Biffy Clyro: Up against Little Mix at Brits? We could be their fathers
THEY are nominated for best British group at the Brits but Biffy Clyro say they still feel like outsiders — and joke that they’re old enough to be the fathers of awards rivals Little Mix.
The Scottish three-piece, who topped the charts with seventh album Ellipsis last year, are today announced as the headliners of War Child’s Brits Week Show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
The intimate gig, on February 20, will raise money for children whose lives have been torn apart by war. Two days later at the Brits the band will be up against Little Mix in the British group category, as well as Bastille, The 1975 and Radiohead. Singer Simon Neil joked that many young fans had no idea who his band was — nor Radiohead.
He said: “I could have fathered Little Mix! We had a wee giggle at who we are up against. I saw a few people writing on Twitter, ‘Who’s Biffy Clyro? And who’s Radiohead?’ I can take ‘Who’s Biffy Clyro?’, but ‘Who’s Radiohead?’ — I mean come on!”
Neil and his bandmates James and Ben Johnston are 36, while their girl band counterparts are Perrie Edwards, 23, Jade
Thirlwall, 24, and 25-year-olds Jesy Nelson and Leigh-Anne Pinnock. He said: “It’s such a cliché to say these things don’t matter but it feels good to get that shout. I feel like we’re still getting better. I’m really proud of the music we make. I think we’ve always felt like outsiders and I don’t think we’ve ever felt welcome.
“An hour before every show I play I wonder if I can do it. All I want is to be better than the last time we played. Sometimes it makes it tough for me mentally because I get myself in a corner and think, ‘We can’t possibly be better than the last time.’ I want this to be more than just entertainment. I want us to be part of people’s lives. I just want people to feel something about us — even if it’s hatred!”
War Child raises hundreds of thousands of pounds a year through its Brits Week shows. A limited number of tickets go on sale to supporters of new fundraising initiative We Own The Future at 9am on Friday at £50. The remaining tickets will be available via a draw — to enter donate £5 at britsweekwarchild.co.uk