The lead singer reveals his pop inspirations
Lawson may be supporting The Wanted on tour at the moment, but we have a feeling it won’t be long before they’re headlining their own arena. Lead singer Andy Brown tells us about being inspired by Justin Bieber and why they’d like to go on tour with Girls Aloud.
First of all: can you tell us about any backstage antics with The Wanted?
Yeah, it’s been a laugh, it really has! They constantly get up to mischief. They’re always up to no good. We went out in Newcastle together and me and Max ended up in the casino. I don’t think we strolled in until 7am the next day! It was quite full of events…!
It’s like a big lads holidays. You forget you have gigs to do! We’re constantly laughing.
And when you do remember to get on stage, what it’s like performing your songs to thousands of people?
The arenas that we’re playing with The Wanted is incredible, and our music is like big choruses and so suits those sort of venues. We did the 02 the other night and it was amazing to hear the songs that I wrote in my backroom at home played on an arena level. It’s madness. It brings a tear to your eye, it really does!
Unlike a lot of boy bands, The Wanted have managed to release music that appeals to both guys and girls. Would you say your music appeals to everyone, or is more aimed at the laydees?
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. I think we do crossover, to be honest. The songs definitely appeal to guys as well. A lot of the songs are about real-life things like break-ups and every guy can relate to that.
When can we expect a single from Lawson?
We’re getting mixes at the minute and they’re sounding great, so we’re looking at end of May or beginning of June. Its three months’ time and I’m sure that will fly by!
It’s between two or three. We’re going to sit down around a table and decide and make a decision this week. Out of the three songs, I’d be happy for it to be any of them.
You have also supported Will Young on tour. We imagine he’s a little more sedate, or is he secretly a big rockstar smashing up hotel rooms?
It was a little bit different with Will. Will’s audience is older so it was harder for us. With The Wanted’s audience , if you look alright then they’ll cheer anyway and you can get away with it. With Will Young’s audience, they sit there and listen. We learned so much from that tour, and we went down amazingly well, so it shows we can win the girls over not just because we look good but with our talent as musicians as well! Will was brilliant.
Lawson was formed through friends of friends, YouTube and MySpace. When you played together for the first time, did you think you were on to something special?
It was hard, to be honest. The first time we played together was in a little room in Balham, and to be honest it sounded pretty shocking! I started the band from scratch with all my own songs, so I wanted them to sound great straight away. I came away from the first rehearsal thinking, oh god is this going to work?! It just didn’t sound good. I gave it another three or four times, and then we probably clicked about a month later. That’s when we started to sound good and I thought we could become something really great.
You've performed covers of artists like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Are you a fan of cheesy pop?
I am! I’m not ashamed to admit that. As long as it’s catchy. We were in the van the other day on the way to the 02 and watched Justin Bieber’s film Never Say Never to get inspiration. And fair play, he’s brilliant.
Will you be including any covers on your album?
I don’t think so, no. We always tend to do a cover when we do a live show but that’s because no-one really knows our own material yet and we need to keep the audience tuned in. It keeps them on our side.
Marcus Collins has released a cover of Seven Nation Army as his debut single. What are your thoughts on that?
I’ve not actually heard, y’know. I’ve saw the music video the other day but there was no sound. He looks sharp though, I must say. I’ve no idea what it’s like though. He’s Top 10 on iTunes so fingers crossed. He’s a fellow Scouser as well so we always support each other!
It's been announced that Girls Aloud will be reforming next year. Are you excited about that?
Definitely. I went to see Girls Aloud’s arena tour! I think Cheryl is amazing, and they had amazing songs. Every one was a winner and I love Nadine’s voice as well. I think they’re going to do amazing when they come back, to be honest. I look forward to that!
If you had to choose, who would you rather support: The Wanted or Girls Aloud?
I think all the lads in the band would say Girls Aloud. That would be a good laugh, seeing what mischief we can create there!
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