The Courteeners drummer talks to the Echo ahead of Bournemouth show (From Bournemouth Echo)

The Courteeners drummer talks to the Echo ahead of Bournemouth show

10:01am Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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WHEN Manchester singer songwriter Liam Fray decided to pack in his creative writing degree at Salford University and form a band, he immediately turned to the mates he’d grown up with, gone to football with, got in fights with and had a laugh with all his life.

Conan Moores (guitar) and Mark Cuppello (bass) were soon recruited, but the first person Liam wanted was Michael Campbell on drums – the fact Michael had never played drums in his life was considered immaterial, The Courteeners were born.

“Yeh, it’s funny that, but you soon pick it up,” says Michael, sheltering in Starbucks from a particularly fierce (and predictable) rainstorm in Manchester.

“Me and Liam lived like next door but one to each other for 20-odd years. The geography is that we all come from within a mile of one another. We’re part of a bigger group of mates that have gone through everything together and the great thing is that this has been as much a journey for them as those of us that are in the band. I reckon half of them get to more gigs than I do now we’ve got an in!”

That’s the thing with The Courteeners, it’s easy to warm to them. From the spritely romp of first single Cavorting to the acidic not-quite sneers of Not Nineteen Forever, the bulk of their debut album St Jude chronicled the ins and outs of an urban teenage life with half an eye out for slashed seat romanticism.

Last month a Facebook campaign saw their single You Overdid It Doll debut at number one and new album Falcon crash the top ten in its week of release.

It also reawakened the inevitable comparisons with another band from Manchester that was blessed with a gobby singer called Liam – they even had similar haircuts.

“Yeh, every bit of press we did was about our Liam and the supposed similarity with Oasis. We love them, coming from Manchester and being our age it was unavoidable – me and Liam’s first gig was Oasis at the Reebok Stadium at the age of 15 – but we don’t sound nothing like them. I wouldn’t say it was becoming a millstone exactly, but we were keen to show we’re more than four beer-swilling blokes with guitars on the new album.”

Which marks a huge leap forward. If St Jude was a boisterous puppy, Falcon is a wilful adolescent pet you could leave your pension with. Fray’s lyrics are more considered, still with a touch of arrogance, but more about his feelings than the things he’s done; while the band are clearly stretching themselves to incorporate pianos, synths and orchestral arrangements.

“We loved St Jude and we loved playing it, but we didn’t want to just replicate it on the next album. We took our time with this and made a record we’re proud of – one that we’re really looking forward to going out and playing for a year and a bit.

“So much has happened in the last couple of years since we got out down in The Smoke with our big wide eyes and immediately met [Smiths/Blur/La’s producer] Stephen Street. We might have been a bit naïve when we made St Jude, but playing as much as we have done has made us better musicians.

“And other things as well – going on tour in the States with Morrissey was mega. He was diamond to us, all that stuff about him being unapproachable is rubbish; he was lovely and it made us not scared of going out in front of people who didn’t know us and impressing them. We did Bournemouth with Stereophonics last year at the BIC and that was a blast so I hope some of them Bournemouth people will be out to see us again.”

• The Courteeners play the O2 Academy, Bournemouth, on Monday.