{"id":319169,"date":"2025-11-28T19:31:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T19:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/319169\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T19:31:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T19:31:09","slug":"theres-life-in-the-old-dog-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/319169\/","title":{"rendered":"There’s life in the old dog yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

As tickets go on sale for the biggest gig of Biffy Clyro<\/a>\u2018s career so far, the band caught up with NME to tell us about their plans for Finsbury Park, staying relevant in shifting times, their \u2018Band Aid\u2019 style single for Scotland\u2019s World Cup bid, and already being at work on new material.<\/p>\n

Fresh from the release of their acclaimed 10th album \u2018Futique<\/a>\u2018, the Scottish alt-rock trio announced a massive gig to 40,000 fans at London\u2019s Finsbury Park<\/a> next July where they\u2019ll be joined by\u00a0Nothing But Thieves<\/a>,\u00a0Don Broco<\/a>, Marmozets<\/a> and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve put together a fucking unbelievable bill,\u201d frontman Simon Neil told NME.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re lucky that a lot of people wanted to play, but we wanted to lean into British rock bands and be proud of where we come from. Nothing But Thieves, Marmozets, Don Broco, it\u2019s dynamite.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we put a bill together and it\u2019s pointed. \u2018I want people to learn about this band!\u2019 Magic will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BiffyBiffy Clyro Finsbury Park gig poster, 2026. CREDIT: Press<\/p>\n

The Biff\u2019 invited NME to their AirBnB on a recent stop in London. \u201cIt looks like we\u2019re showing off, but this was cheaper than going to a hotel,\u201d revealed drummer Ben Johnston. It\u2019s all part of their current approach to stay calm, measured and mindful, a stark comparison to past hotel-trashing times.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were messy and we partied hard,\u201d Neil admitted. \u201cMy biggest mistake was leaving a $100 bill behind when we partying hard in an Inverness hotel room. I was like, \u2018Fuck!\u2019 I felt like such a bad-ass, but it was a shitty wee hotel. I left it there and I really noticed. I wasn\u2019t yet at a point where I could afford it.<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cWhen we were dirty, we stayed at The Columbia once. We were convinced there was something dead in the room. You know that unmistakable smell of death that people talk about?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bassist James Johnston added: \u201cYou could trash that place. We were all fucking itchy with scabies, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now free of scabies and on something of a winning streak, Biffy were in a celebratory mood when they met NME. Enjoying a break before their sadly now cancelled US tour<\/a>, the band spoke with confidence off the back of recent \u2018Futique\u2019 underplay shows<\/a> ahead of UK arena shows in the new year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe met people at those acoustic shows who\u2019ve been coming to see us for over 15 years, and they were saying that this was the best they\u2019d ever seen us,\u201d said James. \u201cIt was whisper quiet. To get that on new songs with everyone listening was really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon agreed: \u201cWe still struggle with praise, and now 10 albums in, you can\u2019t take that for granted. This is a culmination of all of our work in this record and we\u2019d have been heartbroken if it hadn\u2019t been received well. If everyone said it was shit, then we wouldn\u2019t feel good about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fucking buzzing. We\u2019re deliberately making January the \u2018Futique\u2019 tour, because it\u2019s our new album tour. We\u2019re not coming out and playing two songs from it. People are really into it, and I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever had a tour sell out so early in advance. It\u2019s a fucking miracle!\u201d<\/p>\n

At this stage of their 30 years together, the band find themselves treading a balancing between finding their place in the musical landscape while also enjoying the compulsion to just be themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know a point will come where the new stuff we\u2019re doing won\u2019t be as relevant as our older stuff, because that\u2019s just the nature of ageing and being around for a while,\u201d Simon admitted. \u201cTo be on our 10th album and feel like that\u2019s the focus of the tour is a bit of a miracle. We\u2019re so delighted. We struggled to make this record<\/a>, so it means more that we came back to a positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a relief, but not a careerist way \u2013 the new music needs to matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Check out how full interview with Biffy Clyro below, where they tell us about fighting to stay on top of their game and challenging themselves, some \u201cidiosyncratic\u201d new songs already in the bag, and plans underway to record Scotland\u2019s World Cup 2026 anthem.<\/p>\n

NME: Hello Biffy Clyro. You\u2019ve just announced the biggest gig of your career at Finsbury Park. Does it feel strange to be doing this now?<\/p>\n

