People
We Love
Middleman
Introduction:
Leeds four-piece Middleman pride themselves in producing electro fuelled catchy numbers that have earnt them a loyal following on the live indie circuit. With Zane Lowe championing their last two singles on his Radio One show, we caught up with the Fenchurch-loving musos and subsequently found out the horrific truth that Rolf Harris can ruin lives....read on at your peril.
Tell us about Middleman.
None of us wanted this, but God played a leading role and who are we to argue with God? We’re just a band.
How would you describe your sound?
Our sound is probably best described as the result of a gang fight between Gorillaz, The Streets and Prodigy.
How did it feel to be crowned unsigned band of the week by Steve Lamacq?
Well we found out on the Monday, went for a drink on Tuesday, we were making love by Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and we chilled on Sunday.
What are you currently working on?
For the past two months we’ve been in the studio recording our debut album. It’s been really exciting because we’ve had a string section and brass section in for certain tracks and have been working with some great producers for example, Jason Boshoff (who worked with Basement Jaxx and Shy Child) and Stateless.
Stage or studio?
We definitely love working in the studio but are all about the live show. There’s nothing like plating tracks that people know the words to. When you’ve been locked up in a studio for a while and you release a record it feels amazing to trash the tunes out live, it reminds you why you love it!
How would you describe your style?
We definitely don’t fit into the cool indie pigeonhole. If we were to pin it down we’d say that we’re more fitting to the snowboarding/skating scene.
Who are your heroes?
Mine was a cartoonist and animal lover, Rolf Harris before I met him and he ruined my life. I went to see him at the NEC in Birmingham when I was about nine years old where he was painting a massive picture and chatting to an audience of about 200 people whilst doing it. I, being the massive fan that I was, decided to draw my interpretation of the picture to give to Rolf as a present. When he finished and the crowd had left I ran up to him to give him the picture that I’d drawn and to ask for his autograph. He kept ignoring me and wouldn’t take the picture or give me an autograph. His manager told me to go away and so I cried. My dad followed him and told him off and eventually managed to get me a signed book from Rolf. To be honest it was too late, that man shattered my dreams and I will never forgive him.
Top, middle or bottom?
Right in the freakin’ middle, man!
Tell us why you love Leeds.
Leeds is the spiritual home of coal; it also has a thriving pasty scene.
What has been you best gig?
The Moor Music Festival 2007 without doubt. We ended up headlining the festival because the band that were supposed to pulled out. We headlined in front of an amazing crowd, during our last song Lee stage dived into the crowd, it was incredible.
Name your ultimate band line-up.
Russell Grant (the horoscope guy) on drums, Des Lynham (sports presenter) on vocals, Edward Woodward (actor) on keys, Chris Eubank (boxer) on bass and Dickie Bird (cricket umpire) on guitar.
If you were a cheese, what would you be and why?
Cheese slices because Slurpy eats four with every burger.
What's been the best moment of your career so far?
The best moment has to be doing a Maida Vale session for Huw Stephens on Radio One, we spent a whole day recording there which was such an incredible experience. The two guys that produced and engineered for us were amazing also. Once all the tracks were done we sat down for the interview which was to be broadcast that night, but something went wrong with the recorder which meant the interview had not recorded properly.
The best thing happened next, Radio One sent a really posh car out to us at Maida Vale studios and taxied us over to the main station to do the interview again. When we got there Zane Lowe was hosting his show in the room next door, whilst we were re-recording the interview. We then heard his voice over the speakers in our rooms saying, “Middleman, Middleman is that you?” He then came over and chatted to us which was such a good moment, we couldn’t believe he knew who we were. Since then, he’s been championing us and has played our two singles on his shows.
