Razorlight’s Johnny Borrell blasts modern rock stars for spending too long promoting themselves on social media
THEY don’t make ‘em like Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell any more – and doesn’t he know it.
He has blasted the current crop of chart stars for spending too much time on their smart phones promoting themselves rather than honing their skills.
The rocker also took aim at radio stations for focusing on mainstream music, insisting there is still an appetite for rock bands.
In an exclusive interview Johnny, who boasted he still owns a humble Nokia, said: “I’ve never ever owned a smart phone.
"It’s not my thing. I know musicians who spend more hours per day on their Instagram than they do playing their instrument or practising their instrument. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Johnny and Razorlight are back with new song Burn, Camden, Burn — an unreleased track from 2009. It’s a real nostalgia trip that took me back to the indie glory days of the Noughties.
Razorlight’s self-titled second album went to No1 in 2006 and they had a high-charting follow-up in 2008 when they were the darlings of the indie scene.
But a year later, band drummer Andy Burrows quit the group following a falling out with Johnny.
After a five-year hiatus, Razorlight reunited in 2018 — with new member David Kaplan – to release fourth album Olympus Sleeping, but it peaked at a disappointing No 27.
But Johnny insists there is still a huge audience for bands. He said: “I like the sound of the band in a room, whether it’s from the Rolling Stones to The Pretenders to Pulp to The Strokes.
I know musicians who spend more hours on their Instagram than they do playing their instrument. It doesn’t make sense to me
Johnny Borrell
“It’s out there but it’s not on the mainstream radio. For the last five years, radio has been getting progressively more and more commercial.
"That’s down to the radio stations.” Razorlight’s new song is being used as part of Apple TV+ show Trying, a comedy-drama about a young couple looking to adopt while living in Camden, North London.
Johnny said: “They wanted to use it in the first episodes so we were like, ‘Yeah we’d be delighted,’ because we’d like it to be out there rather than sitting on a hard drive somewhere. Because that comes out through
Apple Music it has to be released, so it was ideal because I was hoping to be releasing some of the new stuff we’ve been working on around this time.”
Johnny and the group’s current line-up — guitarist Bjorn Agren, keyboardist Reni Lane, bassist Ben Ellis and drummer Mat Hector — were midway through making music when they were forced to down tools due to lockdown.
He said: “We were working on four songs and we were pretty close to finishing them. We’re going back in the studio as soon as we get the all-clear from the studio.”
Despite almost every artist on the planet using their downtime to make new music, in typical rock’n’roll style, Johnny has turned his nose up at virtual sessions with bandmates.
Instead he’s perfecting his football skills and is “keepy-uppy champion”. He said: “Me and Bjorn talked about doing some virtual jamming and stuff.
“Firstly I don’t think I’ve even got the technology. And secondly, it doesn’t seem that appealing.” As for a fifth album, Johnny admits he is uncertain.
Johnny said: “It used to all be about that first week. It’d feel like an event.
"Whereas with streaming and stuff, it’s kind of like a slow burn. We saw that with our fourth album.
“Whether the next thing is an album or series of singles, I just don’t know.” They’re still big hitters to me.
Sam's family focus
SAM CLAFLIN is one of Britain’s most eligible bachelors after his split from LAURA HADDOCK.
But any girls wanting to get close will struggle to get his attention.
Last August The Sun revealed the Hunger Games actor and Inbetweeners star Laura had parted ways after six years of marriage.
The dad-of-two says he is now so busy “with kids, I don’t have time to do up a pair of boots”.
Sam, 33, also told Man About Town mag – out now at manabouttown.tv – “I’ve always been into fashion, and I’d go shopping with my mum. I’d say what I thought was nice.”
Noel: I'm 'too vain' to take heroin
THERE wasn’t much Noel Gallagher didn’t do in the Nineties but he insists he drew the line at heroin.
The Oasis star claims he would have taken the class A drug if he wasn’t so fearful it would rob him of his fashion sense – and make him look like Happy Mondays singer Shaun Ryder.
He said: “I’m too vain to be a heroin addict. Any drugs where you’re going to get dirty fingernails isn’t for me.
“I don’t like scruffy s**t, f***ing dirty flats. You’d see Shaun Ryder walking round Manchester like a zombie.”
In a new book, Don’t Look Back In Anger, he said: “It’s not very glamorous.
"The accepted face of a heroin user was some scabby, spotty f***ing Scouse c***. I’m not going to be that guy.”
Earlier this week Noel admitted that heavy cocaine use in the Nineties resulted in “brutal, aggressive” panic attacks and he once had to go to hospital.
He said: “It is a s**t drug. It’s not creative, it’s not very sociable.
"You end up locked in a bathroom with some f***ing idiot who you don’t like, particularly – and saying that, I mean, I did a f***ing load of it.”
bizmeter
- KATY PERRY will release her new album, believed to be called KP5, on August 14. The pregnant singer is also releasing new song Daisies tomorrow and teamed up with voice assistant Alexa to announce the date of the follow-up to her 2017 record, Witness.
- CARDI B had denied she worked on a song with BEYONCE in 2017, which was later scrapped. But producer J White said: “I had a Beyonce play with Cardi and that kinda went sour because it went viral that they was doing a song together.”
- FLORENCE PUGH has swapped acting for singing and released a charity single, out today. The Little Women actress sings on the track, called Lockdown, which was written as a poem by playwright Simon Armitage. The Proceeds go to charity Refuge.
- DAKOTA JOHNSON wasn’t given preferential treatment by boyfriend CHRIS MARTIN when she put herself forward to make COLDPLAY’s Cry Cry Cry video, released in February. She said: “I pitched it to the band like every other director and they chose mine.”
No Grande plan in 2020
ARIANA GRANDE scored three UK No1s in four months on her last album Thank U, Next, but fans will have to wait a bit longer for her to repeat that success.
She is on course to go to No1 this week with her Justin Bieber collaboration Stuck With U but said her next album won’t be out for ages.
The superstar, below, confirmed she has been writing new tunes but said of a new album: “I’m not putting one out . . . I’ve been making stuff.
“I’ve been making a lot of stuff, but that’s not where my head is at right now.” And Ari said she has an unreleased track with Doja Cat.
In a rare interview, with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, she added: “It’s a great time to create because you’re stuck with your thoughts and left in your head a little bit, so I think all creatives are extra- inspired right now.
“I didn’t have a home set-up until quite recently and that’s been so much fun, but also so bad for my sleep schedule and my eating schedule.”
bizbit
- DUFFY says she feels ‘liberated’ after opening up about her kidnap ordeal
- CAMILA Cabello teases tunes after working on new material in isolation
- KATE Beckinsale spotted holding hands with new toyboy Goody Grace
Naughty butt nice, Madge
MADONNA is finally getting treatment to help her fix a crippling knee injury – and she shared these outrageous photos to celebrate.
In true Madge fashion, she posted snaps of herself in a plunging tight top and of her bum in undies as she announced the good news on Instagram.
She wrote: “Finally going to get my regenerative treatment for my missing cartilage.
“I would be jumping up and down if I could after eight months of being in pain. Wish me luck!”
The 61-year-old Vogue singer had struggled during her Madame X tour, which ended in March, due to her injury.
I only hope she doesn’t give her doctor a heart attack dressed like this.
bizticker
- Duffy says she feels ‘liberated’ after opening up about her kidnap ordeal l Camila Cabello teases tunes after working on new material in isolation
- Kate Beckinsale spotted holding hands with new toyboy Goody Grace
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