John Power says the new Cast album has fulfilled the creative place between the end of The La’s and the band’s debut LP.
The 56-year-old singer and his bandmates – guitarist Liam “Skin” Tyson and drummer Keith O’Neill – have just released the Britpop group’s seventh studio album ‘Love Is The Call’, and the songwriter says the record “is in the sweet spot” between the beginning of Cast and his departure from Lee Mavers’ band in 1991 after five years.
The ‘Sandstorm’ rocker felt as though “there were two separate John Powers” but this collection of songs has brought the two versions of himself together.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz, he said: “This is the record that Cast have never made, it’s the itch that I needed to scratch, it’s the sweet spot between ‘All Change’ and the end of The La’s, whilst not being a parody of either of them.
“It feels like we’ve kind of hit the nail on the head with this one, sonically and dynamically. You kind of get a feeling when you’ve written and recorded.
“It’s not just I’ve got a good idea or a couple of good songs, or the band played well on that track. It’s quite a rare thing and you tend to recognise it when all these things fall into place. I reckon the bunch of songs sonically and the actual identity of them are something special. The band was full of energy, everything just fell into place on this record.
“It’s the record that Cast needed to make but had never made. It had been brewing and sizzling in the back of my head for a long time. I think somewhere along the line I just realised I’m ready to make that record that is in the sweet spot between the beginning of Cast, ‘All Change’, and the end of The La’s. It’s in that fertile ground between the two that I hadn’t really explored.
“I felt like there were two separate John Powers, in the Shakespearean sense, there are two separate mes but not anymore.”
John had approached ‘Love Is The Call’ as if it was going to be Cast’s last ever record, but, as he is so proud of the tracks, he won’t rule out making an eighth album.
He explained: “It was a great experience. I was prepared for this record to be the last thing that Cast ever did, I told the band that, ‘You’ve got to look at it like it’s the last chance lads, the last chance saloon.’ We’ve got a record to make and this is what it’s going to sound like; I want the energy of a debut band but with the experience of all the things we’ve been through, all the love and the losses, all the highs and lows of what this band has been through, let’s capture it all and get it recorded.
“I don’t know what the future holds. I’m trying my hardest to live in the present because I know now as someone who has lived a bit of a life that we are all just passing through. The moments that matter are here and now. We’ve made a really exciting record; I can’t wait for people to hear it. If people dig this record, then we may start thinking of something else down the line. At the moment I think this is the record that Cast needed to make and I needed to make and write to complete the circle with the band. The band are in a great place so I’m looking to the future whilst being very present I’m intrigued to see what happens. It’s exciting to have a new record coming out after all these years.
“We weren’t going to break up, we would still have played but I just wanted to complete the circle.
“I feel liberated for making this record. I think in the past I’d be like, ‘Are people going to like it? Do you think we’ll get a lucky break?’ I don’t need that anymore; I just know that we’ve made a fantastic record and the best record we could’ve also made the record that Cast needed to make but had never made. All of a sudden I feel very chilled about it. Because the songs instil me with such a good feeling.”
Cast’s ‘Love Is the Call’ is out now, and the band are on a UK tour throughout February and March. They will also be supporting Liam Gallagher on his ‘Definitely Maybe’ anniversary tour in the summer.
Go to Castband.co.uk for tickets and information.