Exclusive chat with guitarist Steve Cradock ahead of Ocean Colour Scene's gig in Lancashire

On Saturday night, Ocean Colour Scene (OCS) performed at the Olympia in the Winter Gardens as part of Blackpool Live.

The event sees OCS headline a night which will also see performances from Inspiral Carpets, Northside, Pastel and dirtycircus.

Ahead of their arrival, OCS’s guitarist Steve Cradock sat down for a chat with our celebrity reporter so see what he had to say below.

How are you feeling about performing in Blackpool?

“Yeah, we're excited! It's the last run of shows for us this summer, and this year in fact so they're going to be full of joy”.

Have you performed in Blackpool or rather, Lancashire before?

“Yeah, loads of times. We've done gigs at Empress Ballroom quite a few times. In fact there’s three venues at the Winter Gardens we’ve played at”.

What are your thoughts on the Winter Gardens?

“It's beautiful, yeah, they're pretty venues. It's a brilliant building but also the Empress Ballroom was where the Roses played back in ‘89 so we're big Stone Roses fans. Yeah, it's nice to play there”.

Can you remember what the audiences are normally like?

“Yeah, they're great. Northern audiences are always great for our group, the North West has always been good to us.”

Why do you think the North West loves you so much?

“I don't know, you'd have to ask them! I guess because we're a good band, you know, we've got good songs, and because we put on a good show”.

Whilst you're in Blackpool, do you think you'll have a chance to explore the town?

“Yeah, I think we will, I might even go swimming.”

Oh, the Irish Sea will be a bit cold!

“No, it's good for you.”

Have you got any plans on dry land as well?

“Well, I mean, we'll play the gig, and then we're moving on to Sheffield, over, to the dark side, I would imagine you'd say. So not really, when you're doing gigs like this, there isn’t really time for a shopping day or to go out walking through the town, you're there to focus on the show. It's like the circus, you know, we do that, and then we move on to the next city.”

Well about your Blackpool show, what can people expect from it?

“We play stuff that people would know so all the singles that we've had over the years. Because I guess when it's not your own gig, it's not the right time to do the obscure B side songs and to elaborate musically like we sometimes do when we do an actual tour. So we try and keep it to the songs that people would know.”

Are you expecting any songs to go down particularly well?

“‘Riverboat’ always goes down great, obviously; ‘The Day We Caught The Train’; Simon sings ‘Robin Hood’, which is a favorite of our fans. Just the fast stuff, isn’t it- ‘Travellers Tune’ goes down well too.

“But our audience are always rocking, right from the start”

You obviously came onto the scene in the 90s so how does it feel to still have crowds of people rocking out to your music so many years later?

“Yeah, well, I mean, we, we're lucky, you know, I don't suppose bands are meant to stay together this long, but, it's great, it’s beautiful.”

And in that time, what's changed now in terms of the band, the music, the fans?

“Well, we have a bit of an extended band. Our original bass player left in the early 2000s, Damon Minchella, and now we've got my son, Cas playing second guitar and keyboards, and we have Oscar's son playing percussion, Leon Harrison so that's changed.”

How does that feel to have your next generation part of the band?

“It's great that we've got that and they're a really good part of the group. You know, they're great musicians, and it's fun to be with family. Our band's always been a kind of family set up, my dad used to manage us back in the day, so it's nice to be with the family”

And what about the music? How would you say that's developed over the years?

“The music hasn't developed because we haven't really done the jazz odyssey thing. It's just, we play the tunes that were written. I mean, we've done 10 albums, so there's a lot to choose from, but we just play them like they are on the record. I don't see the need to deviate from it.”

Do you have a favorite?

Yeah, ‘Hundred Mile High City’ .We always play that one.”

You collaborated with Oasis as well over the years and they're currently touring, were you tempted to be a surprise guest?

“I collaborated with Liam, we did a version of a Carnation, which was The Jam’s song originally, but we did play with Oasis. We supported them in the early days and played quite a few gigs with them but no, we wouldn't be asked and we wouldn't go on. I mean, they've got a good support group, they've got Dickie Ashcroft and Cast, which I think is great for those gigs. I saw them actually at Wembley not long ago, Oasis, and they were brilliant.”

For your own show now, there are limited tickets left for Blackpool so why should people grab those last few?

“Well, because it's going to be a great night and we're a great group with great songs. It's worth seeing.”

What sort of energy do you guys bring to the stage?

“The songs bring the energy! We're all rocking on 50/60 years old, it's not like a punk thing going on. The energy comes from the music, and it also comes from the crowd and then sometimes that escalates, and it becomes something that is phenomenal, so that's where the energy comes from. It's in the room, it's in the people who turn up, and it's in the music.”

For fans of yours in Lancashire, is there anything else in the pipeline coming up for OCS after this tour that they can watch out for?

“Yeah, hopefully we will be doing a new album so that's exciting for fans. Then I guess we will be touring. We're going to do an arena tour next year, which is a long way off, I guess, but we'll be preparing for that.”

Have you got a final message for fans in Lancashire?

“Okay, well, I'd like to say thank you to our fans for following us for 40 years!”

Well I'm sure they'll follow you for another 40!

“We'll probably be dead by then, but it's a nice idea”.