Full moon party

Sarah Stead • Published 25 Feb 2010 09:00 0 Comments

Interview

ONE of the world's biggest Britpop bands come to Reading tomorrow night (Friday) - and they've brought an act on the brink of stardom along for the ride.

Ocean Colour Scene headline The Hexagon tomorrow, supported by five-piece The Moons, who have just had a hard-earned lucky break.

"I think it's basically years of slogging at it to get somewhere and finally get my music recognised," said frontman Andy Crofts, who takes care of lead guitar and vocals.

"One day our stuff just fell into the hands of Paul Weller and from that people are taking me more seriously.

"It's a shame that it works like that, really. It's luck but I have spent most of my life writing songs. I needed a big break and luckily enough one came to me."

The Paul Weller link resonates throughout The Moons' story. In 1993 Weller buoyed Ocean Colour Scene's rise to fame by inviting them to support him on tour, and, like Crofts, OCS member Steve Cradock has played with Weller - making this prestigious tour slot a good pairing.

Crofts said: "It was kind of a mates' favour. We've got an album coming out and we needed a big tour to promote it.

"The album's finished - it's called Life On Earth - and is due out on March 15. There's 12 tracks with a couple featuring Paul Weller actually.

"On one track he plays piano and on the last track he plays electric guitar."

Despite this high-profile fan, the dizzy heights of a big UK tour are still exciting for Crofts. "I can't wait," he said.

"For the moons we've not really done a big stretch of gigs before. The tour's about a month long. We can't wait, we just wanna get out on the road."

So what can we expect?

"The only way I can describe our music is by our main influences...The Beatles, The Kinks and The specials. That all comes through.

"You can hear the older sound but played in a more contemporary style."

Lovely.

* The Moons support Ocean Colour Scene at The Hexagon tomorrow (Friday) at 8pm. If you miss this your catch them at the Monto Water Rats in Kings Cross, London, on March 26. See www.myspace.com/themoonsofficial

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