Ahead of their upcoming headline UK tour and the launch of their eagerly awaited debut album ‘I Wonder If The World Knows’, Andi Talbot spoke to The K’s frontman, Jamie Boyle.
This is an album almost seven years in the making. You’ve said previously that you’d only do an album when it “felt right”. How did you know it was time?
At the back end of 2022 we got new management, then last year we had quite a heavy release of music, during which time labels got involved and conversations were had. Everything was just snowballing: we were selling more tickets than we’d ever had, we had higher monthly listeners than we’d ever had and everyone was just banging on the door for an album so we thought: “This is the time – let’s go with it!”
Did you feel any pressure with it being your debut album?
No, not really, mate. Everything we do we’re going to make the best we can. It was just a normal studio process for us but a longer version of it. Once it started coming together and we heard how good it was – honestly, our debut album is class – there’s nothing we would have done different about any of it. Obviously we’re biased but there’s no pressure on our side; we’ve already achieved what we wanted to achieve by making such a good debut album.
Tell us a little bit about the new single, ‘No Place Like Home’?
So, ‘No Place Like Home’ is about the battle between how much we love being at home but also how sometimes it’s not really the best place for us. Even though I love coming home and I love seeing my family and friends and all that, as soon as we do, it turns into that thing of someone asking if we’re going out for a pint, which turns into a couple of pints, which turns into a night out, which turns into being in someone’s kitchen all night, which turns into a couple of days. So yeah, it’s just about how much we love coming home but there’s no escaping the fact that it’s not very good for us mentally or physically, usually down to our own bad decisions though.
You’re becoming frequent flyers when it comes to the UK festival scene. What have you got lined up for festival season in 2024?
So we’ve got Isle of Wight main stage, Reading and Leeds main stage and we’re playing in Malta with Liam Gallagher and The Courteeners. We tend not to find out about some of them until nearer the time and then there’s some we are still to announce that we can’t talk about yet.
For anyone who hasn’t caught you live yet, what should they expect?
They should expect to have a good time – that’s the best way I can put it. Our live shows are the catalyst for our success. The fact that everybody enjoys our live show so much, including us, I think that radiates and we have a proper connection with the fans because they can see how much we love doing what we do on stage.
And finally, what have you got coming up for the rest of 2024?
Before all the festivals and that we’ve got a bunch of album signings and in-store performances before our headline tour, which we’re looking forward to as we don’t get to play those sort of intimate shows very often. But the headliners, it’s mental. The venues we’re playing, like NX in Newcastle, Rock City and Victoria Warehouse, are massive and they’re all going to sell out. Honestly, it’s mental.
The K’s head to NX, Newcastle on Friday 19th April. Tickets, priced at £19.50 in advance, are available from nxnewcastle.com.
