Silence Is Easy: Still Speaking Volumes
Why Starsailor Still Matters to a Generation That Never Forgot
By fred spanner
With James Walsh’s soaring vocals and a knack for heartbreak hooks, Starsailor quickly carved out their spot post-Britpop. Now, older, wiser, and still dishing out new tunes, the guys are back on the road and sounding sharper than ever. We caught up with frontman James Walsh for a no-nonsense natter about fame, fallouts, and why good music never goes out of style.
None of us wants to grow old gracefully anymore. We’re not willing to give up the joy music gave us in our younger years, and judging by the bands currently on tour, selling out night after night, the party is still going strong..
How’s the party going for you, James?
“It’s been great recently because many of our fans who are in their 40s and 50s are bringing their kids to our shows. They’re then telling their friends about us, too. It’s a mix of fans who want a good night out, reminiscing about the old days, and there are those who like the matinee gigs we’ve been doing recently. They’ll bring their kids to that, then get their dinner, and have an early night.”
You guys have been together for 25 years. With so many other bands making line-up changes, again and again, how have you managed to stay intact?
“We all went to college together, and I think when you’ve grown up together and teased each other from an early age, it makes it easier to stay the distance. We’re used to our different personalities; The quiet one, the Liverpool fan, the Man United fan, etc.”
Are you comparing yourselves to the Spice Girls?
“Haha, yes. I remember we did a gig in London that the label organised. It was a “Who’s Who” of the record industry. It was packed. Shortly afterwards, we were dragged back down to earth when we played a gig at The Charlotte in Leicester entirely to our own crew and the support band. Which shows it’s one thing to get the industry buzz, but quite another to see that grow into something real. Once we started to get real fans and appreciation for what we were doing, is when it felt like something special was happening.
“I think because we’ve always had this influence from Neil Young, Van Morrison, and Jeff Buckley, it gave us a slightly different angle to come in on, post-Britpop.”
I remember seeing you playing Good Souls on The David Letterman Show. Didn’t he joke about you being called Jefferson Starsailor, or something like that?
“I don’t remember that, but I wouldn’t have put it past him.”
Was there a song that really stood out whilst you were recording your first album, Love Is Here?
“Listening to the whole thing played back to us after all the work had been put in was a pretty special moment. But, I think the moment that really took my breath away was actually on the second album at Abbey Road when we got the strong section in. Silence is Easy, and Four to the Floor sounded incredible.
“When you have someone as good as Leo Abrahams doing the arrangements, it becomes more of a collaboration, and less of an ego trip. It’s more like experiencing how wonderful this arrangement is that someone else has made from our music.”
The strings on Four To The Floor wouldn’t have been out of place on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
“Yes, there’s definitely a nod to disco there.”
A couple of tracks on Silence is Easy were produced by Phil Spector. What was he like to work with?
“It was an interesting experience. It went from a slightly eccentric talking point to something much darker, and it hung a cloud over it. We’d heard a lot of talk about him being a taskmaster beforehand, but in the end, the real problem was communication. It became quite strained, and he was quite heavily medicated.
“It was well documented that he wore a different wig every day, and it just became a bizarre and subsequently dark experience. With Brian Wilson sadly passing away recently, his praise for Phil Spector brought it all back. I just hope that, when he died, Brian realised he was a much better person.”
I take it, as a Liverpool FC fan, you were responsible for the “Silence is Easy, Djibril Cissé” chant?
“I wasn’t aware that it had caught on, haha. After Liverpool won the European Cup in 2005, they had these little reunion nights where Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard came along. They’d wheel out the trophy, and I’d get up and sing a few songs to 100 or so folk, instead of 50,000 or so outside.”
We’re living in some dark times now, politically. Do you think music still has the power to get a serious message across?
“I think so, yes. I think it’s a shame that people don’t speak up more when they see injustice. There are innocent people dying all around the world. People who didn’t start any of the attacks. It’s collective punishment. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to just say, “Can you stop?” Keir Starmer said recently that the situation in Gaza was intolerable, and here he is still tolerating it.”
You’ve done some great work for Music Therapy. Tell us a bit about that.