Simon Neil: \u201cI think about that a lot: about maintaining relevance and how that\u2019s even possible after 25 years. How is it even possible to be a three-white-boy rock band in 2025 when we\u2019re in such a dynamic and progressive time? I\u2019m very wary of where we sit. We all listen to a lot of new music and it\u2019s really important to keep your ear to what\u2019s fucking happening and all the exciting shit. That\u2019s why bands fail \u2013 they have their five or 10 year golden period of their own music and still aspire to the same old shit. The foundation of your music inspiration doesn\u2019t change, but you\u2019ve got to keep adding to that foundation to be inspired or else it will just fucking dissipate.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Johnston: \u201cYou\u2019ve got to keep taking risks. You\u2019ve got to have something new to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cThat\u2019s why working with [producer] Jonathan Gilmore was so important for us. You\u2019ve got to work with someone from the new way of recording where you don\u2019t need a massive studio and $100,000. We were aware he\u2019d worked with The 1975<\/a>, and we don\u2019t sound like The 1975 but we wanted to do things in a more modern way. You listen to the Turnstile<\/a> record [\u2018Never Enough<\/a>\u2018], and that\u2019s a hardcore and pop-punk record, but it doesn\u2019t like Snapcase or Helmet \u2013 it sounds like now. That\u2019s what\u2019s so fucking exciting. It\u2019s very important to try and stay relevant. That\u2019s not about dressing like you\u2019re 25 or singing like Frank Ocean<\/a>\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BiffyBiffy Clyro live at Reading 2021. Credit: Andy Ford for NME<\/p>\n

How are you enjoying this downtime after releasing the record and before the tour, given the trouble you spoke about in regrouping for \u2018Futique\u2019?<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cWe just needed a fucking break. Normally you finish the album and there\u2019s that really annoying two month period before it comes out. The great thing was that the music was fresh for us when it came out, but we couldn\u2019t have done a tour, we\u2019d have been done in. It\u2019s a different headspace.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, I really want to make sure that we have a really fucking great time on tour. I really want to lean into the more celebratory nature of what we do and the fact that we are still here. Playing live is such a high-wire act, and at times I haven\u2019t enjoyed it because I haven\u2019t engaged with it in the right way. I\u2019ve just been too critical of us and really hard on myself. I really want to fucking enjoy it. I didn\u2019t enjoy the couple of tours after the pandemic. I was worried that I\u2019d fallen out of love with it and it had lost its magic. Of course, that\u2019s not true and I just needed a wee fucking break.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was deliberate to wait until January. Now 2026 is about us on a fucking stage. I don\u2019t know when, but we\u2019ve got about 12-15 other songs we\u2019ve got to finish and put out when we get a chance. Our eyes are all on the fucking stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am grateful that we\u2019re still a band. The last time we spoke<\/a>, you asked if we needed that intensity to make a record. I was like, \u2018Fuck, maybe\u2019. Bon Iver just said<\/a> that he doesn\u2019t know if he\u2019s going to make another record. This is maybe the first time in my life where I\u2019m like, \u2018Do Biffy need another record?\u2019 I think it\u2019ll change. Cliche alert, but we make the music because we like making music. Obviously then you hope people like it! For now, I need to get my head straight with playing live, being on the road, and then we\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

And kicking off 2026 with an arena tour. Happy New Year, eh?<\/p>\n

James: \u201cIt\u2019s a good start to the year. January for me, as it is for most people, is fucking hard-going. To be straight out there fucking having it just feels perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cIt\u2019s a little star amongst the darkness. Even when you\u2019re going to shows at that time of year, it\u2019s fucking miserable but then you get in there and its magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

What have you got planned for the January shows? What\u2019s going to set them apart from previous Biffy tours?<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cWe\u2019ve got an awesome stage production. You wouldn\u2019t believe the lights! It\u2019s a very \u2018Futique\u2019-centric show. I\u2019m going to spend a couple of weeks over Christmas in Amsterdam really working to plan the show as something different. When we did \u2018A Celebration Of Endings<\/a>\u2019 from the Barrowlands [livestream performance<\/a>], that opened up this theatricality to what we do that doesn\u2019t take away from our authenticity. We can strike that balance between having the most intimate moments but also the most razzmatazz and Liberace-esque. There are also a few new songs that don\u2019t have guitar in them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve a few things up our sleeve but we\u2019re going to choreograph it differently. We\u2019re not scared to try something new. All bets are off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Andy Ford for NME<\/p>\n

And then to Finsbury Park, to 40,000 people\u2026<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cIt\u2019s fucking exciting. London matters a lot to us. We really love our time here. There\u2019s been a bit of a liberation for us playing over the last five years. Plus Finsbury has such a massive history.\u201d<\/p>\n

What have you got in store for your \u2018big moment\u2019?<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cWe won\u2019t know yet. Things will become clearer once we\u2019ve played the shows at the start of the year. We don\u2019t want it to be the same show, but inevitably it will echo it (unless we bring out 18 new songs and decide to play them!) The way to make the show exhilarating for us is to lean into the fact that it\u2019s a celebration and it\u2019s not time to challenge. We\u2019ve sometimes made the wrong choice, thinking \u2018It\u2019s time to challenge the audience\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was watching Oasis<\/a> and that was really liberating. I spent most of the time watching the crowd, and that joy in just the beauty of what music is. You\u2019re not thinking, \u2018Oh that song\u2019s from 2003\u2019 or \u2018Oh, they only played one song from whatever\u2019. It doesn\u2019t matter because it\u2019s just fucking happening to you. I\u2019m just trying to be optimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

