Supernatural love

Why oh why are The Supernaturals not huge? Really huge. Empire State Building huge. Wembley Arena huge. The Glaswegian quintet have released two albums of stunning pop simplicity, with hooks so strong you could use them for bungee jumping and choruses so catchy they should be prescribed. Yet they still remain also-rans in the popularity stakes, a couple of minor hit singles and a support tour with Robbie Williams aside. Why?

"I don't know," admits singer James McColl from his Glasgow home. "We've had a couple of songs we thought were going to be Top 10, but a lot of our singles just haven't happened—they've made it to the top 40 or 30 but never beyond number 20. Our manager and record company have scratched their heads a few times but we just kind of laugh about it and say 'what the hell'."

What the hell indeed? While many of their less talented contemporaries are lapping up stadium shows and trying to cope with the pressures of fame, man, The Supernaturals remain Scotland's best kept secret.

The band began life in the early '90s, setting up their own label and distribution network. The band eventually came to the attention of Food Records, who signed them up in November '95. They released their debut album, the wonderfully catchy It Doesn't Matter Anymore, chock-full of hit singles that got away, and their star was most definitely in the ascendant. The Supernaturals were even nominated for an Ivor Novello songwriting award. How did they feel about that particular accolade?

"A little bit as if someone had made a mistake in the nominations and mixed us up with Super Furry Animals," laughs James, "but it was definitely us. The story behind it was that they got 100 singles and had a panel of 12 people, who listened to all the singles. They heard 'Smile' and I think they were surprised that it hadn't been a big hit, so that's how that came about. We went to the awards ceremony in London, with Elton John and all these kind of people—it was just really surreal, really strange."

Tune For A Day, their second LP, was released in the summer of '98 and, just when it looked like The Supernaturals were finally going to break into popular consciousness with a good-humoured roar and a self-deprecating lyric, nothing happened. Why songs like 'I Wasn't Built To Get Up' aren't as instantly familiar as wet Wednesdays is beyond me. They have all the ingredients for superstardom, including a great live show. The Supernaturals certainly have thousands of tour-miles behind them. But having been over the same pothole-ridden tarmac again and again, I wondered if they ever get sick of constantly touring?

"You do after a while," admits James. "It's bad when it's long distances and if you're supporting someone, then the concerts can be tiresome, but if you're doing your own concerts and you get to play for an hour and a half, it's great fun."

Speaking of support slots, the band will be most familiar to Irish audiences for having supported Robbie Williams. Indeed, this isn't the first time they've opened for the former Take That star. So what's it like playing to Williams' crowd, which is still presumably filled with screaming teenage girls?

"In Britain, it's not so bad now," recalls James. "His audience has sort of crossed over. But in places like Italy . . . we played there with him before Christmas and it was just little girls chanting for him, 'Robbie, Robbie, Robbie'. It was like playing at a football match—between songs they're all chanting and you're gritting your teeth and smiling. But they're really easy to wind up. You tell them that Robbie Williams is up on the balcony and point up, and the whole bloody venue turns around to look up."

For those of you who want to see a great pop band in an intimate environment, salvation is at hand. The Supernaturals play Belfast's Limelight on March 7th and the band are coming to Dublin for a Whelan's show on March 8th, which promises to be a stormer. The future, however, hangs in the balance, with James admitting that it could be the last chance Irish audiences will get to see them perform, which in itself would be an almighty shame.

"We're pretty much going to stop touring after March and either split up and go away or write another album," he says candidly. "The way things are at the moment in the music business, a lot of bands like us are getting dropped, so we'll see what happens."