“Yeah, I’ve done some stuff for the Nordoff-Robbins foundation. I’ve heard some wonderful stories about how music has helped people with dementia. This thing where people forget their own name, but when you play them music from way back, they get joy from it. They remember every lyric and melody. Vicky McClure does some great work in that area. Wherever a worthwhile cause comes my way, I’m always open to working with them. It’s the least you can do to give a bit back, play a few songs.
“The Trussell Trust put on an amazing night with Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville. There’s us, James, The Farm, and a few others who played at their event. Charities are also a good way of bringing a diverse range of bands together for a good cause.”
I think you’re underplaying this. You won the "Philanthropic Artist of the Year" award from Hard Rock in 2009 for all of your charity work.
“Ah, well, we always answered the call from Hard Rock. We played for the Caron Keating Foundation and John Lennon’s foundation, too. It’s just an easy thing to do, that can hopefully do some good as well.”
Which song do you most enjoy playing live?
“I love Silence Is Easy because it’s so simple to play, and I’ve noticed that if there’s a room split between the hardcore fans and the newer fans, it’s one of those moments where the whole room comes alive. Even if I play it to people who’ve never heard it before, it seems to be the one that gets the best reaction.
“I like playing our newer songs. It’s a good feeling to know that we’ve still got it.”
Do you like touring?
“Yeah, I love it. It gets hard when you’re on the road for a couple of months, but going off and doing a week or two of gigs is a privilege. It’s nice because so much of life is about having to make decisions: is this the right video, or the right cover, and stuff. When you tour, it’s very straightforward. You have a tour manager making decisions for you and telling you where you need to be. It’s the opposite of the topsy-turvy world of recording and releasing music.
“When we supported REM in Dublin, Michael Stipe knocked on our dressing room door. I think it’s the one and only time that an artist of that level has taken the time to thank us for doing the gig. Normally, you get an official photo, and it’s all very stage-managed. The artist is usually in a protective bubble, but he just wandered around.
“We’re like, “Oh my God, it’s Michael Stipe. Do you want to come in and have a lukewarm beer?”
“We’ve had some amazing times with The Charlatans as well. I remember one time we were touring in America, and we arrived after a particularly heavy night on the bus. I was the quiet one, so I wasn’t really involved in it all. Jon Brookes, God rest his soul, put a paper bag on his head and made holes for the eyes. He was going around Minneapolis with our drummer, saying, “We are the robots.” They were great times.
“Peter Kay jumped on the stage once. He was supposed to be introducing us, but he was late due to another gig overrunning. Instead, he turned up for the encore. He brought his ghetto blaster with him and did his misheard song lyrics routine. It went down well.
“We had a bit of a bust-up with Nickelback when we did a tour of the University campuses in America with them. They were on the MTV stage, and we were representing MTV2, on this truck that they set up in the car park. I think Ben, our drummer, got a bit fed up with their egos. They were like, “Don’t touch this” and “Don’t go there”. He got a bit fed up and had a ‘few words’ with them.
“We ended up making up at the Top Of The Pops studios. They were saying, “Sorry, we were egomaniacs back then,” so it was all good in the end.”
This is what we need to do. Bring back Top Of The Pops, get the world leaders on there, and harmony will reign.
“Good idea. When we did Top Of The Pops, we ended up talking to the most unexpected people and getting on really well, forging friendships with them. Kevin Simm from Liberty X, for example. I worked with him on his solo album. I remember chatting with Paul from S Club 7, who’s sadly no longer with us. We were talking about Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and how he enjoyed being in S Club 7, but it wasn’t his real musical passion.
“Everyone makes assumptions about what people are like, but it’s only when you meet them, you see they’re very different people.”
Are you and Noel Gallagher okay these days? I remember him calling you a “cock”, back in the day.
“I haven’t really seen Noel, but I’ve gigged with Liam, and I get on reasonably well with him, so that’ll do for me. I’m on good terms with one of them.”
Your 25-year tour kicks off in Paris in October. That’s not a bad starting point.
“I think to play anywhere in Europe is a privilege. I’m really looking forward to playing Zagreb, cos we’ve not played there before. We get a lot of messages from people in Poland, Hungary, and Croatia asking us to play there. They always sing back in English. They speak better English than we speak Italian, or German, or whatever, but I always try to pick up how to say “Good evening” and “Thank you” in their respective languages.
“The Barrowlands is a great venue, too. We supported the Manics there in the early days, so it’ll be the first time we’ve headlined there.”
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