“In the ’80s, men didn’t talk about crying.”
Aidan Moffat talks to Victoria Segal.
Was there a moment that made it clear there would definitely be another Arab Strap record?
“We did some anniversary shows in 2016, and because it was a 20th anniversary there was a compilation as well. You don’t really appreciate what you do while you’re doing it, I think. Looking back on it, we found the things we enjoyed most. We didn’t really talk about doing a record until we’d done those gigs – I suppose it was a way of making sure we could still get on in a tour bus.”
What were those things you enjoyed most about Arab Strap?
“What you don’t really think about at the time is why other people like you. Listening back on it, I was quite surprised to find how kind of unique it sounded. People don’t really do cover versions of our songs because I don’t think they can.”
How has the way you write changed?
“When we started – and maybe even up until 10 years ago – I was always focusing on truth and everything had to be autobiographical. I was absolutely determined to make sure everything was honest and true, and that was fine – it worked the first time round – but as I’ve got older I find I really enjoy writing words a lot more without the restriction. It’s a much more fun process. Inspiration comes from everything. Kebabylon was based on a chapter I read in a book about a road sweeper and it seemed to me that he was like a guardian angel, looking after us and hiding all our secrets for us before the sun comes up. Here Comes Comus – he’s the god of nocturnal excess. He’s basically just a way to excuse bad behaviour, an elaborate way to say: ‘He made me do it!’”
On Tears On Tour, you sing about leading the audience in a “collective cry” – would that be your ideal show?
“I’m suddenly more emotional than I was and I don’t know if that’s age or being a dad but I tend to cry a lot at films now. But you know, when I was a teenager, even in the ’80s, men didn’t really talk about crying. It’s only in the last 15 years or so, people have started talking about emotions and ideas of masculinity are so much different from when I was growing up. That was part of what I was thinking – to write something honestly and to admit your failings and your mistakes, and there wasn’t a lot of that about when I was writing that. Certainly not in the way I wanted to hear it. I think when we started I was just very much focused on talking as I would to a friend – and that was all we expected. When we started out I had no idea we’d end up making a career out of it. Nobody sang in a Scottish accent back then except for The Proclaimers – the first two Proclaimers albums are great – but it was very rare to hear a Scottish accent singing. Being from Falkirk, it wasn’t an accent Scottish people had heard much of either.”