Even in these days of ‘disposable’ music, a ‘disposable’ band remains quite a novelty. Yet that is the way it seemed with Glasgow art-rockers, The Royal We. However, it was not always intended thus. Bassist Graeme Ronald and guitarist Patrick Doyle take up the story.
“Contrary to what has been written previously, Jihae came to Glasgow to study at the city’s Art School,” says Graeme, referring to Los Angeles singer Jihae Simmons. “It was there she teamed up again with Roxanne who is from Manchester and was in Glasgow for the exact same reasons. (A mutual friend in L.A had initially introduced them.) I was working in a bar along with Jihae when she and Roxanne decided to get a band together. I had played in various local bands for some time, so I said that I’d be interested.” (Actually, Graeme was being a touch modest here, since it was around this time that he spent some time on tour playing keyboards for Mogwai, no less!)
“Initially there were about twenty of us who all got together. It was all very relaxed and really not at all serious. Gradually though the numbers were whittled down to the six and when our friend Anna McCarthy – who produced the video to our single, ‘All The Rage’ – was looking for a band to play at a house party she was hosting, we volunteered, wrote a few songs and that was it! Our first gig!” continues Patrick.
That was in early 2006, and within a couple of months sufficient songs had been written and practiced to a level where they could fill a half-hour slot. Very quickly, offers of gigs began to flow. In the main, these were concentrated in Glasgow, although a couple of ventures to London, Manchester and Nottingham were also undertaken. The national daily press in Scotland picked up on the band early on, as did NME in whose pages The Royal We featured a couple of times.
“It was so early on in our development, and we didn’t even consider ourselves a serious band at that point,” Graeme mentions. “ We had by then written only seven songs plus a potential b-side, all over a two month period but the number of gigs we were playing was such that we just didn’t have time to write, practice and perfect any more.”
Essentially, those tracks remained in ‘demo’ form, despite the initial wish of their record company, Domino, to re-record. Patrick takes up the story:
“We were quite happy with what we had. But really, even before it was decided that we’d release an album, we knew we were at the end of the road as a band. Jihae just didn’t want to do it any more. In fact none of us wanted to continue and on, I think it was New Years Day 2007, we contacted the label and broke the news to them that we were disbanding.”
Patrick and Graeme stress that this was not the usual ‘musical differences’ type of split. All six had other interests, and the decision was unanimous. Had events merely overtaken them? Would they have been more likely to remain as a unit had they been given the chance to grow organically, as it were? In Patrick’s words, “The band just wasn’t built to last – so, no probably not”
Graeme continues: “The record company were great – really understanding, and at a show in Nice ‘n’ Sleazy back in January of this year, we announced the end of The Royal We, believing that to be our final gig! With us not re-recording the demos, we just expected the album to be out by the end of that month, and we’d all move on, drawing a line under a highly enjoyable year or so together. However with various contractual issues dragging on, the release date was delayed. In the meantime, we continued to get offers of gigs, some of which sounded like fun so we played a handful more shows, including a return visit to London. We always planned to finish off were we started, so the final, final show in Glasgow on 5th November was really about our fifth ‘final’ show! It genuinely wasn’t an ingenious marketing ploy having our album released on the same date! Its release merely marked the end of our obligations to the label, and to ourselves, so there was no point in further delaying the inevitable.
It is fair to say that The Royal We did not realise their full potential, but – although not all the group originated from Glasgow – perhaps it was the very same self-effacing Glasgow psyche which drew them together initially, that pulled them apart. Whatever the real reasons behind the split, they have certainly left their mark on the music scene, both at home and throughout the UK. As Patrick says, “We feel really privileged that someone (Domino) have documented our existence. There are many excellent bands who have folded without the opportunities we were presented with.”
Asked how they would like to be remembered, Graeme and Patrick smile and with typical understatement, remark: “As the band that took so long to die!”
And what does the future hold for the now ex-members of The Royal We? Well, Jihae is returning to LA in the New Year, where she will marry her Scottish boyfriend. Graeme has his solo project (Remember Remember) off and running, and also plays with Patrick and Roxanne in new band The Sexy Kids. Patrick also plays bass in new Glasgow indie / art rock band Correcto, whose debut album will be released early in the New Year. Violinist Joan Sweeney has formed a new band in name of Axis Mundi, whilst drummer Colin Kearney continues with indie stalwarts, Bricolage.
With all this to keep them occupied, perhaps it is now understandable why the decision was taken to move on!
The Royal We is dead! Long live The Royal We!