The long Grass

Of all the outfits to have emerged from the over-hyped Britpop class of ’94, Supergrass looked the least likely to last the pace.

Their youthful exuberance and happy-go-lucky image, as displayed on the iconic video for their debut hit, ‘Alright’ veered dangerously towards novelty act territory. But the Oxford trio (now quartet) confounded the critics and ten years later they are stronger than ever, as the success of their current singles compilation Supergrass Is 10 confirms.
“We seem to have a special place in people’s hearts,” says keyboard player Rob Coombes (brother of front-man Gaz). “The fact that we’ve never been fashionable was in our favour, I think. Being fashionable is great for about ten months but it ultimately seals your fate.”
One reason for their survival might be down to their sonic versatility – Supergrass draw from a much wider inspirational well than their retro-inclined peers such as Oasis, Blur and Ocean Colour Scene.
“I think our influences were definitely much wider than a lot of other bands,” says Coombes. “In our formative years we listened to a lot of stuff. Gaz and Mick [Quinn] were both Bowie fans and I was a massive Hendrix and Gil Scott Heron fan. The Beach Boys played a big part in our lives and we all love Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder and bands like Sly And The Family Stone.”
If nothing else Supergrass Is 10 proves what a great singles band they were, with such deceptively complex and ambitious songs as ‘Rush Hour Soul’, ‘Caught By The Fuzz’, ‘Pumping On Your Stereo’, ‘Grace’ and the sublime ‘Moving’.
“We’ve always strived to be timeless songwriters,” says Coombes. “We don’t always get it right but it’s important to us to try. We didn’t really know how well the compilation would do, to be honest. Putting out a ‘greatest hits’ is sometimes criticised as a cop-out but we feel it’s a good summing-up of what we’ve been doing for the past ten years. It kinda reminds me of bands like The Cure who I got into through their singles compilation rather than their albums.”
Their studio and songwriting prowess apart, Supergrass have also proved themselves to be one of the best live acts on the circuit and have latterly become the festival band of choice – guaranteed to deliver the goods! Having sold out Dublin’s Olympia a few months ago they return later this month as special guests of The Frames at their Marlay Park headliner.
“We like playing live but it always seems that what we’re doing at the time is the most important,” says Rob. “When we’re on tour I think, ‘this is what it’s all about’ and when we’re in the studio I think ‘this is what it’s really all about’. But yeah, we love it up onstage and we always get a great reaction.
“I’m absolutely sure we’re going to be around for a long time to come. The next album is going to grab people and take them by surprise. We want to try something a bit different. Having done this ten year thing we’re all burning to get something new in the can.”

Supergrass appear with The Frames at Marlay Park, Dublin on August 21.