Three Guitars And The Truth

Aaron doesn t want to have to struggle. Pete isn t fussed about the money, he just wants the fame. Dave would like to adorn the cover of Attitude. Nathan wants to write a few classics. F.U.E.L. are the East Belfast four-piece looking to kick the sweet rock out of the local music scene. And, while they re at it, upgrade the company they re keeping.

We recorded a song in Windmill Lane, reveals Pete Comfort, drummer and closet proper musician .
Kylie was in the day before, I think U2 were due in the day after. I actually went looking for Kylie but couldn t find her. But her vocal enhancers and auto tuners were all still there and we got to use them. Like, you shouldn t be able to polish a turd, but you can with that stuff.
The very idea of messing with the hot-panted Antipodean Pixie s equipment would, no doubt, have been beyond the imaginative scope of F.U.E.L when they first got together as a group at secondary school. But over the course of the last year, a very noticeable buzz has been gathering around the band, culminating in a slot at Radio One s recent showcase gig at Derry s Nerve Centre.
F.U.E.L s formation is the stuff of Manics-esque, rock romance. Guitarist Nathan Connolly and his cousin Pete met Aaron Ditty (vocals) before any of them were fully toilet trained. Dave Magee (guitar) was a late arrival. He only appeared on the scene when he was eight. He s spent the last eleven years trying to shake off the tag of newcomer.
It was just a dream, claims Aaron. Start a band in a garage, get a couple of mates playing. We ve been going to one-another s birthday parties since we were three. Then we all discovered rock music at the same time, gave it a go, and we just thought, we re good at this. Let s do it.
Now, let there be no doubt that F.U.E.L. are anything other than a rock band. They are more likely to cite Joe than Missy Elliot. At one point in the interview, Nathan breaks off mid sentence to mime the words to an Iron Maiden song that s piped through the bar s speakers.
Considering that only four or five years ago the Northern Irish scene was plagued by a dismal phalanx of awful proto-grunge types, you could be forgiven for thinking that F.U.E.L. represent something of a backward step. But that would be before you actually hear them. They re more Big Black than Black Sabbath. As Nathan explains:
I think guitar music has lost its way over the past few years. But that doesn t really bother us. We use three guitars and a drum kit and write glorious pop songs. What more can you want?
Part of this is down to an unexpected polish on their part. While you could be forgiven for thinking they were a pack of shambolic punk scamps, despite all being under 21, three of the band members are actually qualified studio engineers while the other is a former member of the Ulster Youth Orchestra. They also put a solid year of behind doors practice in before they ventured out to play live.
It was down to self-belief, says Nathan. We re still playing a song called Necklace that we wrote at our first ever rehearsal. We ve always been good but we ve always wanted to get better. That s the thing with new bands at the minute; they seem to have a lot more balls when they re starting off. They have an hour and a half rehearsal together and they re like Right, where s that fucking gig guide . Right enough, most of them are terrible, but they re playing gigs. We just wanted to take our time more.
Their diligence has paid off. After hooking up with Belfast s Bright Star label, they now plan to release their first single Closure ( It s your basic Piss Off song. It s about being fifteen and thinking you ve lost the love of your life ) towards the fag-end of the summer.
They see their progress so far as a definite vindication.
Hardly any other bands like us, Aaron reveals. Nobody ever tells us they ve liked the show. None of them even bother coming up to talk to us. None of them think we re cool. But we ve been working away for three years now and, just to get the recognition we re getting now, makes it worthwhile.
Right, now which way s Knebworth?