Bush and Tony Blair miming the lyrics was a viral hit in the early 2000’s, something which was particularly topical at the time due to the line ‘let’s start a nuclear war’ (which was removed from the radio edit of the song). A fan-made video accompanying Gay Bar that depicted George W. Due to previously not being able to instantly record any hook that came to Valentine, “there are probably two albums of amazing songs that I don't know what happened to them”.Many will remember Electric Six’s 2003 hits ‘Gay Bar’ and ‘Danger! High Voltage’, as well a popular cover of Queen’s classic hit, ‘Radio Gaga’. He explains that advances in technology have made a considerable impact on how the band writes music in general, as he records phrases and lyric ideas on his iPhone constantly. The United States has a long way to go before it completely shakes its puritanical layer.” However, the band’s relative anonymity is not a problem for Valentine, who explains that “it's such a big country, even when you’re a band that's relatively small like us you can make a lot of money”.Touring is often the time when Valentine begins the song writing process. “In Europe it's easier to do something more risqué, with more of a sense of humour. He also chalks it up to the general differences in attitudes towards sexuality between the two continents. “I don't think any band is capable of cracking the US anymore, I don't think it could actually happen,” he says disappointedly. Valentine partially relates this to the current state of popular music, which generally puts guitar bands on the backburner.
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“It feels more professional in Europe, we have larger rooms, and we can actually pretend for a moment that we're actually somebody”, Valentine tells Otwo candidly.In fact, many of the band’s singles have charted considerably higher in European countries than on home territory.
This is mostly due to having a larger fanbase and generally a larger turnout at their performances than back home. “We always play here around Christmas it’s the part of the year I look forward to most.” The band prefers playing in Europe to at home in the United States for a number of reasons. However, this is not the first time the band have stepped foot on our island.
“It's much more preferable to have it done that way, rather than having to bring in some asshole.” To promote the latest record the sextet are in the middle of a European tour this winter, and will be playing in Dublin along the way. Valentine explains that he sees this as an advantage. But this doesn’t mean it’s a mere rehashing of the same material, as frontman Dick Valentine states “We use more synthesisers, more drum machines it's a little stickier than some of the previous albums.” The band very much has its own unique sound, which they are very proud of.Like all their previous work, this latest record was home-produced by their guitarist Johnny Nashinal. By Evan O'Quigley | With the release of their eighth studio album and a current European tour, Electric Six frontman Dick Valentine talks to Evan O’Quigley about their adventures from Gay Bar to the presentAnyone listening to Heartbeats and Brainwaves, the latest studio album by the Detroit rock group Electric Six, can expect the same hyper-sexuality, cynicism and humour the act made their name with.