INTERVIEW: Embrace’s Danny McNamara

Photo Credit: Ellen Benn

Embrace are set to return to Minehead in November for their third headline slot. We caught up with singer Danny McNamara to talk about what’s in store, new music and much more…

Hi Danny, how are you?

Yeah, I’m good. How are you?

Yeah, all good, thanks very much. You’re back to headline Shiiine for the third time in November. How does that feel?

Yeah. The crowds are amazing. I really enjoy it, and no matter what the weather is doing, it doesn’t matter because you’re indoors, everybody just seems to be up for having one big party.  And, yeah we absolutely love it.

What are you memories of your previous headline shows at Shiiine?

Just the way that the crowd all seemed to know every word and singing along really, really loudly and just being really up for it, you know, from beginning to end. It’s almost like T In The Park!

For this year’s show you’ve got a great support bill with Starsailor, Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band and Unbelievable Truth. Are you going to catch any of those bands or is there any other bands over the weekend that you might be looking to see?

Starsailor are old mates. We went on tour with them across America and Richard has produced their last couple of albums. I think Rick has played guitar with him a few times as well, like on ‘Good Souls’ and he’s gone on tour with them as well. So, yeah, we’re really, really good mates with Starsailor. I think they’re a fantastic band, and James is an incredible singer. Michael Head, I love the album he did with The Strands, and the song ‘Something Like You’ It’s heart breaking. It’s one of those songs where if I want to feel a certain way, it’s like, Elvis Costello’s, ‘I want You’ it’s just one of those songs where you can’t just listen to it casually. I feel a certain way and when I want to, I’ll stick that song on and it’s just amazing.

Before you play Shiiine, you’ve got some other massive shows as well over the summer. You’ve got the big one in Leeds with Ocean Colour Scene and Ash, you must be made up you’ve come this far down the line that you’re still headlining massive festivals and playing such huge shows.

Yeah. It seems to have gone up recently, the amount of people that really care. We’re doing the 20th anniversary of ‘Out of Nothing’ this year, and it seems like we’ve got more gigs this year than we’ve had, for over a decade, and they’re bigger than ever.  Like you said, we’re playing a massive outdoor gig in Leeds with Ocean Colour Scene supporting and then Ash, it’s an incredible line up.  And, you know, we didn’t expect that at all at this stage in our career for that to be happening.  We’ve got a big tour as well in November and the dates sold on that really quickly as well, quicker than ever. It’s just amazing and it feels really, really fortunate to still be embraced, to be honest.  We’re working on a new album as well, we started working on it last week and already we’ve got a couple of bangers in there, and one really big heart breaking tune as well.  So, I’m feeling really good about the future as well, you know, not just looking at the sort of anniversary shows and the past, but also really looking to the future, which is really exciting.

Great to hear on the new record. Will any of that be ready by November, do you think?

No, that probably won’t be coming out until next year.  We’ve worked up 15 ideas and we’re about halfway, so it will be a little while yet. We might sneak something in. We’ll see, but I don’t think it’s likely.  Like when you’re doing big festivals, people want to hear the sort of big hits, don’t they?

Yeah, they do, but I’m sure any suprises will go down well.  We have been talking there about the longevity of the band. It’s coming up to sort of 30 years almost, isn’t it. What’s been your career highlights?

You know, there’s been all sorts of stuff. Like when ‘Nothing’ went to number one. It was at a stage where a lot of the Band had to get day jobs so it was kind of a make or break situation. And you know, the album going to number one was a real vindication because we had been dropped by our record label and everything before it. So, that was pretty amazing. Going to Thailand when we were number one, in Thailand and just the way that we got treated out there, it was like we were like the Fab Four or something. Government officials came to get us through the airport and there was the assembled press and thousands of screaming fans, that was pretty mental.

And then, more recently, this whole sort of resurgence. It seems like everything started to build again. It’s like we’re making like a third or fourth comeback now which is just amazing. And for a band like us to be around for like 25 nearly 30 years and still be excited about what we’re writing next and for the new songs to be as welcomed as the old stuff by fans is just, you know, It’s an amazing feeling.

What’s the best festival set you have played?

When we did T In The Park back in the day when we headlined, that was just amazing. It was so busy that they had to take the sides of tent down to let everybody could see.  The audience was so noisy that Rick’s amp blew up halfway through the first song, and we didn’t even realize until song three because the audience was so noisy. It was like Shea Stadium with the Beatles or something. some of the secret gigs that we’ve done have been pretty mental too.

We did one in complete darkness in the bottom of a mill, which was pretty crazy for the fans. I imagine on my deathbed when I die, there’ll be a lot of memories as I go back through my life that are standouts, you know?  I’ve definitely lived a life.

Talking about the Secret festival, have you got any plans to resurrect that at all in the future?

Yeah, we are thinking about it. Well, I don’t really want to say…..

Yeah, it’s a secret.

You nearly caught me there! But, yeah, we are definitely thinking about it. So, that’s a bit of an exclusive.

Well, say no more.

Is there any message you can give for those coming to Shiiine?  

Just don’t get too drunk. Pace yourself and have the best time of your life.

Thanks so much, Danny. See you in November!

Embrace headline the Sunday night at Shiiine this year. Final weekend packages are on sale HERE