Their second album was an instant chart-topper, but Bastille tell Andy Welch they still live like normal blokes

DAN Smith, the main songwriter, founder and de facto "face" of Bastille isn't instantly recognisable, wearing glasses and a hoody, hair undone. He and his bandmates are sitting around a table in the dressing room of a venue they're due to perform a secret show, under a fake name. If they weren't introduced, you might think the stage crew were having a tea break.

"We're listed as Chaos Planet," says Smith. "The new album is called Wild World, so it's a bit of a code."

There's no denying their fans would recognise Smith, along with Kyle Simmons, Will Farquarson and Chris Wood, but it's highly unlikely any van drivers would be beeping their horns on sight, or that any cabbies would be boasting to their next fares about having once had the guitarist from Bastille in the back of their taxi.

"I love it that way," says guitarist Farquarson. "I was in a shop buying a jacket only this morning and there was a Bastille song playing. The person serving me was singing along, but she had no idea who I was. That was a great moment.

"I very, very rarely get stopped by someone, and by the virtue of being almost unknown, it means that the person stopping is a massive fan of the band and only has nice things to say. Imagine being as famous as someone like Britney Spears, where everyone knows who you are whether they like you or not?"

Considering their success, it's staggering they've managed to keep such a lid on things. Their debut, Bad Blood, was released in 2013 and went on to become the biggest-selling digital album of the year, peaking at No 1 in the UK and going on to become a hit around the world.

Follow-up Wild World, released in September, went straight to No 1 in the UK and No 4 in the US. Bastille have sold approaching ten million records globally, now ranking among the most bankable acts going.

"At any given point, we've tried to dodge the fame that comes with the success of what we do. We've managed to make it work, and we have to go to award shows and things occasionally, but we don't have much interest in that showbiz world. I use public transport every day. Our lives were very established before the band came along, so we all wanted to keep that going."

From the off, even when Bastille was just Smith's solo project, he didn't seem interested in becoming famous. The avatar he used on the SoundCloud page he posted early songs on was the back of his head.

"There have been a few things that have made it easier to put myself out there," says London-born Smith, 30. "Any job anybody does, there are massive learning curves as they progress. The things that have made it really easy for me are, and this is cheesy, that there are amazing fans coming to our gigs. Getting on a big stage is terrifying, but as soon as everyone sings along, it's not like a trial, it's an amazing thing and we're all in it together, people are on our side."

He does seem pained to point out they're a band, and not his fleshed-out solo project. "We've done this together," he says. "We started off touring in Woody's car, where I'd be in the boot because the instruments took up the seats. We had to borrow a car from our friend's mum because she had an estate. We were sleeping on floors and all of that. We've gone from that to where we are now, with an arena tour ahead of us, with the same crew from the beginning. We've normalised the most bizarre situation. We feel like competition winners most of the time, but it's really nice to have friends with us."

Smith says the first album surprised him, because he didn't want it to be all about what it's like trying to become an adult - but, in hindsight, realises now that's exactly what it is.

"This time around, I wrote about how it feels to be watching the news and be knocked sideways and overwhelmed. There's plenty of that this year. As a person, you can feel confused. How do you process the news at the moment? Equally, it seems even more extreme than it is because it's all piled high on top of everything else. We had some early feedback on the album from a journalist in Germany, who said, 'It's so much more depressing than the first album'. I didn't think we could get more depressing than the first, but there we are. I suppose I wanted to ground the album in the confusion of the current time, and it obviously worked."

  • Bastille's second album, Wild World, is out now. They tour to MetroRadio Arena, Newcastle, on Sunday, November 13. bastillebastille.com