We got the BIFFY CLYRO album they had promised us, sadly the tour to let us hear it live had to be cancelled last year. Now the guys have regrouped, got a load of new dates in the diary, and one of them is right here at our new Cardiff venue, Alexandra Head in the Bay.
This one’s been a long time coming as well. They are kicking things off with a date in Scotland, and why wouldn’t they. Always best to start these things with a home crowd. They then head straight down to us to play what will surely be another sell out show.
BIFFY CLYRO formed in Kilmarnock. They’re made up of Simon Neil (guitar, lead vocals), James Johnston (bass, vocals) and Ben Johnston (drums, vocals). And despite what the uninitiated may think, there isn’t a BIFFY or a CLYRO in the line up. In fact there is much debate about the name thing.
One theory is that it’s all about football. When the band were on Soccer FM, back in the day, it’s believed they attributed their funny sounding name to a Finnish footballer from the 17th century who played for their local team Ayr United. However, without any proof it seems pretty unlikely that can be true.
One explanation, which seems to have stuck the most, is that the name was inspired by Cliff Richard and a Biro pen.
Simon Neil said in an American interview………..
“There’s a famous British musician called Cliff Richard. And when me and Ben were 13 and bored in our little Scottish town of Ayr, we’d think up imaginary Cliff Richard merch products.”
“We thought of things like Cliff Richard coat hangers and Cliff Richard Jesus dolls – he’s a big Christian singer. In the UK there’s a cheap kind of pen called a Biro pen and we thought about making Cliff Richard Biro pens.”
“We’d call them Cliffy Biros. Somehow that turned into Biffy Clyro. Bizarrely, we weren’t high at the time. There’s just not a lot to do in Ayr. The weather is terrible.”
We really hope that’s true. It’s the best band name story we’ve heard for years. Even if it’s not, then SOUTH WALES LIFE have got a little present for the guys, and yes we have one each fellas. We’ll bring them along on the night of the Cardiff gig……..
Back to the serious stuff now. BIFFY CLYRO are seven albums in having scored top five with four of them and Opposites (number six) going straight to number one. Over time the band went a little more ‘mainstream’ but always kept that distinctive BIFFY vibe.
The latest album – A CELEBRATION OF ENDINGS with the release of the apocalyptic synths and bombastic beats of lead track ‘Instant History’ and the second, ‘End Of’ is a mix of traditional BIFFY with a hint of unpredictability.
The reaction to ‘Instant History’ was incredible. It was premiered as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record in the World and was added straight to Radio 1’s B-list. It also went straight to the A-list at Absolute, Radio X and Virgin. And then ‘End Of’ was premiered by Zane Lowe at Beats 1.
There’s also a short behind the scenes thing which is worth a watch……..
Biffy’s approach to making the current album was pretty simple. Keep things fresh and maintain the wide-eyed wonder of what they do. Surprise themselves and each other. Push things to their furthest extremes. Their first building block in embracing the new was to turn to an old friend. In came Rich Costey, producer of ‘Ellipsis’.
Simon told us…….
“This is a very forward-looking album from a personal perspective and a societal perspective,”
If you’ve bought the albums but never seen the band live, then this is the time to do it. The Guardian described them as “champions of stadium rock” so the Cardiff date will be the perfect chance to catch them live and hear the new stuff for the first time.
They were to get to Alexandra Head in Cardiff bay on Thursday 16th September. There’s various pre-sales going on right now, general sale is this Friday, the 11th, you can get all the details HERE.
For details of what the band are up to right now, go to their homepage BIFFY CLYRO
And by the way, we weren’t joking about the pens. They’re ready and waiting to give to CLIFFY BIRO………….