Vaccines get ready to inject into Lanarkshire
Brit rockers the Vaccines are ready to hit Lanarkshire as part of their upcoming tour.
Tickets have already been snapped up quickly for the show at Motherwell Concert Hall by the If You Wanna and Teenage Icon hitmakers. The tour follows on from the band releasing their fourth album Combat Sports earlier in 2018. Frontman Justin Young believes the new album, and their touring over the past year, has helped the group rediscover who they were, after a turbulent time that saw drummer Pete Robertson depart the band. He said: “We lost sight of who we were and why we were there. When you’re as insecure and self-aware as me, there’s a constant process of second-guessing everything you do.
“I’ve brought The Vaccines into my heart again now. Being in a band is about compromise and collaboration and I think it’s coming to terms with what we are as a collective and falling back in love with that and making the best record we can as a band, rather than as individuals.”
That resulted in Combat Sports, an album that went back to the band’s short and sharp rock n’ roll roots, rather than the poppier sound of 2015 release English Graffiti.
Justin recalled being in a bar and realising that rock music can still have a big impact on people.
He explained: “The DJ played Everybody’s Happy Nowadays, and all the girls in there were dancing so intensely to it. I thought: ‘I remember why I love the Buzzcocks – for these really sad, forlorn, dumb, catchy songs.’ And I realised rock and roll was sexy again. I’d forgotten it could be sexy.”
As for the album title, that’s not a negative sign, according to the singer – despite the fact it was decided upon after he and guitarist Freddie Cowan had a fight in the studio and came to blows.
He added: “We’ve never been shy of telling home truths to each other. We’re like brothers, and brothers fight.
“We’re not just saying being in a band and making a record feels like a combat sport – we know how lucky we are. If you listen to the lyrics, we’re saying life is a combat sport. Love is a combat sport. Friendship is a combat sport. Mental health is a combat sport. But there is so much hope and positivity in the melody, and in our love affair with music, too.”
The Vaccines will play Motherwell Concert Hall on January 30, the only Scottish date of their tour,
Any remaining tickets are £22.50.