Jet there be light

The busker’s contribution to popular music is probably best glossed over.

Whether attempting entirely reckless acoustic covers of Radiohead’s ‘Paranoid Android’ – harmonica solo optional – or frightening passersby with their Bob Dylan croaks, street entertainers have always seemed a rather superfluous proposition.
Still, even the most unpromising of scenes can yield the occasional gem, as demonstrated by the slow, but apparently inexorable rise of Dublin’s 747s. Starting out plying loose-limbed indie rock around Temple Bar and Grafton Street, the duo of Oisin Leech and Ned Crowther have lately parlayed their jesters’ charms into the makings of a proper rock career. 
“We used to play in Temple Bar Square, opposite [Dublin street comedian] Dave McSavage,” reminiscences Leech. “Dave was really good to us. He used to round up audiences and make them watch us.”
Since packing in the busking life and setting off for the continent in search of a record deal, the 747s have had their share of adventures – most infamously, a mid-air run-in with the Italian air-force.
“Well, there was the time that Ned brought his diesel generator onto a plane in Naples and managed to get some jet fighters scrambled,” laughs Leech. “The guys at customs told him the generator was too fragile to put in the luggage hold and that he should bring it on board. Of course, then it started leaking petrol on the airplane and the staff went mental. They thought it was a terrorist plot.”
Luckily, the Italians saw the funny side and Crowther got off with a not-very-stern talking to. One shudders to imagine what might have happened had the 747s instead been en route to the United States.
“He’d probably be wearing an orange jumpsuit and be on his way to Guantanamo Bay,” laughs Leech.
Following a stint in Italy, the group, now a four-piece, relocated to Liverpool, a city where the flightier kind of rock band is revered. Knocking around with local heroes such as The Coral and The Zutons has brought the 747s a new prominence, leading to heavy airplay on MTV and healthy sales of their debut album, Zampano.
Along they way, Leech has also become good mates with Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, who covered the 747s song ‘Leave Before The Lights Come On’ on a recent b-side. Wary of being tagged as Monkeys hangers-on, Leech is inclined to play down the connection.
“We’ve toured with them and they’re fans of our stuff. But it’s not like we’re all great friends. We respect each other as musicians.”