The rejuvenated WASTED YOUTH head out on tour this week, little over a year since they unexpectedly and successfully returned to the stage at London's Lexington, selling out the show in under three hours!
This success was underlined when the band were invited to open for PSYCHEDELIC FURS, including their prestigious show at the Royal Albert Hall, reprising their infamous pairing on the Furs' Talk Talk Talk tour in '81.
With more dates lined-up for later in the year, including shows with POP WILL EAT ITSELF and a spot at South London's Wide Awake festival - plus a remastered rerelease of their long out of print debut album Wild and Wandering - Vive Le Rock caught up with band founder and frontman Ken Scott to find out how things had been going...
"It's been just over a year since Wasted Youth played their first comeback gig, and I must say that it's been a total blast so far. Every gig has been really well attended and the reception everywhere has been fantastic. I honestly didn’t think there would be enough interest to warrant more than a couple of gigs at most, so it’s with great pleasure that I can now say I was proved wrong, very wrong.
"We’re playing the Wide Awake Festival in May, and I think we only ever played a couple of open-air gigs the first time around, so it will be something of a new experience for us. Wasted Youth were always a sunglasses-after-dark type of band and more at home in darker and sweatier environs than a packed park. If they schedule us to play in a crowded and sweaty marquee tent, I’ll be more than happy; however, if we do end up on an open-air stage, I’m confident in our ability to win over an audience, anywhere. It will be a great opportunity to reach a younger audience, and maybe gain some new fans along the way.
"We play Hull O’Riley's this weekend, and the support band is Loudhailer Electric Company, featuring Wasted Youth’s old tour manager/driver and sound/mixing wizard, Jeff Parsons. Jeff was like the sixth member of Wasted Youth, and we’ve invited him to do the sound for this gig, which will be a real trip in itself. No doubt that we’ll be reminiscing into the small hours, of that you can be sure.
"In October, we’re playing London and Birmingham as special guests of PWEI, not obvious bedfellows at first glance, but they were big fans of Wasted Youth back in the day and followed us around on many tours. PWEI often cite Wasted Youth as being both supportive and influential in their decision to form a band, and these gigs are a lovely way to bring us all together again, I can’t wait to see Adam and Graham again, and it’s just a shame that Clint (who lives in the US) can’t be there too.
"We’re currently planning and arranging some more gigs as part two of the ‘Still Wandering’ tour, as well as playing Rebellion Festival in August. We’ve got a remastered Wild and Wandering vinyl record out this week and a CD just a few weeks later. Things are getting busy…but not too busy, which is the way I like it."
Catch Wasted Youth at...
Mar 16 – Sticky’s, Stockton-on-Tees
Mar 17 – Stereo, Glasgow
Mar 18 – O’Riley’s, Hull
Mar 24 – The Black Prince, Northampton
Mar 25 – Crofters Rights, Bristol
Mar 26 – Prince Albert, Brighton
May 27 – Wide Awake Festival, London
Aug 5 – Rebellion, Blackpool
Oct 20 – 229, London (w/PWEI)
Oct 27 – The Crossing, Birmingham (wPWEI)
