THE PIGEON Detectives are of the vintage, experienced variety when it comes to indie bands and this is especially true at Live at Leeds- amongst the brand spanking new, The Pigeon Detectives sit as the well-travelled- thanks to worldwide tours- and tremendously successful- thanks to their four studio albums- two of which top five hits in the UK.
Tenement TV sits down with the band during their stint at Live at Leeds festival as we talk breaking the mould of the indie clique and why sweaty venues win every time: “I think Live at Leeds is a great thing for the city of Leeds. There’s a buzz about town with everyone running around making sure they don’t miss bands. It’s great to have so many gigs in such a concentrated area, not many cities do stuff like this and it’s great to be involved. There’s something for everyone and yeah, it’s brilliant.
“There are a lot of bands that you have heard about on the bill this year; they have a good mix too which is good. It’s good to have some new and some old.”
With a true eclectic variation of venues involved in Live at Leeds, it’s hard not to have a favourite: “I love The Cockpit for the intimate vibe in Leeds; it built its reputation on the sweaty-cockpit thing. We absolutely love playing there. The Academy is great, but Cockpit is definitely a favourite.
“It’s a shame, we don’t get to many gigs in Leeds anymore because we are either touring or recording.
“Although, Foxygen are a new band who we love- their album has an old sound, it’s really solid stuff.”
The band recently admitted they are leaving the mad nights behind on this tour, declaring they want to lay off the booze and chill out- even though the mad nights and drinking is why they started it all in the first place- by their own admission. During our chat, it seems they had stayed true to their word and the lary-lager-legend is a thing of the past.
The Pigeon Detectives are due to play the summer festivals and tour the UK in the autumn.
By Nadine Walker
