Hot Press meets The Hot Sprockets

It’s shaping up to be a memorable year for The Hot Sprockets. Fresh from selling-out London’s 100 Club, they’re putting the final touches to their second album and looking forward to their appearance at Forbidden Fruit.

“I haven’t seen Kasabian before and they’re supposed to be really cool live,” says frontman Wayne Soper of the Kilmainham shindig’s headliners. “I’ve heard their recordings but it’s different seeing a band live.”
Forbidden Fruit is one of many festival appearances the Sprockets will make this summer. With Sea Sessions, Life and Indiependence also on the horizon, Soper explains why outdoor gigs are unique.
“It’s a different kind of buzz,” he says. “You get to hang with all the other acts, some of whom you’d never otherwise meet because they’re totally different to you musically. Just because someone’s into, say, techno doesn’t mean that you won’t get on with them. In fact, coming from different backgrounds you’ve loads to talk about.”
That isn’t to say things don’t go wrong sometimes.
“We were on our way to play Spirit of Folk one year and when we arrived, [guitarist] Tim Anderson had a headache so he took an Ibuprofen without knowing he was allergic. His face swelled to double its size!” recalls Soper. “We had to drive him off to the hospital. He was back in time to play the gig.
It was still mad funny – any time you looked around and saw Tim with his big Elephant Man swollen face!”
With current single ‘Soul Brother’ causing a stir, Sprockets fans are eager to feast their ears on the follow up to debut LP Honey Skippin’, which came out last year.
“The new album is sounding great, we’re chuffed with it. Now it just needs to be mastered. We’re working on the artwork at the minute. Long-term, we want to get it out to as many people as we can and keep working hard.”

The Hot Sprockets play Forbidden Fruit on the Saturday.