Baz Fratelli doesn’t recognise the studio version of ‘Whistle For The Choir’.
The 40-year-old bassist admitted the indie rockers have changed the way they perform their 2006 hit single – which hit number two in the UK Singles Chart 13 years ago – so much that when he heard it playing in a shop recently, it took him a while to realise what he was listening to.
Reflecting on the band’s debut album ‘Costello Music’, he exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "The thing is, we very rarely listen to the albums these days because you get so used to how you play it live. I was in a shop the other day – this is a true story – a tune was on, and I was like ‘I recognise that’.
"And it was ‘Whistle For The Choir’ but it took about 20 seconds to register because I hadn’t heard that version in years, really, eight years or something. I was like, ‘f***ing hell it’s really fast’. It’s weird that it takes a little while to register! We’re really lucky that record has stood the test of time, and it is fresh."
While their first LP still remains a favourite with many fans over a decade after its release, the group – completed by frontman Jon and drummer Mince – have never rested on their laurels, and they have already finished recording the follow-up to last year’s fifth record ‘In Your Own Sweet Time’.
Baz – who will headline Camper Calling tonight (24.08.19) with his bandmates – opened up on their longevity, adding: "Yeah, it’s not to be sniffed at. There’s many, many bands that came up when we did – and I don’t mean this disrespectfully but they cannae get out of the country these days!
"We’ve always been lucky that our audience is worldwide, we can go to play for six weeks in America to 2,000 people a night and that’s amazing!
"To still be able to do it and still release stuff – last year was a good year for us with the new album, it got us back on the map a bit, back on the telly. Things like that are nice, and it is nice to remind people sometimes that you’re still about."
Fratellis are still going strong, and the bassist is delighted to see that their fanbase has kept the same wide "demographic", with people of all ages turning up and engaging with the tunes.
He said: "It’s great, man. We’ve always been very lucky that our age demographic at gigs has been vast, even 14 years ago or whatever it was.
"It was always really young kids, and then people our age or older. It’s nice to see that hasn’t changed – there’s still loads of young kids there going crazy to stuff that came out years ago.
"The thing is, all the kids who were there 14 years ago, they’re all whatever age now. Music’s all about memories, so you attach it to when you first heard it, when you were first starting school or college or whatever, that’s what it’s all about."
Baz Fratelli didn’t recognise the studio version of Whistle For The Choir
