Concrete Playground Meets The Kooks

The Kooks were back in Sydney last week at the tail end of their Australian tour. We spoke with band member, Hugh Harris, about bringing in the New Year at Falls, cooking spag bol and retracing his roots in his spiritual homeland, Sydney.

Hey Hugh, thanks for chatting with me today. So you have just landed in Sydney ready for the gig tonight?
Well, we arrived last night but I have family in Sydney so we had dinner plans and then after dinner plans. Hopefully I will have time to have a rest today before the gig. But it is great to be in Sydney.

I was down in Tassie for Falls so I saw you guys ring in the New Year!
Oh, that's great, yeah, I think that was one of the best gigs we played, in Tasmania. And we managed to get the countdown right which was a bonus.

Yeah, I was speaking to Alex Turner [Arctic Monkeys] the other day and he was a bit miffed that the countdown didn't really work out at Falls in Lorne when they were playing for NYE?
Yeah, well I think in Tasmania it was OK because we had the big screen so it was pretty hard to mess up. In Lorne, there was no TV screen so it would've been hard for the Arctic Monkeys to count down.

Have you played a summer NYE gig before?
No, no summer NYE before, not on stage. I always think it is better just to have a party, then there is no pressure on anyone to provide the fun. But we have always wanted to do it and the opportunity came up so now we have.

And did you get to see Pnau come on after you guys?
Pnau? No. I stuck around for a bit. I had my cousins there from the countryside. My sheep shearing cousins. But it is hard you know when you are working, it is hard to know when the partying starts, but we just partied afterwards.

Do you guys like playing festivals as compared to standard gigs?
Yeah, I mean I think we are a festival band in a way. And it is a happier vibe. You get to play to people who aren't necessarily fans and that is an exciting prospect, you know, to gather a larger following. And you get that at festivals, everyone's drunk and they don't have a choice but to listen!

You've been to Sydney a lot and having family here is there anything you really look forward to doing whilst you are here?
Yeah, I have this nostalgia route that I take. We used to come here for Christmas because my grandmother was here. And one Christmas I got a skateboard and I used to take this route around Rushcutters Bay. So I will do that.

On your skateboard?
No, those days are past! I just walk it now. So I start at Rushcutters and then walk up the hill and go to No Frills [an offshoot of the supermarket chain Franklins that no longer exists] in the Edgecliff Centre and get a cake. It's where I used to buy my holiday cakes. And then I will head down to the Golden Sheaf and try and get a beer. And then a swim at that harbour pool.

Redleaf?
Yeah, Redleaf. So I will try and do that today.

I think perhaps the Sheaf might have changed a bit since you were last there..
Yeah, I've heard that. What happened?

Well, it is pretty much an empire now. When did you last go?
Well, my Dad was here in the 1970s.

Yeah, well it is not the Sheaf of the '70s! And neither of us was around then! You guys have been playing now for 7 years and you were only 18 when The Kooks signed to Virgin – did you always want to be in a band?
No, absolutely not. I actually wanted to be in espionage, I always wanted to be a spy. And then second I wanted to be in a band.

Well, maybe you could be a spy in your thirties?
No, I think that might be too late. You know you have to do all this training, martial arts training; I think the dream is over.

And maybe it will be too hard, you know needing to be inconspicuous and all?
No, I'll shave my head that will be fine!

And what do you guys get up to in your free time whilst you are on tour? Do you get into sightseeing or art galleries or whatever?
Yeah, art galleries for sure. You hit the nail on the head. I love art galleries and try and go as much as possible. Modern art galleries. And cooking. I really love cooking, but mostly when I get home. I find it really relaxing and I cook a mean spaghetti bolognaise.

Like all good boys! All boys have the staple spag bol!
Yeah, but I would like to say that I think mine is better than anyone else's! You know, I leave it for a really long time, even cooking overnight, and it just comes alive. Well, not with bacteria hopefully. And other stuff? I like tennis. My favourite colour is yellow. And…

Ok, just one more question. Your new clip for Is it me is particularly nostalgic with the typewriter and the 1960s primary colours – considering your musical influences how do The Kooks feel about nostalgia and looking back at the past?
Yeah, we love the past. I love my past. And yeah, we are influenced by a lot of music from the past. But I think when we were young we used to go through our parents' record collections and just sift through, you know. But also I like that things from the past are spun and renewed and regurgitated. It's a blending of the past. Like with our new album, you know it is a bit of a bridge. It is The Kooks staple sound but then there are all these warm synthesisers in there so it blends the past and the present. That's what we do.