James: \u201cIt wasn\u2019t that long ago that we weren\u2019t even able to get together and play shows so it still warrants a fucking celebration when it happens, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cWe long in the tooth enough to have songs from a couple of decades that people do want to hear, but we don\u2019t need to only play songs from 10 years ago. We will be playing songs from all our records, and I think that\u2019s what\u2019s so exciting. When we play \u2018Goodbye\u2019, \u2018A Little Love\u2019 and \u2018Two People In Love\u2019, they will be the \u2018moments\u2019, as much as \u2018Many Of Horror\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to bristle at the idea of ending on your biggest song. Aye! Of course you should. We were lucky enough to tour with Foo Fighters<\/a> and you never went, \u2018Why the fuck are they ending with \u2018Everlong\u2019?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BiffyBiffy Clyro live at Glastonbury 2025. Credit: Andy Ford for NME<\/p>\n

But you must have some bucketlist dream of what you want to do at a mega gig like this?<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cThat Iggy Pop<\/a> or Frank Carter<\/a> standing in the crowd thing \u2013 I\u2019ve always wanted to do that at a big show. That shot of Iggy in Detroit in the gold pants, oh man. Other than that, we\u2019re defensively not thinking too much about that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

James: \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be a shy and retiring show. It will be all bells and whistles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cThis will be one of the most important shows of our career. This is milestone shit. There are very few times in your life when you know you\u2019re about to do something important. This is one of those occasions. There have been some great shows that happen at Finsbury Park, and we want this to be the one that defines the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sounds naive, as we\u2019ve been around for a while, but it\u2019s going to be magic and unforgettable.\u201d<\/p>\n

And you mentioned having 15 or so new songs already written. What can we expect from them?<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cThey\u2019re less focussed, as always. I like the beauty of the fact that these other songs have been worked on less so there\u2019s more freedom. They\u2019re flapping the breeze and we can focus on our eccentricities. There\u2019s a liberation in knowing that people who are really into our band will listen to them at this stage. It fills the story and completes our picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some garage rock songs on there, one of the best country rock songs I\u2019ve ever written.\u201d<\/p>\n

James: \u201cHave you written many?\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cI have actually, thank you very much! These aren\u2019t as rock band-y. We deliberately wanted to define our band on \u2018Futique\u2019. Everything had a relative familiarity. These songs are much less Biffy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BiffyBiffy Clyro, 2025. Credit: Eva Pentel<\/p>\n

Will it be an album or a string of singles and EPs?<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cI would like it to be an album. I\u2019m still old-school. You show that you\u2019re making a serious statement with an album. I like how they fill in the gaps and tell the story. Realistically, we\u2019ll struggle to do it before next summer. We\u2019ll hopefully get in with [Jonathan] Gilmore and finish them off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI keep thinking, \u2018Do we need new Biffy music?\u2019 This keeps us creating and moving forward without having an existential crisis. I was just in Barcelona and wrote another fucking seven songs and I don\u2019t know what to do! I want to complete the \u2018Futique\u2019 statement first and we don\u2019t want to say anything new yet but I can\u2019t help but do new stuff. That\u2019s a good sign. We\u2019ll take it as a positive that there\u2019s life in old fucking dog yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that\u2019s ludicrous to say on your 10 album, but we\u2019re still on this fucking journey. We\u2019re still finding new ways to do shit. I\u2019ve read a bunch of reviews of \u2018Futique\u2019. Some people think it\u2019s the same old shit, but the right people know it\u2019s a celebration of us along with something new. The great thing is that releasing this album made me feel encouraged. It\u2019s not the end of the road. Not to sound cynical, but at some point it will be the end of the road \u2013 and it ain\u2019t fucking now.\u201d<\/p>\n

So big things coming in 2026?<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cThe party\u2019s starting because the Tartan is marching. We\u2019re gonna do a fucking Band Aid style single for Scotland\u2019s World Cup after qualifying. We\u2019ve got the chorus. Here we go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Johnston: \u201cWe\u2019re gonna get Capaldi, we\u2019re gonna get Nutini, Spiteri.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simon: \u201cAll the Italians! Finsbury Park is exciting, but Scotland in the World Cup is even more exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Futique\u2019 by Biffy Clyro is out now, with the band heading out on a UK and Ireland arena tour in January before they headline London\u2019s Finsbury Park on Friday July 3, 2026. Visit here<\/a> for tickets and more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As tickets go on sale for the biggest gig of Biffy Clyro\u2018s career so far, the band caught…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319170,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216,1740],"class_list":{"0":"post-319169","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}