The ambition of the young is infectious. The ambition of young bands perhaps even more so. Last year’s regional winners of Fireball’s ‘Fuelling the fire’ competition, Thieves of Liberty, are back with a place on the main tour roster. Performing alongside Less than Jakes and Goldfinger, the Thieves are ambitious enough to want to hold their own against the headliners and to win new friends along the way. Damian Robinson caught up with the band to find out more about the tour and their ambitions.
Congratulations on last year’s victory. You must be excited to be appearing on the main tour this time round?
We can’t believe we’re playing the tour if we’re honest and it’s incredibly exciting to think of who we’ll be playing alongside each night. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.
Do you see the tour as a way to springboard into further success?
We do yes. Our main aim is to go and play as well as we can each night. If we get that right then we’ll be happy. Outside of that aim we’d like the tour to be a way of helping music fans hear us for the first time and to become interested in the band. Sometimes just being in the right place at the right time can really help band’s and we feel like this tour gives us those opportunities.
As part of the tour you’ll be playing Newcastle’s o2 main stage. How are you feeling about that?
Really excited. We have so many friends who have supported us form the word go, and they’ve never had a chance to see us play some of the bigger venues we’ve played. We’re a bit nervous to play in front of our home crowd but it’ll be a real celebration not just for us, but for anyone connected in some way to the band.
Is the plan to use the tour to follow up on the successes of your first singles?
It is yes, we’re in Blast studios at the minute finishing off our debut EP. The tour has really helped us focus our attention into making sure we have new material recorded and ready. In some ways the deadlines are quiet tight, especially as we have a launch party scheduled for Independent on the 13th September, but sometimes you need those deadlines.
Is there anything you can reveal about the EP?
Not yet. We’re in the process of recording, and depending on which songs come out well, and how certain songs fit together, this will influence which tracks make the EP. Our longer-term plan is to record this EP, release it, play some gigs in support of the EP which includes the Fireball tour, and then look to get a second EP out sometime early next year. It’ll be a busy few months but we’re proud of our ideas and we want to keep the momentum going.
Thieves of Liberty play the Newcastle o2 Academy as part of Fireball’s Fuelling the Fire tour.