The New Cue #349 January 15 Bill Ryder-Jones
"I had three breakdowns: they're the same as break-ups aren't they?"
Happy Monday,
Today we’re going to start your week with an interview with Wirral songwriter, singer and producer for hire Bill Ryder-Jones. It took place in front of an audience one Friday evening last November at The Social, in London, and it included a selection of acoustic renditions of songs from his masterpiece fifth album Iechyd Da, which was released this past Friday.
The event also featured a selection of random questions plucked from a biscuit tin by Bill – when did you lose your virginity; which pop star would you like to be stuck on desert island with, etc – generated by audience members and TNC’s vast research team, but Ted forgot to turn the recording device back on after the music so you’ll have to imagine the hilarity.
Hope you enjoy the interview and the rest of your week. We’ll see you again on Friday.
Ted, Niall and Chris.
Start The Week With…Bill Ryder-Jones
Come in, take a seat. The audience with Bill Ryder-Jones starts at 6.30 sharp. That music you can hear in the background is the playlist made by Bill of songs that are inspired his new album Iechyd Da.
It’s very good. Maybe on the way here tonight you got in the mood by tuning into another of Bill’s playlists, this one of some of his favourite songs he’s written or performed on – curiously, there’s nothing by The Coral on there, the band he first played guitar for as a teenager, but I’m sure that’s an oversight.
Lights are going down. Let’s join Bill and Ted on stage at the start of their excellent adventure, just after the introductions…
We’re talking to Bill Ryder-Jones about his new album Iechyd Da..
Iechyd Da.
Is that pronunciation better?
I think so. It’s a vibe. It’s like soul, you either have it or you don’t.
It’s been five years, Bill. Where have you been? What’s been going on?
This feels like an attack.
I’m a journalist, unfortunately.
Well, I’ve been at home. Making records with other people and also working on my own. Also, learning to shake uncontrollably [holds up shaking hand]. I’ve put a lot of time into it and, yeah, paying off. I’m a bit ill.
What’s wrong?
I think I’m an alcoholic.
That’ll be the shakes.
No, I’ve got a bug. I’m just a bit of a wimp. That’s a condition, isn’t it? Being a bit of a fanny.
Let’s talk about making Iechyd Da. During the five years since your last album, were you thinking about a new one all the time?
Yes. I’m always writing, but I’m never quite sure what it’s going to be. At some point you have a couple of songs and then you think, OK. This might be the start of a record. I might have an idea about what I want to do. This one it was the first week of lockdown and I was just writing and demoing at home. Eventually I had two songs and thought, Yeah, OK. This is something. During lockdown, that’s when you probably should make a record, right? You have all that time. It had only been two years since my last one at that point so nobody was giving me shit about it.
What were the first two songs you wrote? You could play them later.
I could! Actually, no, I can’t. There’s a key change in one that my voice can’t sing live yet. I’m not in peak condish yet: give me a few rehearsals. But the songs were We Don’t Need Them - that’s the one with the key change – and I Hold Something In My Hand, which I will play later. Once I had those two I knew I had the start of a record. I knew what I didn’t want to do, as well as what I did want to do. Then it got a bit bitty. I went through a purple patch in those first two weeks where I wrote a lot of good things but then the intensity of that global kerfuffle just got a little too much. I had a break-up during that lockdown and I didn’t want to go back to the intensity of the songs…then I had two more break-ups…
You had three break-ups during lockdown?! How did you have time to meet and break-up three times in lockdown…?
I meant breakdowns, sorry. I had three breakdowns. They’re the same thing as break-ups, aren’t, really? Just depends which way you are facing.
I don’t want to give the record’s plot away, but it does sound quite breakdown/break-up heavy.
Yes, four of each. Literally. I’m not even joking. It’s been quite a calm five years but the breakdown stats don’t look good written down, I admit.
The first time I heard Iechyd Da, I emailed your press officer Aoife and asked if you were OK. Something like This Can’t Go On worried me.
What did she say?
She said, ‘He’s fine! Better than ever!’
It’s just the shakes. Otherwise, never been better. There’s always stuff going on. Some people are just dramatic and genuinely part of me does wonder if I’m just dramatic. But it’s been the hardest time of my life, I think that’s fair to say. A lot people I know, who do what I do, would say that. We all lost a lot of money. We can’t work from home, as much as I like to. Not working for all that time then old habits start to creep in. But it’s important to recognise that I’m only writing songs when I’ve got something that I’m trying to understand. I’m certainly not doing it when I’m feeling good or happy, that’s when I’m playing Playstation or footie. So half of my life is in the music and the other half is quite enjoyable. So, I wouldn’t want anyone to overly worry about me. What I do, and what any musician worth their salt does, is basically go ‘Can you fuckers pay attention to me and tell me I’m great?’ That’s sort of the point of it all. I want you to worry, but not too much. If you can get the balance right, that would help me.
That comes across in your records.
They’re great aren’t they? That’s what we’re going for.
You mentioned in your interview with Laura Barton that you’d lost your wonk on previous albums. You’ve got wonk back now then?
Yeah, the wonk is well and truly back...I mean, I know I was joking, but I am worried about these shakes.
Probably adrenaline from public speaking.
