Maximo Park 'just getting started' after 20 years
Last year marked the 20th anniversary of Maximo Park's debut album A Certain Trigger. And with the band about the embark on the anniversary tour, frontman Paul Smith looks back at their breakthrough.
When A Certain Trigger was released in 2005 it was met with critical acclaim and a Mercury Prize nomination, but more than two decades later Smith believes Maximo Park are "just getting started".
"I think that's testament to the creativity of the band really, that I feel like there's more to do.
"To actually look back once in a while is no bad thing."
So when the opportunity to reissue to record and do an anniversary tour came about, it was not a difficult decision.
"We still believe in [the songs] 20 years later, which is a testament to them," Smith says, adding that the band have not played some of those tracks in as many years.
"That is exciting to me. If you believe in the songs, the rest comes kind of easily in a way."
Katja Ogrin/RedfernsMade up of the always-dapper Smith, guitarist Duncan Lloyd and drummer Tom English, the Newcastle-based band came on to the scene in arguably perfect conditions.
But despite alternative indie bands like the Libertines and Franz Ferdinand being in the spotlight, Smith says they were not sure if there was room for another.
"At the time it felt like OK, how many bands that are a little bit odd... are going to get on to the radio?
"And once a few bands had actually made it and broken through into the mainstream, part of me thought, is there room for another one?
"I feel like we're as good as any of those bands."
And they were, A Certain Trigger landed in the Top 20 on its release.
Originally from Billingham, Smith's Teesside accent is one of the things that set Maximo Park apart.
At the time, NME said the debut was "energetic and carefully crafted".
"We can only hope that Maximo Park keep on reading books, sulking in bus shelters and, most importantly, remaining unlucky in love," the review continued.
Smith says: "I think because we were on a small label, we didn't have the sort of marketing budget of other bands, but we went out and played live and people really took to us.
"In fact, I remember supporting bands like The Futureheads and Bloc Party and nicking their fans a little bit, and when our first album came out it felt like we'd put a bit of groundwork in."
But the charismatic frontman never thought he would become a musician.
He was not a singer before he joined Maximo Park and says despite having a love for music, he never thought he would end up here.
"To actually be someone who sings and plays guitar and writes songs for a living is miraculous," he says.
"The whole thing is a miracle and the fact that people still keep coming to see us in the masses."
The anniversary tours kicks off in York on 2 February and concludes with two nights at the City Hall in Newcastle.
"For me, I'm in it for life," Smith says.
"And however many people are listening, I'm still going to be doing this and I'm still going to be trying to get it to people."
With eight albums and various solo projects, the band are in very a different place than they were two decades ago.
As Smith says: "We've tried lots of different styles out within our music, and some of the albums have been quite eclectic, but as soon as I start singing and my Teesside accent starts blasting out of your speakers, I guess you know it's Maximo Park."
