Music Features

The Riverboat Song, The Day We Caught the Train, Traveller's Tune, Hundred Mile High City, Profit in Peace. A discography of hit rock 'n' roll songs that many might have forgotten, but have seen Ocean Colour Scene come of age in their 18th year.

A tour of Eastern promise to Japan and Korea, alongside the uncertainty of striding in to their own record label, will be coupled with an acoustic tour, including the band's second ever visit to Peterborough.

"We do tour, yeah. I mean before you have a record deal that's what you do isn't it? You go out and play and I don't think as a band, thank God, we've ever lost that.

"We totally prefer it. I don't think we're that good in the studio really. I'd have thought we'd have got used to it by now."

Frontman Simon Fowler

Most recent album On the Leyline has been floating around for some months now and marks a return to the bass-driven indie-Brit-rock sounds that catapulted the Birmingham band to the upper echelons of the album charts with Moseley Shoals and Marchin' Already in the mid-90s.

However, this is the first the Brummie Boys have released off their own bats.

"Whatever record we've ever made it's just gone out there. We just fancied doing something different that was on our own label.

"We've been together 18 years now, so it just comes to the point where it seems different. It means we can retain the rights to the record instead of giving our music away."

If Ocean Colour Scene wasn't a big enough distraction, Steve is keeping up his long-standing connection with the Modfather Paul Weller, playing on his soon-to-be released double album and has been touring with Amy McDonald.

But most intriguing of all is Steve's solo effort, which sees him pick up pen and paper for the first time.

"I've got nine tracks recorded. It's going very well. I did it all in four days and I play all the instruments myself as well. I was inspired by Macca's first album.

Playng the Cresset 12th April

"It goes from the writer of the Bond movies, to the Arctic Monkeys, to the Burmese Monks."

The spring tour, which featured an April performance at the Cresset Theatre, focuses on the band's lesser known, but often more requested material.

Robin Hood, a nostalgic acoustic number laced with psychedelic lyrics, is described as "a wonderful folk song" by Steve.

"We've got a lot of songs that we think are really beautiful and we've never played them live. That's going to be a good test I think.

"I was listening the other night, songs like Linin' Your Pockets, Big Star, Huckleberry Grove, songs off that b-sides album. We're going to try and reconnect with some of those songs."

Reconnecting shouldn't be too hard. Only bassist Damon Minchella has deferred from the original line-up and drummer Oscar Harrison has barely changed a bit.

A more familiar modern line-up

"He's never aged. He's the Dorian Gray of the band," says Steve, before shouting over his shoulder.

"Talking about you Osc. I said he's the Dorian Gray of the band," which Steve follows up with a suitably camp "Ohh, hello."

"Oscar, question, why are you so cool...? He doesn't know. Good lad. Everyone who is cool doesn't know it."

And on recent gigging, he adds: "I look forward to all of them. But definitely Peteborough. We're going to move to Peterborough."

I think he was joking.