INTERVIEW | The Enemy

Nine years on from their seminal debut album 'We'll Live And Die In These Towns', legendary Coventry trio The Enemy have decided to call it a day. As the group head across the country over the next few weeks on their 'Last Orders' farewell tour, frontman Tom Clarke spoke to us about the high points of the last decade, his lack of hope for new music and the very special bond between the band and their fans...

Dominic Penna: After a decade of being one of the most vital bands on the scene, The Enemy are splitting - what can fans expect for your farewell tour?

Tom Clarke: We're going to be playing the first album in its entirety, something many fans over the years have asked for. It's an intimidating task, the songs are all very high energy and it makes for a long exhausting set, especially given that we're throwing in a lot of other fan favourites too. This is our last chance to air these songs though, so we're taking on the challenge gladly.

DP: Where have your musical inspirations tended to come from?

TC: It depends what I'm writing. When I wrote the first enemy album I was inspired by the likes of The Arctic Monkeys, The Killers debut was a huge influence as were some of the Foo Fighters tracks, but in terms of overall musical inspirations I enjoy listening to everything from Handle to Frank Zappa. The 60's was a golden age for songwriting in my opinion, and the 80's a spectacular decade for production, ultimately though nothing really pleases me more than the sound of an orchestra playing Ralph Vaughan Williams – ‘Fantasia On A Theme’. All music is inspiring.

DP: If any, which of your songs mean the most to you?

TC: To me, ‘This Song Is About You’ will always resonate in a special way. It's a folk song essentially, I've seen videos of entire tube trains singing the chorus. We can leave a crowd singing that chorus, exit the stage, but they won't stop singing it until we come back on and join in again.

DP: What have been the highlights of your time together as a band?

TC: For me the highlights are times when you had to pinch yourself, landing in Japan to find eager waiting fans, flying from festivals in the UK to continental Europe and playing three shows in a day, at the time they seemed like exhausting lows, but in retrospect they were great times. Playing the Astoria for a million consecutive nights in a row was a serious highlight for me.

DP: It’s great how you've given so many up-and-coming bands support slots on this farewell tour - who do you have high hopes for in the next couple of years?

TC: Honestly, until there is a radio station which has a national FM presence and is serious about breaking new UK bands, I have no hope for new music. There are so many talented songwriters out there, great undiscovered bands and artists, which historically the UK has been a world leader in breaking and then exporting, but national radio is the sole route to market for new artists who want to sell enough music to have a place on the worldwide stage, and radio executives and selection systems have closed that route. Without it talent suffocates and dies.

DP: Finally, how would you like The Enemy's music and impact to be remembered?

TC: The Enemy for me was more than a band, it was the sum of all of its fans. We and the fans are a family. We are an army. We all share something bigger than ourselves. Bigger than I can ever explain. If you are part of that family then you understand the bond. For me I like to think that although we might not have family get togethers anymore, we are and will always be, the biggest noisiest family I've ever been a part of, and we had a lot of fun, and we'll never forget.