Interview: Rab Allan, Guitarist, Glasvegas

Published on Tuesday 22 February 2011 11:53

IN THE wake of a media frenzy about the breakdown he suffered while his band were on tour with Kings of Leon in December, Glasvegas frontman James Allan spoke candidly about how it came about, putting the blame on a birthday present given to him by his sister.

"The tour came to a shuddering halt," he admitted. "The last thing I remember was being given two black goldfish by Denise. It was my birthday. I took the fish to the zoo and later I was singing The Carpenters' (They Long To Be) Close To You to the fish, 33 floors up in a Chicago hotel.

"I remember sitting on the edge of my bed in my bathrobe with the fish in the tank on my lap, flicking through the TV channels. God knows what happened after that."

A few months down the line, lead guitarist Rab Allan is happy to shed light on his cousin's assumed struggle to deal with the way the Dalmarnock band were catapulted to stardom after hits such as Daddy's Gone and Geraldine from their self-titled 2008 debut album.

"To be honest, James is like that all the time," laughs Rab. "I read in the paper he had a breakdown - but that's his life. He is a bit mad.

"I guess most creative people are," he continues. "It's just that people don't always write about it.

"With James, people like to write about it when he's hanging out of a window in Chicago singing to goldfish."

It was all exaggerated, of course. There was no big breakdown, no cartoon clich of a rock star losing the plot. "It was just some fun," admits Rab. "I've actually got a video of it. It was James' birthday, and he'd just had a night out.

"We thought we'd record a video of him singing to the fish, but it was blown out of all proportion in the papers that he'd had a breakdown."

Be that as it may, the madness of being in Glasvegas did take its toll on one member of the band.

In January 2010, they decamped to California and set up studio in a multi-million dollar beach house in Santa Monica, where for five long months they worked on their soon-to-be-released sophomore album Euphoric Heartbreak.

It was during this period that drummer Caroline McKay left the band, citing personal reasons.

"I'd seen it coming for about a year, but it was still devastating," says Rab. "She'd never played drums before she joined us. It grew from my sister saying, 'I'll get you a gig', to something much bigger in a short period of time.

"We taught her how to play the part, but she never thought she was going to be playing at Glastonbury in front of 40,000 people; headlining T in the Park; playing Wembley with U2... she just couldn't handle it."

When Glasvegas kick off their UK tour at the HMV Picture House on Tuesday, it will not only give fans the chance to hear the new album, but also let them see new drummer Jonna Lofgren in action.

The Swede joined James, Rab and Paul Donoghue in December, and she's settling in well. "At first we were getting men with perms to auditions," says Rab. "We wanted a girl, but just couldn't find a good girl drummer in Britain.

"Anyway," he continues, "we're big in Sweden, so I suggested we get one there. The rest of the band said I was daft, but if I'm going to look at a drummer for the next three years she might as well be good looking.

"Two days later, Jonna turned up in London and I remember texting my manager and saying 'I'm a genius'. Jonna is gorgeous.

"She is a good drummer, too," he's careful to add. "She stands up when she plays."

After promising that the second album is even better than the first, the guitarist says he can't wait to play it to fans next week. "To be honest, we've neglected Edinburgh a lot in the past, and I keep saying this to management.

"Edinburgh is as mad as Glasgow, no matter what anyone says. The people don't give it much credit for some reason, so I'm really glad we're starting the tour there.

"I remember playing Liquid Room when the first album came out - someone threw a hat and it landed perfectly on James' mic stand. That just summed up the gig for us - it couldn't have gone better."

Glasvegas, Liquid Room, Victoria Street, Tuesday, 7pm, returns, 0131-225 2564