Mark Bowen, one of the founding members of Idles – known for their ‘angry’ lyrics on politics, society, and toxic masculinity – spoke to the Glasgow Times ahead of the group’s show at the Hydro this month.
“Playing to a Glasgow crowd is just one of the best things you can do as an artist,” Mark said.
He continued: “One of the great things about playing in Glasgow is the connection between the crowd and the band.
“Glaswegians just get what we are about which is that all the chaos and the vehemence is not anger.
“People often mistake our eagerness as something that is a bit forward. But Glasgow crowds understand that it is all about love, joy, and togetherness rather than a big violent mosh pit where people beat the crap out of each other.”
(Image: Image of Idles, provided to Glasgow Times) The I’m Scum hitmakers – which also includes Adam Devonshire (bass), Joe Talbot (vocals), Lee Kiernan (guitar), and Jon Beavis (drums) – will be playing the OVO Hydro in the city’s West End on November 23.
Mark revealed the Hydro gig will be the band’s biggest-ever show in Glasgow to date having played at The Barrowlands when they were last in the city.
And for the guitarist, the East End venue is one of his favourites.
Mark said: “The Hydro will be the biggest venue we have played in Glasgow.
“Last time we were in the city we played about four or five Barrowland shows. If we could play there every night I would.
“Glasgow might be our biggest UK show – which is cool and a great place to do it.”
(Image: Image of Idles)The Glasgow show comes as part of the band’s current world tour, Love Is The Fing.
“It’s been an amazing tour so far,” Mark said.
He continued: “We have got a light show which is something that we have really honed over the years, and we have a lot more dynamic and ebb and flow in the show.
“There is also a lot more electronic stuff too.”
(Image: Image of Idles) The tour celebrates the band’s latest record, Tangk, which came out earlier this year.
Consisting of 11 tracks, the album is the band’s fifth studio record and was produced in part by Mark.
He said: “I made a decision to get involved in the production front just because there always seemed to be a concession and some form of gatekeeping or compromise in what we were trying to do – which is not on the producer side of things, and it is not their fault.
“But I wanted to be part of the band’s expression.”
The album was praised critically upon its release and from a performance point of view, the record seems to serve as a tour-de-force when it comes to IDLES live show.
He added: “Tangk has allowed us to bring what we’ve learned into the outrageous songs and moments and there is a lot more depth and nuance in what we are doing on stage now.
“Tangk has also brought a cinematic thing to the show now, there are big hard-hitting bits and moments where we are moshing with the crowd and other bits where we get lost in the music up on the stage, The audience gets to witness it and be part of it too.
“This album has really re-invigorated my love of playing live music, for sure.”
(Image: Image of Idles) Tickets are still available for the Glasgow show.
To grab tickets, visit www.ovohydro.com
