Music The The Band Line-up 4

Artist Profile #4 of The The 2018 Comeback Special. A new member on lead guitar: Barrie Cadogan

Matt Johnson: I asked my old friend Johnny Marr to recommend a guitarist, and the first name he suggested was his friend ‘Little’ Barrie Cadogan. Coincidently, two months previous to that conversation, I had ‘Shazamed’ Little Barrie when I heard some of his band’s music on the TV show ‘Better Call Saul’. I loved the style of playing, but, for some reason, I assumed he was a California-based musician. ‘Born in Nottingham but brought up in the Delta’ is what Johnny said about him, and he set us up for a meeting the next day. I liked Barrie as soon as I opened the door—he’s a very soulful, enthusiastic person, and very knowledgeable about his instrument. He possesses a very raw, bluesy sound, but one that is also very melodic and sensitive—perfect for this new line-up. Barrie’s also a good singer. He has played with Little Barrie, Primal Scream, Edwyn Collins, Thee Hypnotics, Damo Suzuki, Spiritualized, The Chemical Brothers, amongst many others.

Barrie Cadogan: In Matt’s music, there are many great musical moments, but it’s the spirit and soul in his songs that really gets to you. He is such a good writer and artist, there’s a potency in it, whether that be something tender or more hard-hitting. The sentiment of the song is driven by a combination of his words and vocal delivery, the emotion in what he’s singing about and the music he puts around it. Matt is also a great arranger. For example, in I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow, I love how the pounding drums and overlapping bass and jagged sounds create the perfect sonic chaos to surround the vocal.

Tomorrow at 10am, we present the profile of the last member of the band. Stay tuned!
Interview by Thierry Somers, Photography John Claridge