one stop away. There was free bar, he fell asleep on the train, woke up in Bangor, had a fight with a taxi driver and nearly got arrested by the British Transport Police. Billy once got lost at a festival in Switzerland and as we were about to leave for the airport he turns up on the back of a horse drawn cart -he had had the best time.
What’s the funniest story you have from the years of touring and making music?
We borrowed a few golf buggies at the Isle of Wight festival and almost set off all the fireworks. Or when we were about to go on stage with Super Furry Animals, and Billy was so drunk he rapped into a beer can instead of a mic. When we were playing before Toploader we had a stage invasion. We broke the stage and they had to cancel the show. The best story though I think is the one about 2Hats going on holiday every year with the guy out of Kasabian. They bumped into each other in the airport and were both going to the same resort and hooked up for a few drinks but the story got embellished to the point that they were thinking of buying a static caravan in West Wales together.
Do you think that Wales will make it into the 2018 World Cup? Would you be interested in writing an official track for them if they did?
Too right, this is the best chance Wales have ever had! The Manic Street Preachers did the last one and it sucked. We are super ready to do a tune when they qualify. FA Wales do seem to have a bit of beef with us though since that David Beckham incident.
Who are your biggest influences and role models – musically or otherwise?
Personally, it’s Sammy Davis Jr. Musically Al Bowlly and The Dust Brothers.
If you had the chance to collaborate with anyone, who would GLC want to work with?
Good question! We were planning on doing a cover of Walk This Way by RUN DMC about 10 years ago with The Darkness. I was talking to them the other day and we said we might actually finally do it once they had finished recording their album.
Legends of GLC: Goldie Lookin’ Chain, Cwrt Herbert Playing Fields. Tickets: £5. Info: www.youknowsit.co.uk