Britpop legend reveals band's unreleased new song is a ‘banger' ahead of first album in 12 years
The popular British band has five top 10 albums to its name but hasn't put out a full length release since 2013's Painting.
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That might soon change as frontman Simon Fowler has written three new tracks, one of which guitarist Steve Cradock has branded a "banger".
In an exclusive interview with The Sun ahead of their performance at Godiva Festival, Cradock, 55, said: "Simon sent me three tunes, that's what I've heard. I've demoed them up to a point where they sound f**king smart. There's one banger, and there's one interesting one.
"I mean, we haven't done a record in like 11 years or something, we've been waiting for Simon to write for a long, long time.
" The Beatles wrote together for eight years. That sort of puts it into some kind of funk. From where I sit at the moment, it would be fun for us all to do it, I think."
The group's back catalogue includes singles The Day We Caught The Train and The Riverboat Song, both of which are currently getting play time during festival season.
Having released 10 albums to date, Cradock is content playing Ocean Colour Scene's hits, of which there are many - 17 top 40 singles to be precise.
"I don't think it would make a difference to gigs, if I'm honest," he says of a new record. "Because we've kind of got what we are through all the albums that we did back in the day. And when we play festivals, we play the main singles that people know, obviously.
"I don't see the point in being self-absorbed when you're doing festivals. You've just got to play the songs that people hopefully will know. And leave it at that.
"It's different for your own gigs. There's many tunes that we can unearth. I think that those sort of fans would find it interesting."
While he wouldn't be drawn on a timescale for a new album, Cradock says the creative process could be very quick if material is right.
Paul Weller - Wildwood
"If the songs are there, it wouldn't take me long at all to produce it and to get it out."
Away from Ocean Colour Scene, Cradock plays guitar for Paul Weller, a role he's held since 1992.
Last year's 66 featured in numerous best of 2024 lists and will be followed this July by the Modfather's covers album, Finding El Dorado, featuring the likes of Robert Plant and Noel Gallagher.
"It's beautiful, because you can see what a creative force Paul Weller is," he says.
"That's just what he does, and he's a force of nature, and he's a force of melody. When you're in the studio, you see things happen just like that, in the instant, the second. And then, by the end of the day, something's happened.
"There's not many days that I've seen where people got that disappointed. To be around that creative process is great."
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Weller didn't hang around, laying it down in just 10 days, and there were no egos in the studio despite the calibre of musicians involved.
Led Zeppelin frontman Plant turned up ready and willing to work like a regular session musician.
"He was prepared for it, like a working musician, not a rock god," says Cradock.
"He was humbling and he played some beautiful harp. Then we asked if he would sing and he sang and it was just like, 'wow'."
Mod fan Cradock rejoiced in hearing Plant's tales from his days before superstardom, particularly how he played a role in a notorious battle between two subcultures on the south coast.
"He told me he left the Black Country in '64 on his hand-painted Lambretta, went down to Hastings and got involved in the mods and rockers fight and then drove back on his Lambretta.
"It blew my mind the fact that you've got this sort of rock icon who was originally a mod fighting the rockers.
"He was a gentleman and he's a great singer and he's really tuned in to what's happening in that moment you know, a true professional, a G. He's a f***ing G."
Music fans can hear Plant do his thing when the record is released on July 25.
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