The Wombats on their wild backstage capers – and why this tour will be different

The indie band from Liverpool, who is best known for their hits Let’s Dance To Joy Division and Leaving For New York, shed light on their shenanigans when they hit the road once more.

The Wombats adored a crazy night out, which was once hailed as wilder than Motörhead. The three-piece Liverpool indie band’s Leaving For New York and Let’s Dance To Joy Division tour is a little less successful as they return to the road with a completely different rider.

“Can we get some organic kombucha on the rider, please? is the last thing I wrote to our tour manager.” Dan Haggis describes the flavor of lemon, ginger, or turmeric. The days of partying at 6am with rappers and 6am finishes with Dan, Matthew Murphy as lead singer, and Tord Verland Knudsen as bass players are long gone. Over 1 million albums have been sold worldwide since they formed in 2003.

READ MORE: Radio 1’s Big Weekend line-up in full and how to get tickets

Dan continued, “We had someone on our tour who worked with Motörhead,” recalling some of their wildest nights. Lemmy and the guys worked hard, but you guys are a whole other level, he said. We had a lot of impact. We had a five-day party the first time we visited South by Southwest. I was lost by the radar.

Tord chips in: “Ice Cube came into the party – and he got kicked out. It was because we were making noise in the hotel and they were at the hotel. We were hiding but Ice Cube didn’t, so he got kicked out. We were hiding behind the couch.”

To bandmate Murph, Tord goes: “Pete Doherty told you to go to bed. He said ‘I think you’ve had enough mate’.” Murph nods: “We were on the tour bus out of my mind. I kept asking him the same question.”

The boys have just released their sixth studio album, Oh! The Ocean, and have just set off on their biggest ever UK Arena Tour, playing London’s O2 tomorrow.

Dan said, “We tour very differently now.” We give sleep our top priority these days. You exercise, do yoga, and get massaged. “My last tipple was two and a half years ago,” Murph continued. It had to stop because things got really crazy.

Before performing on stage, I’ve grown accustomed to drinking something that tastes pretty rank. It used to be a tequila shot, but it now tastes just as awful without any alcohol.

With already more than 20 years under their belt, The Wombats realise it’s a marathon not a sprint as they look to The Rolling Stones for inspiration towards longevity. “We supported The Rolling Stones in New Jersey a few years back and it was so inspiring to see their energy,” remembered Dan.

“I saw him again last summer when we were recording the album, actually. It’s so impressive. It was amazing. Mick Jagger was bouncing from one side of the stage to the other. He seems to really enjoy it still, he has this youthful energy. If we can have 10% of that when we get to that age, we’ll be winning in life.”

The band waded into the recent furore surrounding the US influencer who snatched a baby wombat for its mother in Australia.

Dan called it “disgusting.” The mother and baby were deeply distressed by it. Marsupials are not known for being overly affectionate. They are not golden retrievers, though. You are altering their natural surroundings, rhythms, smells, and other elements while they are in the wild. It is simply very disrespectful. And that’s just a social media moment. Hope that everyone else will take away from her error and realize that it’s probably not a wise decision.

The Wombats opened their UK tour tonight in Nottingham, then play tomorrow in London, Cardiff, Manchester, Hull, Glasgow, and Leeds, before wrapping up in Liverpool on June 19 with a trip to Liverpool.

Source: Mirror