Levellers - Interview

  by Helen Tipping

published: 16 / 2 / 2008

intro

The Levellers have just celebrated their 20th anniversary. Helen Tipping speaks to bassist Jeremy Cunningham about it, and the band's forthcoming new album, 'Letters from the Underground'

The Levellers formed in 1988 and this year sees them celebrating their 20th anniversary with a number of Beautiful Nights gigs and a new album. Seen by many as a good fun band for festivals and gigs, their live shows sell out quickly despite their lack of coverage in the mainstream music press. Whenever they are mentioned the usual cliches are trotted out, and you can see why they sometimes avoid giving interviews. The Levellers have just released a new double A sided single, 'The Cholera Well'/'A Life Less Ordinary', and are due to release an album, 'Letters From the Underground', over the summer. Pennyblackmusic spoke to bassist Jeremy Cunningham and found him feeling upbeat and positive about the new album. The Levellers definitely have an eye on staying around a lot longer. PB : You've been going 20 years. When you started out did you think you would still be going now, or were you intending it to be just a bit of fun? JC : We knew we would be in for the long haul because we had things to say. We also knew we were good at what we did, but there was no long-term plan. PB : The nucleus of the band has been together since the beginning. What do you think the reason is for this when so many other bands seem to have a continually changing line-up ? JC : It is easy with us. The first time we got in a room together the noise we made was so much bigger than the sum of its parts – You can’t mess with chemistry like that. We all also get on, most of the time anyway. PB : How do you keep motivated to write new material after being together so long? A lot of bands just keep playing their old stuff with no new contributions. JC : We have never been interested in churning out the same old stuff. We’ve experimented a lot over the years – usually with our fans hating it! But you have got to follow the muse. Writing is easy if you live bizarre lives like we do and are still as angry as we are. We've got everything to prove still. PB : My friends and I have been going to your annual Beautiful Days Festival in Devon since it started and we've really enjoyed it. What made you decide to start the Festival ? JC : We got fed up with big corporate festivals, although we still play a few. We wanted a festie like we used to when we were young with plenty of chaos. PB : There is a variety of different types of music represented at the festival. How much involvement do you have with choosing the bands ? JC : It depends. Sometimes we ask bands we’re fans of but we don’t want it to be “The Levellers in control” festival so we take tips of whose hot and whose good and so on. Then our independent booker does the final line up. PB : Can you tell me a bit about the ethos behind the festival, both in terms of ecological considerations and the type of music ? JC : It is common sense eco. Any music goes. It has just got to be good. We’re branching out into comedy a bit too, plus having the usual festie freak show. PB : Politically how have your views changed, or have they not since the band started ? I've seen you described as green anarchists. Is that a fair description ? JC : Yes. PB : Your gigs sell out. They are seen as and are really fun events where people can go and have a good sing-a-long and a dance, but by and large you're shunned by the mainstream these days. I think there's a whole load of bands that people really love that just don't get into the charts. What are your views on that and what are your views on the chart bands and the awful cult of celebrity where people are famous for doing very little? JC : Well, there’s shit music and good music. I’ll listen to anyone who’s got something honest to say and I try not let the other shit affect my life too much. PB : Lastly, I'm sure many people are wanting to know about the new album. Can you tell me what we can expect from it? Are there going to be any surprises musically? JC : It’s called 'Letters from the Underground' and will be out in the summer. There will be a free single to download from www.lettersfromtheunderground.com on March 3rd. The music is fast and raw like our first ever demos. PB : And lyrically, can you tell me some of the themes ? We've heard 'The Cholera Well' and 'A Life Less Ordinary'. What else can we expect to hear you sing about ? JC : 'Burn America Burn' is about the self destruction of that country. 'Behold the Pale Rider' about 7/7 and the repercussions of that. 'Duty' about working all your life to be let down by the system. 'The Accidental Anarchist' about being pushed out of society. And loads of others typical stuff. It’s punk rock, man! The best we’ve ever done. PB : Thank you. The live photographs that accompany this article were taken by Mike Eccleshall. The other studio photograph was taken by Ami Barwell

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