You probably know the band best for their infamous cover of The Rolling Stones track ‘I’m Free’, but the story of The Soup Dragons is much bigger. Fresh from a dog walk through the park, Sean Dickson, the band’s frontman, sits down with Cameron Wright to expand on the incredible story of the band.
First and foremost, how are the dogs?
They’re good. I found Fred, my shiatsu, by accident. I’d forgotten to turn my watch forward an hour one day and was racing to a gig. There was Fred, on the road, beaten, with an eye missing. We took him in, nursed him back to health and got him a friend, Barney. They’re the loves of my life and the best thing I’ve ever done.
It’s funny how these little coincidences lead to big moments…
Exactly! It’s that butterfly effect in real life – it’s the same as how I met my husband. I called an old friend and there was someone in his house. I got chatting and the next day, I got a train to London, we went on a date, and made a rule right there that we’d get married five years later. Living in the moment is the best lesson I’ve learnt.
You’ve got a very Ernest look on the world…
You have to. Once you’ve hit the lowest of lows, you need to appreciate the highs. Learning about my sexuality led to the darkest battles of my life. I was a married man with kids and it was a horrible experience to come to terms with. Coming out the other side, you learn to soak up every little moment. With The Soup Dragons, it was one crazy thing after another. Be it performing on Top of The Pops or filling out Madison Square Garden, there was just one high after another – but you’re almost numb to it. Your brain can only take so much ecstasy at once. Today, walking the boys for the first time in a week, it brought a tear to my eye. You have to always be looking forward, which was what was interesting about The Soup Dragons reunion.
How so?
Well, when we got asked to reunite, I’d said no originally because I always want to be pushing forward, doing something new. I agreed to do it as long as there was new material. So we got writing over WhatsApp and it came together really quickly.
Talk me through the new single…
‘Love is Love’ is the idea of 18-year-old me meeting now me. I think he’d be proud. I was 17 when Soup Dragons kicked off. I’d been in punk bands at school, thinking we were edgy – we weren’t.
What an experience…
One day I’m turning 18, the next day there’s a call on the landline and my mum’s on the phone to John Peel. He gave us the money in cash to get a train to London and do the infamous Peel sessions. The next moment, I’ve got four pages in NME.
How are you feeling about the return?
I tour as a DJ, but getting the band together feels like something out of a sitcom. We always called ourselves a psychedelic punk band and we want to carry that energy back. I’m tempted to open each show by saying: “Tonight, we will all be 18 again.” That’s how it feels to us! It’s as raw and authentic as it was back then. It’s the whole Soup Dragon journey, pre ‘I’m Free’, Post ‘I’m Free’, the new singles. It’ll be great getting back to Newcastle as our biggest fan in the world lives there. Shout out to Dave Watson as he has more memorabilia than any of the band and he knows the words better than I do – and I wrote them!
The Soup Dragons head to Boiler Shop, Newcastle on Wednesday 1st November. Tickets, priced at £30.00 in advance, are available from ticketweb.uk.
