Courteeners top chart?

Manchester band could overtake REM

09 April 2008 - Early sales suggest Manchunian indie rockers The Courteeners could overtake REM and go right to the top of the album chart.

Their debut album St Jude came out on Monday 7 April and front man Liam says finally having it out there is a relief: “It’s been done for ages, y’know, we’ve been touring since last July.

“We want the record to be out and now it is, it feels like - not a weight has lifted off the shoulders - but you feel like it would be good now for the people who’ve been coming on tour and stuff to get the finished product and…play it many many times at home.”

Definitely Maybe

Liam did once say he wanted their debut to have as much impact as Oasis' debut Definitely Maybe, but then said it's useless to draw comparisons: “There’s no point looking at albums going ‘well mine’s no where near as good as that record’.

“It’s gotta be the absolute best thing you could ever produce – and if not then what’s the point?”
 
The front man is confident the album’s impact will be huge: “In terms of nothing happening in Manchester for 14 years... at HMV at the signing stuff, seeing the kids who were there and their like 16 so this is the first thing that they’ve had to like go ‘y’know, there is a band from Manchester’.

“So it feels good and we’re proud of it.”

Legendary Smith's producer

The album was produced by legendary Smith's producer Stephen Street, which Liam was happy with.

He said: “We spend time grafting in terms of putting the time into gigs so to go into the studio having only done, like, two or three days work in a studio - it was a very daunting task.

“And he made it very easy in terms of making us feel comfortable. A producer’s job is for me, y’know, 90% people skills and 10% knob twiddling.”

Kelly Stooke