Sport.co.uk caught up with David Burn, lead singer of hotly-tipped north eastern rockers Detroit Social Club, to discuss his beloved Sunderland FC and, amongst other things, Bobby Gillespie playing drums on a table...
Overall, how do you rate the job Steve Bruce has done so far?
On the whole, I think most Sunderland supporters think that Steve Bruce has done a good job. It’s easy to start calling people when you’re going through a bad patch like we did over winter but when you compare it to last year under Roy Keane – who actually spent more money than Steve Bruce – he’s done really well. His problem’s been that he had such a good start that he really raised expectancy so everybody started getting at him when we went through that rough winter but I think he’s done a really good job and I hopefully he’ll be here for a long time.
My only worry about him is that he might jump ship to a bigger club if he does well next year because that’s pretty much what he’s always done. He always arrives at a club and says “this is the club for me, this is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for” – he did it at Wigan and he’s always done it. But we’re a big club so hopefully he can achieve everything he wants to achieve with us. He was given a bit of money last summer and he should get some more this summer. We definitely need it, I think.
What areas do you need to improve, in your opinion?
I think we need a centre-half because none of Anton Ferdinand, Paulo da Silva and John Mensah have been able to work a partnership with Michael Turner. Turner’s great but, the way I look at it, he’s the John Terry kind of player – very much the holding defender. We need someone alongside him who can play the ball and has a bit of pace. We’ve been very comfortable on the ball for the majority of this season, which is something completely new to us as we used to just panic and kick it anywhere. Steve Bruce likes us to push up which is a great thing when we’ve got the ball but we’re always getting caught [on the counter]. We should buy Alan Hutton because he’s been great.
Kenwyne Jones will probably go because he just doesn’t want to be here so if we can get a few bob for him then we could get a new striker up there. Then there’s the likes of Steed Malbranque – you can tell he’s getting old now and he smokes 40 a day! He’s got that touch where you can tell he’s been an amazing footballer but unfortunately he just hasn’t got the legs now so we might need someone to replace him. But we’ve got Jordan Henderson who’s playing really, really well and he’s only 19. Lee Cattermole and Lorik Cana in centre-midfield is really good so hopefully they’ll stay fit next year. Exciting times.
You’ve covered three or four of our other questions as well with that answer! So you think Jones will go...
There’s nothing worse than wasted talent. Jones has the potential to be one of the best players in the Premier League – he could be an Adebayor or a Crouch or something like that because he’s that type of target man but I think he just hasn’t got the determination or the work rate. He might get away with that a little bit more elsewhere but the one thing that we want in the north east is not necessarily attractive football or silverware but for our team to turn up on a Saturday and give it their all because they’re on fifty grand a week. But he just doesn’t seem to want to do any of that.
So do you need someone to come in and play alongside Darren Bent, or could Fraizer Campbell step up to the mark?
Fraizer Campbell’s been amazing but he’s been playing as more of a wide attacker. If we play a 4-5-1 and play it through for Bent and Campbell to use their pace then we’ve got a chance but, the way we play, it’s in the air for the majority of the time that we’re counter attacking and Bent can’t deal with that on his own. Campbell’s been playing on the left and on the right, like against Spurs two weeks ago when he was outstanding, but he still needs a bit of composure to go with his pace. Teams like Chelsea and Manchester United don’t push up when they’ve got the ball – they sit quite deep so you can’t counter them with pace like we’ve got in Bent and Campbell, so I do think we need a target man. Someone like John Carew, not that we’re going to get him. Someone who can play a bit like Niall Quinn used to for us alongside Kevin Phillips. Campbell and Bent are a bit too similar. But Campbell’s been playing out of his skin on the left and on the right and I look forward to seeing him play next year.
Going by what you were saying earlier, I take it that’s a yes to signing Hutton permanently but a no to John Mensah?
I think we could get better. Hutton’s been amazing – he’s the kind of player we need, an attacking full-back. Gone are the days when full-backs weren’t allowed to venture over the half way line. There’s been talk of Anton Ferdinand going into a full-back position which I think would be a mistake because I personally don’t think he’s got anything to offer at all. If we can get £5m for him from West Ham or whoever then we should snap their hand off. I haven’t seen much of Mensah but there’s been some games where he’s been brilliant. I think, like with Bent and Campbell, he’s too similar to Turner. He likes to sit. You’ve got to have dynamics in your partnerships, like with Cattermole and Cana who have been working brilliantly together. I like that we’ve got a lot of youth at the minute like Henderson and David Meyler, who have both been playing in the centre for quite a few games recently and they’ve been outstanding. Just on the weekend against Hull they were probably the two men of the match for Sunderland, so it’s exciting times.
How long have you followed Sunderland for? What was your first game?
