Within the pages of Forte you’ll find stories of aspiring musicians alongside those of household names. No two interviews are the same, but there’s always a common theme: unforgettable music. The Fratellis know a thing or two about writing a catchy tune. Their smash, ‘Chelsea Dagger’, has become an indie-rock anthem loved by millions the world over; an instant classic. But as I found out, The Fratellis are no one-hit wonders.
Jon Fratelli (born Jon Lawler – Fratelli as a last name was adopted by the trio to pay homage to the 1985 cult flick The Goonies – truly a man after my own heart) is every part as charming as you’d expect. In his soft-spoken Glaswegian accent he chatted about life after ‘that’ song, getting the band back together and writing new music in the sun.
The Fratellis played their first official gig in 2005 in a little bar in Glasgow. In April 2006 they released a self-titled EP, followed closely by their debut LP Costello Music in September. The record was a sky-rocketing success and won the guys a Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 2007. Here We Stand was released in 2008, and although praised by critics and fans alike, it failed to have the impact of its predecessor.
“In 2009 we took a break from the band; we all needed to do something different for a while. I don’t want to speak for the others, but I certainly used to have moments where I’d become quite bored, you know? The majority of people weren’t interested in hearing anything new.” (He never mentions the song by name – he doesn’t have to.)
Jon continued: “At the moment we’ve been back playing together for a little over a year now and we’ve had some of the best times together as a band. I think we’re definitely better than we’ve ever been. I’m at ease with myself and the band’s legacy now.
“I’m a big believer that if somebody buys a ticket to see your show you must give them whatever they want; so if that means most of the songs off our first record, then I’m perfectly happy to do it. But as a trade-off we play almost everything off our new record as well. We’ve been playing these songs for nearly a year now and they seem to be working for us so far!”
We Need Medicine was released in October 2013 and The Fratellis have been on tour ever since. Jon says they just completed a successful tour of the US for the first time in five years. “Nearly every show was sold out. We had a wonderful time, and now we’re on our way to Australia. Last time we had a couple of days off at Splendour in the Grass. It was your winter though, right? It certainly wasn’t Scotland cold; in fact, in comparison it was almost spring-like! We had a nice day on the beach. Unfortunately this time I don’t think we have a whole lot of time off. We sort of zip in and out – it’s a long way to go to zip in and out – and it seems a bit crazy,” Jon laughed.
“Other than that, the last few months I’ve been writing songs. We’re not far off from recording another record, so we’ll probably do that over the summer I guess. We’ll go somewhere nice and sunny – Australia’s pretty good for that,” he teased, “and we’ve got nothing to lose.”
When&Where: Prince of Wales, Melbourne – April 4
Written by Natalie Rogers