Derry band Touts talk punk rock, their favourite gigs, and supporting Paul Weller and Liam Gallagher

Derry has always been a hotbed of musical talent, and that trend continues with much-talked about trio Touts. Still (sickeningly) in their teens and taking their name from a Northern Irish slang word for snitch/informer (no “rough area” in the six counties is complete without the legend “Touts will be shot!”), they’ve made serious headway in 2017 thus far. With support slots for Liam Gallagher, Kasabian and Paul Weller in the pipeline, you can only expect their profile to grow in the coming months.

“I’m absolutely buzzing, I can’t complain about the way things are going,” beams the band’s singer/guitarist Matthew Crossan. “To go from playing pubs to writing a post on Facebook and actually tagging Paul Weller and Liam Gallagher is just crazy.”

As rosy as Touts’ future looks, their (recent) past was pretty damn sweet too, as in addition to an acclaimed EP, they’ve just played their biggest show to date, supporting Blossoms at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl.

“It was brilliant and up there with the best nights of my life,” enthuses Crossan. “It felt like a bit of a game changer. I was shitting myself the day before the show, but on the night itself, the only time I was really bricking it was when we walked onstage to ‘Dancing Queen’ by Abba. I was more confused by that than anything else (laughs).”

When the band’s debut EP Sickening And Deplorable was first unleashed via the Hometown Records label, many – including this scribe – were smitten by their sound, which bristles with attitude. Are they happy that their records have drawn comparison with the first wave of punk?

“It wasn’t intentional to sound like a punk band,” notes Crossan. “I do love the attitude of punk though. If you take the actual meaning of the word, you could say The Dubliners were punks, you know? It’s more about the attitude than the music of punk for us. The EP was good craic to make. We’re more of a live band than a studio band, and it was a good experience recording it with Rocky O’Reilly. I remember we went up to Belfast on a Sunday morning and there were a few of us who were a bit groggy. I was going to take a pee, but somebody threw up all over the toilet, so I pissed in the sink. Then Rocky came in with some cups to wash and saw what I was doing, and he just walked back out again (laughs).”

With another EP ready for release in October, and a vinyl version collecting both it and Sickening And Deplorable also in the works – a thrill for wax enthusiast Matthew – there is plenty more music on the way. After releasing a single called ‘Political People’ and writing another tune called ‘Bomb Scare’, we ask Matthew if we can expect more socially aware songs in the future.

“I think if you’ve something to say and a platform to say it from, you should use it,” he nods. “It’s not that we’re political people, it’s more that you can’t really escape it. Growing up here, you’re always aware of the situation… everybody knows the craic with the Troubles etc. I just write from the heart. One day I’ll write a song called ‘Bomb Scare’ and the next, one called ‘Chocolate And Girls’ – because I’ve a friend called Joe and he likes chocolate, girls and drinking at the weekend!”

Sickening And Deplorable is out now via Hometown Records. Facebook.com/toutsband