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Scottish Sun
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Ocean Colour Scene perform blistering summer set of 90s anthems and Britpop bangers for Glasgow crowd
Read on for our reviewer's thoughts on the gig below. GOT BLOWN AWAY Ocean Colour Scene perform blistering summer set of 90s anthems and Britpop bangers for Glasgow crowd Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IT'S a big year for 90s music nostalgia. There's comebacks galore in the air - Oasis, Pulp, Supergrass are all touring again. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 3 The band in their 90s pomp 3 Simon Fowler performing in 2014 But some bands from the era never really went away. And judging by the crowd at Ocean Colour Scene's gig, there's plenty out there who don't want them to - even after all these years. The band are playing at the Summer Nights On The Southside festival at Glasgow's Queen's Park recreation ground - a return to the city after April's O2 Academy gig. To read much of today's musical criticism of the 90s, you'd be forgiven for thinking OCS were mere also-rans of an era where there were many. But you simply can't argue with the wealth of incredible music they produced at their height - and you can't escape the feeling that history has been unkind to them. There are fewer greater examples of this than The Circle, a stunning anthem that still holds up to this day. It's one of their more enduring songs from classic album Mosley Shoals, released in 1995. The album propelled the band to new heights and it's easy to remember why when they delve into it - It's My Shadow and One for the Road are among the highlights. It's my first time at the Queen's Park venue but it's easy to see why it's become a fixture of Glasgow's summer festival scene. The Big Top tent is packed with fans who would fall into the "Oasis da" category - bucket hats, a pint in each hand and leaving their rough and ready masculinity at the door to put their arms around each other. But there's a whole younger crowd here too, and not just men. The enclosed tent roof is perfect for raucous tracks like Hundred Mile High City and it's razor blade riff, memorably used in the opening of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. And it's also ideal for sing-a-long anthems, of which OCS have many in their arsenal, like Robin Hood and Go To Sea. Frontman Simon Fowler even gives the crowd a brief burst of Oasis' Live Forever. The gig's not just a showcase for Fowler's vocal and songwriting talent, but lead guitarist Steve Cradock's skills too who surely stakes a claim to being the most talented of his generation. In terms of memorable riffs of the last 30 years, there's few than can touch The Riverboat Song. OCS even include 2007's powerful anthem Go To Sea, it's hard to see how they couldn't given it's inspired by young Glaswegian men being left with no career prospects after the closure of the shipyards. The band close out the night with arguably their finest moment, The Day We Caught the Train, and an army of people joining in with every word and then serenading the band off the stage with the epic chorus. Craddock recently said of the 90s: "People get nostalgic about it because it was such a good time." It's hard to disagree - but OCS can feel satisfied that their fans, at least, are still having one. And their kids are too.
The Sun
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Britpop legend reveals band's unreleased new song is a ‘banger' ahead of first album in 12 years
OCEAN Colour Scene are working on new music which could become the band's first album in 12 years, The Sun can exclusively reveal. 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. 4 4 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." 4 4 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.
The Courier
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Ocean Colour Scene duo announce Dundee, Glenrothes and Stirling gigs
Ocean Colour Scene duo Simon Fowler and Oscar Harrison have announced gigs in Dundee, Glenrothes and Stirling. The pair will perform acoustic hits at the shows in November. It comes as the full band prepare to play at Slessor Gardens this summer as part of Discovery Festival. The duo will kick off their acoustic tour at Stirling's Albert Halls on November 13. They will play at the Whitehall Theatre in Dundee on November 18 before heading to the Rothes Halls in Glenrothes on November 19. The shows will feature some of the band's biggest hits, including The Day We Caught the Train and The Circle. Forming in Birmingham 35 years ago, the band have released 10 studio albums, four of which have reached the UK top 10 album chart. Tickets for each show cost £36.75 and can be purchased from Ticketmaster.
