11:04am Thursday 18th March 2010
By Sophie Stratford
NEW Young Pony Club’s unusual name came from lead singer Tahita Bulmer’s desire to be in a club or team at school, which they describe as “quirky and kinky and fun”.
The band may not be a household name just yet, but song Ice Cream, from first album Fantastic Playroom, received wide play in 2009 as a 30-second soundtrack for a Nissan car day. Surprisingly, they say “we don’t have the desire to make really radio friendly singles. We don’t want to be the biggest band in the world”.
New album The Optimist was released earlier this month, when asked about influences Andy Spence replies: “Well there should be and there probably is.
Well we were going through slightly troubled times, and I think that influenced the album, alongside our personal lives and other music.
“A lot of other bands influence our music, but a lot of them are older artists. Main influences are The Cure, PJ Harvey and stuff from the Ninties,” Spence says.
Also lyrically and musically they are influenced by other things around them.
“I think Tahita Bulmer (lead vocalist) gets her inspiration from all sorts of things; her own personal experiences. Musically the inspiration came from our old stuff.
There wasn’t anything around at the time that excited me. It incorporated a lot of the new wave stuff that I love and a lot of elements of darkness and mystery,” he adds. The band embarked on a UK tour this month, which included Darlington’s Inside Out club. Spence says: “We couldn’t wait to get out there and play our new songs, however we will of course be playing the favourites from our first album. On the tour we have a huge megaphone that basically stops the music and shouts out to the crowd to dance.”
The guitarist adds: “I wish people get just some enjoyment out of our music really, and joy in their hearts, I hope, just something positive.”
■ New Young Pony Club play Newcastle Academy next Thursday, March 25
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