Bit of that. The wonk was a reference to what I want from music. I like things to be a little smaller than most people, I think. Music is very loud these days and I hate most of it. The stuff I like is a bit wonky. It was James Ford who reminded me of the word, because that’s what he said I asked for when he was mixing A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart. I meant it in a good way. Like Neil Young’s records are wonky. Sonically, there’s not loads of compression, it’s quite organic. That’s what I meant.
You have Mick Head reciting James Joyce’s Ulysses on the album.
Why wouldn’t you?
How did that come about?
I said, ‘Do you want to write something?’ I had this new song and I just wanted to have someone speak on it. I love his voice. He went, ‘Yeah, sound, sound I’ll come down.’ He got there and had this massive joint and I said, ‘Can you do this now?’ He said, ‘What?’ He hadn’t bothered his arse to write anything. So he just grabbed the book. It’s not even my book, someone just left in the studio. I’ve never read it. So…I’ve sold that well. That song is called And The Sea, and it was fun. Getting someone like Mick to read in time to music and make a performance out of it was loads of fun. He read it dead quick and I was encouraging him to, like, for want of a better word ‘rap’. ‘Can you rap, lad?’ But he does! He really enjoyed it, he got into it. On that song – this is going to sound such wank – but on that song I really thought I’d found a new chord structure. I was really proud of myself. I was, ‘Fucking hell, Bill!’ I was really having meself…’People are going to be talking about this.’ There’s a key change every four chords. That’s solid writing that is…then Highlander came on and it’s just the theme from Highlander.
You shouldn’t have mentioned it.
It’s a brilliant song, though. And I’m alright with that. Anything for a giggle.
You’ve brought a playlist with you which includes a couple of songs you’ve sampled. Tell us about that.
The record starts with a sample of a Gal Costa song called Baby which was mine and my ex’s song.
It was written in three parts: at the start it’s about someone who falls in love with Gal Costa…I really like Inside Number 9. Do you know that show? I thought it would be interesting to write like that. Like, if I wrote a song about a guy who falls in love with Gal Costa but he thinks the song’s talking to him. They get a bit dark or whatever. I fuck that off after the second verse but the start of it is a reference to her song. I spent a lot of time thinking about these things and hoping I’d get the chance to explain them because no one wants to go unnoticed, particularly when they’re a genius. It was a lot of fun. In the song it goes ‘Baby! Baby!’, it’s a beautiful thing because the rough translation is that ‘I know it’s like this. I thought that was a lovely way of saying I know it’s happening, but I’m never gonna get it. It’s an acceptance thing. So my song became about me and her and the break-up.
It’s the relationship’s cycle.
Yeah. Someone said it’s meta writing. I don’t know if you want to say that as well…
It really sounds to me like meta writing.
So I hear.
There are a few relationship cycles on the record – or is it the same one?
Lots of relationships in the record. Not just partners. There’s a lot of people in there. I don’t want to make it a break-up record, because it’s not. It’s a three-years of your life record. And it just so happens that people keep breaking up with me…
[Audience goes ‘Ah’].
I want to give you a hug!
Heartless bastards! No, I’m only joking. I’m alright.
The other sample is by Flashlight, Every Little Beat Of My Heart.
That was playing before we came on stage. Can I play it? I love this song. I found it on one of these websites that have songs that are royalty-free. At one point I got bored of all my noodling, all my tricks. I tried to write without an instrument, dragging samples over to see if I had the kind of imagination that hip hop producers have. I was quite pleased. I was quite good at it. This is all over This Can’t Go On. I just love it.
It’s great that, isn’t it?
I also wanted to ask you about characters who have reappeared on this record from previous albums, like Christina and Anthony.
Anthony’s my oldest friend. Christina is when I don’t want to use somebody’s real name and it’s a girl. Anthony, I’ve got loads of songs about Anthony. Liam’s on this as well. Liam’s my other best mate, I don’t think I’ve mentioned him before – yes, I have. When I sent Yawn to be mixed, I sent them the wrong version of There’s Something On Your Mind. There was meant to be a whole end vocal that was about Liam. I don’t know why I’m telling you that because it never made the album. But Anthony, we lived together for ten years and then he had a kid and basically broke up with me. My words, not his.
He’s the connection with A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart, it’s a reflection of that album.
Yes, that’s right. It’s meant to be. It does say that in the press release, though.
I’m too busy to read the press release.
Too busy! Listen to yer. Fucking hell. But yes, that was the idea. I think I might have gone shit, though. I do. I was never happy with West Kirby County Primary. I like a lot of the songs, so no offence to anyone who likes it. Yawn I do like now, but I hated it for a long time. It’s very hard to live in that album and play it live. I spend Christmas with my auntie Katie in Manchester and she always gives me a hard time about the music. When Yawn came out she said, ‘Oh Bill, this is one is too dour!’ At Christmas, you know, with the paper hat on. So the idea this time was to be a bit more hopeful, a bit more positive. I like making people laugh, that’s a big part of who I am. That was in A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart and it had kind of gone away.
Thank you Bill. I’m gonna step off the stage now and let you play some songs.
Sound.
With huge thanks to Gillian Fleet for the videos, Sasha Maese for the photos, Aoife Kitt for logistics and Bill for the 10/10 vibes throughout the night.
