Sport.co.uk caught up with Stephen ‘Leaky’ Leacock, drummer of Northern Irish power-pop prospects General Fiasco, to discuss his beloved Tottenham Hotspur and his band’s burgeoning reputation ahead of the release of their debut album ‘Buildings’ next month…
So, Stephen, how are you?
SL: I’m good, man. Just sitting in my flat in Belfast flicking through a magazine.
How did you come to support Tottenham?
SL: I’ve no idea, actually. I’ve supported them for as far back as I can remember. My dad’s side of the family were all big Spurs fans. There’s no real London connection – it just kind of stuck.
Are you happy with the job Harry Redknapp’s doing at White Hart Lane?
SL: Supporting Spurs is disappointment after disappointment – that’s football for you, I guess – but hopefully Redknapp can get us a Champions League spot. We’re not that far behind Liverpool but we’re going to need to go on a pretty good run to beat them to it.
Do you manage to get to the game much?
SL: I haven’t been in three or four years - I think the last game was a cup game against West Brom - but my dad and my sister go over once or twice a year. I’m in London quite a bit actually but I’ve not been able to get to White Hart Lane to see another game.
Is it hard to follow your team when you’re out on the road with the band all the time?
SL: I don’t follow as closely as I used to but I check online for results and if we’ve got a night off then I’ll go to a pub to watch the game. But I’m not as passionate as my dad and my sister would like me to be any more!
Let’s play the comparison game! It’s modern day Spurs vs Spurs of yore. Who’s better – Heurelho Gomes or Erik Thorstvedt?
SL: Thorstvedt. Actually, Ian Walker!
Aaron Lennon or Ruel Fox?
SL: Aaron Lennon.
Jermaine Defoe or Chris Armstrong?
SL: I liked Armstrong back in the day but Defoe’s probably a better player.
Solid choices so far. Finally, Eidur Gudjohnsen or Jason Dozzell? Similar players…
SL: Gudjohnsen, I think.
So, is there more to your nickname ‘Leaky’ than it just being derived from your surname Leacock?
SL: Not really, although a few friends of mine would try and tell you that it’s from when I used to play in goal!
What music are you listening to at the moment?
SL: I’m listening to a band called Manchester Orchestra – they supported Biffy Clyro recently on their tour. There’s a band called Cursive on Saddle Creek records – I’m just getting into them. Have you heard of Local Natives? They’re like a cross between Vampire Weekend and The Beach Boys – it’s quite Californian-sounding but they’re on the same label as us. That’s how I heard about them but that’s not why I like them!
What would you say the overarching influences are on General Fiasco? I’m hearing traces of Supergrass and The Wannadies…
SL: Yeah, I’m really into The Wannadies. My mate had their ‘Big Fan’ single two or three years back and I heard ‘You and Me Song’ (which was famously used on the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack). Then I heard ‘Skin’ and stuff and I took this notion. I like collecting bands’ back catalogues so I bought this Wannadies box set with three albums in it.
The Be A Girl/Bagsy Me/Yeah box set? I bought that too!
SL: I’ve got four or five of their records anyway. Collectively [in terms of influences] – and I know it sounds quite middle of the road – Kings of Leon, Paramore, Wintersleep. Bands with good songs. We don’t try to be cool – we like what we like and we make no apologies. We’re not one of those reciprocal indie bands who namecheck loads of blog bands. We just like what we like. Death Cab for Cutie would be another one. We probably don’t sound much like them but that’s what we listen to.
You’ve been touring with The Enemy and The Answer, both of whom we’ve interviewed on these hallowed pages.
SL: Yeah, last November and December.
The Answer seemed like great guys. Did you get close with them?
SL: They’re from roundabouts where we come from in the Belfast area, so we knew them from before. They’re really good fellows. Even from the off they were so accommodating – it’s just like cracking with your mates down the pub. I saw them last Sunday at the Belfast 4 Haiti fundraiser. There were 50 acts across three rooms in this one venue and we raised over £30,000 so that was really cool.
The Enemy, on the other hand, were not quite as chatty…
SL: I can’t say a bad word about them, man – they were really super sound. We came back to our dressing room one time and they’d left us bottles of champagne to say ‘have a great tour’ and that. Everyone was lovely. I can say though that they’re not much good at football. There was a ball kicking about on the first few nights inside the actual venue before it opened, and none of them have got the skills, so to speak!
So what have the next few weeks got in store for you?
SL: The album’s out on the 22nd I think and we’ve got a show in London on Friday (at The Garage in Highbury & Islington). We leave for Europe for about two and a half weeks on Sunday or Monday – we’re supporting a band called Black Box Revelation, a two-piece from Belgium. We’re supporting them in Germany, Switzerland and Holland and then I think we’re back on the 4th for a short run of dates from the 8th to the 15th. Black Box Revelation will be joining us for those two so I hope we get on with them, otherwise it could be a long month and a half! Also, we’re going out to SXSW again this year. We’ll be there on St Paddy’s day. We went out there last year but we didn’t really get to enjoy it fully because we had to get back to Belfast for a gig supporting. Hopefully this year we’ll get to chill out and have a few beers.
Final question – who is the most mind-bogglingly famous person you’ve met so far?
SL: We’ve kind of met Noel Gallagher a few times but not had a proper conversation with him. Once we were in his manager’s office a few years back when we were looking for management – I walked past him and said “Alright man” and he raised his eyebrow and went “Alright”. I think putting people from bands on pedestals is bullsh*t but it’s really strange being two feet away from someone who you’re used to seeing on TV and hearing on the radio and whose CDs you’ve been buying for years.
General Fiasco’s new single ‘Ever So Shy’ is released on 8th March followed by debut album ‘Buildings’ on the 22nd March, both on Infectious Records