My first game was when we first got promoted from the Championship and we won 6-0 against Millwall. I think Millwall were 2nd or 3rd in the league and we were mid table at the time. I had a season ticket with my dad for a couple of seasons and then I started to go with mates and that. I haven’t really been able to go as much as I’d like for the past two years because obviously I’m away a lot of weekends doing gigs and things but hopefully I’ll get to see a lot more next year.
What’s the best game you’ve ever attended? And the worst?
The best game was probably against Arsenal when it ended up...was it 1-1 or 2-2? I can’t remember which year it would have been but, anyway, I got thrown out ten minutes from time. It was 1-1 and Patrick Vieira missed a penalty, or perhaps Thomas Sorensen saved it, and then Michael Gray scored. It was an amazing game. But there was an old lady sat behind us who always used to bring a tray with her, and she’d sit there with this tray which would have a coffee and a bag of jelly beans on it, and a sandwich or something like that. So, when Sorensen saved Vieira’s penalty, I stood up and knocked the tray from under her and she got all her jelly beans went all over. Then Michael Gray scored , all in the space of about three minutes!
The worst game was probably against Arsenal as well. It was the last game of the...was it the 15 point season or the 19 point season? It’s a horrible choice! But Arsenal beat us 4-1 on the last day of the season and we weren’t there at all. We were already relegated after one of the worst seasons we’ve ever had. That’s got to be the worst one. Although the most heartbreaking moment I’ve ever had in my life was when Michael Gray missed that penalty in the shootout against Charlton in the playoff final at Wembley. In hindsight, though, another year in the Championship was probably what we needed at the time.
Would you be able to name a best Sunderland XI comprised only of players that you’ve seen in your time as a fan?
Well, mine would be from 1996 onwards so it might offend a lot of Sunderland supporters! Probably Sorensen in goal. At right-back I’d have Dariusz Kubicki because he was a legend and we’ve all got a lot of time for him. He needed one more appearance to break a club record but Peter Reid wouldn’t let him, which we didn’t like. Kevin Ball at centre-half – I’ll come back to the other one. Richard Ord at left-back. Nicky Summerbee and Allan Johnston on the wings because they were a massive part of our back-to-back 7th place finishes. Alex Rae in the centre, because I absolutely love him, and Lee Cattermole. And I don’t think you could dispute Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips up front. In fact, can I play 3-4-3 and have Darren Bent instead of another centre-half.
Onto some music questions. What does Noel Gallagher’s approval mean to you? Didn’t you support Oasis?
Yeah we supported them on their last ever UK gig. He knew all about our music when he came up and talked to us! I was never an avid fan of Oasis but their music changed our lives.
What was it like supporting Primal Scream?
Amazing. The best three days of my life. It was in Ireland too, where I’d never been. They were amazing people. I remember the first thing they came up and said: “That’s your dressing room, that’s ours, but the door’s always open and you’re welcome in and out.” Which is amazing for a band like that. It’s how it should be done. Getting to watch them every night as well wasn’t too bad either!
What’s Bobby Gillespie like?
How can I put this? He’s affected by the lifestyle he’s led, if that makes any sense! You can tell he’s had a very good time for the past 20 years. But it would be disappointing to find him any other way. He was an amazing bloke and he sat and talked to us – he’s one of the most passionate and knowledgeable about music people I’ve probably ever met. The way he reels off band names and knows individual names of band members that he shouldn’t even know.
He carries a pair of drumsticks around with him everywhere – it’s easy to forget he started out as a drummer [for the Jesus & Mary Chain] – and he just sits and plays drums on the table when he’s pissed and everyone else is talking. He puts on The Rolling Stones as loud as he can in their dressing room and sits and drums along to it on the wall. He’s everything you want him to be, basically.
What are your main musical influences personally?
The Rolling Stones. A lot of sixties stuff, like early Motown stuff. Brian Jonestown Massacre. Obviously Primal Scream. There’s definitely an element of the Britpop era because that’s when I fell in love with music. The Stooges and MC5. The Small Faces. The Beatles. And then I love later stuff like Bjork. It’s a million different things and hopefully that wide range of influences comes out in our music.
Could you name the single best album of all time?
Urban Hymns by The Verve. No...Revolver!
Good shout. Finally, what does the immediate future hold for Detroit Social Club? Oh, and why the name?
When I first started the project and it was just me, it was quite an Americana kind of sound. I was doing American history at university. So I wanted something that gave a nod to America but also had a sort of northern English heritage, which is obviously the Social Club. So I put the two together and it sounded quite cool.
To answer your other question, we’ve got an album out end of May and a single out just before then. Then we’re doing loads of festivals. We’re doing Glastonbury a couple of times on the Friday, we’re going over to Japan and we’ve just done Amsterdam this weekend which I’m still a little bit tender from! So it’s an exciting summer ahead.
Detroit Social Club release their debut album ‘Existence’ on May 31st on Fiction Records.