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 06 September 2008 07:00 BST

Simple Plan take on the world

Sunday, 03 Feb 2008 16:37
Simple Plan took over London's Camden Town on January 27th.
Canadian post-punk rockers Simple Plan are back in a big way with their latest single When I'm Gone making Radio 1's 'A' playlist and a new album due for release in mid-February.

www.inthenews.co.uk's Lee Davis recently spoke to Simple Plan guitarist and backing vocalist Sebastien Lefebvre.

Sounding tired but bubbling with enthusiasm, Sebastien Lefebvre and his Simple Plan comrades namely vocalist Pierre Bouvier, lead guitarist Jeff Stinco; bassist and backing vocalist David Desrosiers and drummer Chuck Comeau, had just played three storming gigs in London's Camden Town before embarking on a round of press interviews.

The band's takeover of Camden came courtesy of their fans from the UK and Europe, some of whom had been queuing outside the Electric Ballroom since 06:00 even though Simple Plan were not due on stage until 21:30.

Sebastien said the band's 'Camden-fest' went very well. It started with a 30-minute set at Barfly featuring songs from their 2002 debut album No Pads, No Helmets... Just Balls.

He said this was followed by an acoustic set of tracks from 2004 follow-up album Still Not Getting Any at Underworld which set the scene for a full-on performance at the Electric Ballroom.

Sebastien said: "Simple Plan fans are very loyal in the UK, especially in the London area. People who came to the first show also came to the second and third shows."

The trio of Camden shows were the band's first UK dates since a triumphant 2006 tour which included two gigs at London Astoria.

Click here to see Simple Plan’s invasion of Camden Town

Simple Plan's new single When I'm Gone is taken from their eponymously-titled fourth album out on February 18th from Lava/Atlantic Records. The single, which is on Radio 1's 'A' playlist, is available as a download and on CD from February 11th.

When I'm Gone has a narrative running through it as Sebastien explained: "It's kinda like a story of the band. It's like when you want to do something and people say you'll never achieve that ambition."

The song, a cracking blast of energized rock that has overtones of Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, is all about proving those naysayers wrong.

Click here to see the video for When I'm Gone on inthenews.co.uk

When I'm Gone along with the rest of the quintet's new album, was recorded in the US and their native Canada, Sebastien added. "We recorded keys in Miami, drums in LA and guitars and vocals in Montreal."

The new LP has an impressive array of talent on the production side including former Timbaland producer Danjahandz; Dave Fortman, who has worked with Evanescence and Mudvayne, and Max Martin, who's produced Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson.

The new album, an inventive mix of raw punky power and modern pop-rock surges, took the band longer to record than previous records, as Sebastien said: "We wanted to do something special. It was never an option to make a lame record.

"We've had a good evolution between records and we wanted to challenge ourselves. We tried out writing songs with Danjahandz, and the keys and beats came together.

"The writing took just over a year and it's the best one we've ever written, then we spent two to three months in the studio."

The band formed in 2000 after its members met in high school in Montreal. With three albums to their credit and a fourth one out later this month, Simple Plan's irrepressible sound and explosive live sets have helped them to net record sales in excess of seven million worldwide.

The band have a 'punks-do-good' approach that takes into consideration the vast swathe of teenaged fans they have, fans who look up to the band.

This ethos also extends to the band donating to several charities including MTV’s Asia Aid and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, as well as establishing their own charitable trust, the Simple Plan Foundation.

On another front, the band have dipped their toes in the waters of cartoon shows as they provided the theme tune to What's New, Scooby-Doo?

Simple Plan are in illustrious company when it comes to animated antics as Green Day covered The Simpsons theme for the dysfunctional family's big screen outing last year.

Lee Davis End of story


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