30 years ago today: Supergrass released I Should Coco
On this day 30 years ago – May 15, 1995 – Supergrass released their chart-topping debut album, I Should Coco, featuring the era-defining single 'Alright'. To celebrate, we're sharing frontman Gaz Coombes' reflections on the album, taken from one of his classic Hot Press interviews…
'Sometimes it feels like yesterday, and then other times it feels like another lifetime ago. I was listening to it recently because we're planning this anniversary reissue, and it was great to hear it again. It felt really fresh and full of energy. It's been great talking to people involved around it as well. There's a lot of love for that record, and we all feel proud of it.'
'I was like 16 or 17 years old when everything blew up, and it was insane. Life was so fast-moving. We hit the road pretty early on that album and started touring America for six or seven weeks, and by the time we got back, 'Alright' had been released. It had all gone crazy, and suddenly everyone was recognising me in the street. It was bonkers but exciting.'
Supergrass play The Telegraph Building, Belfast (May 27); 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin (May 28 & 29); and the Iveagh Gardens, Dublin (July 13).
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Originally published in Hot Press in May 2010: Mentioned in dispatches by Jon Pareles in the New York Times. A glittering Other Voices set. A much-lauded appearance on Later… With Jools Holland. An upcoming slot at the Richard Thompson-curated Meltdown festival. Hailed by Jape man Richie Egan as embodying 'everything I hold dear about music'. Somethings gone very right for Conor J OBrien since the dissolution of his first band The Immediate left him free to hone his skills as a sideman for Cathy Davey before forming Villagers, an ensemble who, before theyd even released their debut album (more of which in a moment), were opening for acts like Tindersticks and Neil Young. 'Every single step of the way, you're constantly a sponge, trying to take stuff from people, how they sing, how they perform,' O'Brien says on an April afternoon in the Brooks Hotel in Dublin. 'I hope that never ends.' Before we proceed, did he get to meet ol' Shakey? 'I didn't speak to Neil Young. 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'A lot of people in interviews have gone, (adopts Euro accent), 'What exactly is Pieces about? What was happening to you in your life at that time?' And I can't remember, it's just like a blues song, you're singing, and you hope whoever is listening to it knows what you mean in their own terms. You're not trying to focus on your ego, you're not trying to get everyone in the room to listen to your problems, you're putting it out there so it can make a general connection. You can just howl. Everyone's going to understand that.' Listen to Becoming a Jackal below:
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30 years ago today: Supergrass released I Should Coco
On this day 30 years ago – May 15, 1995 – Supergrass released their chart-topping debut album, I Should Coco, featuring the era-defining single 'Alright'. To celebrate, we're sharing frontman Gaz Coombes' reflections on the album, taken from one of his classic Hot Press interviews… 'Sometimes it feels like yesterday, and then other times it feels like another lifetime ago. I was listening to it recently because we're planning this anniversary reissue, and it was great to hear it again. It felt really fresh and full of energy. It's been great talking to people involved around it as well. There's a lot of love for that record, and we all feel proud of it.' 'I was like 16 or 17 years old when everything blew up, and it was insane. Life was so fast-moving. We hit the road pretty early on that album and started touring America for six or seven weeks, and by the time we got back, 'Alright' had been released. It had all gone crazy, and suddenly everyone was recognising me in the street. It was bonkers but exciting.' Supergrass play The Telegraph Building, Belfast (May 27); 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin (May 28 & 29); and the Iveagh Gardens, Dublin (July 13).
