Fratellis sticking with the day job

IT would be stretching it to say that The Fratellis gave tracks from their second album Here We Stand their first outing to a chorus of disapproval.

But there can be no denying the reaction was mixed as the trio previewed the new material to a packed SECC in Glasgow last weekend.

Despite this, Barry Wallace insists the band haven't suffered second album syndrome and, as The Fratellis prepare to visit the Queen's Hall tonight, the bassist is confident the new record can be just as successful as its million-selling predecessor, 2006's Costello Music.

"Everywhere we've played the new songs the fans have seemed receptive, though it takes a little while for them to get to know a tune," says Wallace.

"I mean, I'm a big Led Zeppelin fan, and even I would go to the bar or go for a slash if they played some song that I'd never heard before. That's just what people do. Once the album is out, by the time it gets to summer and we're playing at T in the Park and Glastonbury and all the other festivals, the fans will know the songs a lot better.

Wallace says the new record is "very different" to the first album but still "very much like The Fratellis".

"I'd even say it's a more like us than the first – if that makes sense?" he laughs. "What I mean is, it sounds like us how we sounded after we took the first album out on the road.

"We became a lot better as a band after touring so long with the first album, and the songs took on a life of their own that meant they weren't how they sounded on record."

Asked whether he feels the newbie has anything as catchy as Chelsea Dagger, the band's signature track with its energetic 'Da nah nah, da nah nah, da nah nah nah nah nah nah' chorus, and Wallace laughs. "It depends how you define catchy. But there's definitely some big tunes on this album."

With the massive success of Costello Music, an album choc full with catchy power-pop-rock anthems – of which the royalties of Chelsea Dagger alone would sustain the band comfortably into retire-ment age – you could excuse them for resting on their laurels.

But that's not likely. And Wallace puts much of the reason for this down to the "crappy jobs" the three friends had to endure before making it with the band.

Once a professional croupier, 28-year-old Wallace claims he was sacked from countless jobs, and says he was even turned down for a job at Tesco a month before his band signed to Island Records in 2005.

"I've had more jobs than I can remember," he grins. "I worked in a casino, I was a card shark. Mince (Fratellis drummer, real name Gordon McRory] was a lion tamer. Aye, I know it sounds a mad but he really was. And Jon (Fratellis singer, real name Jon Lawler] worked in an old folks' home – he used to wash old people so it wasn't a nice job for him."

Unsurprisingly, then, The Fratellis are finding the pop star lark to be a whole lot of fun.

"Like any job, you have good days and you have bad days," says Wallace. "But I get annoyed when I hear pop stars moaning about how difficult their life is. I would never moan like that.

"Sure, you're on the go all the time. It gets really hectic with touring and recording and interviews, and sometimes you just want to go home and be with your family. But come on, the plusses far outweigh the minuses.

"This is something I've wanted to do since I was 12 years old, so I'm having a ball," he continues. "Some days I have to pinch myself when I think about how amazing these last couple of years have been for us. Put it this way, I've got nothing to moan about. Nothing at all."

Having sold more than a million copies of their debut album, you'd think the pressure would be on The Fratellis to repeat the trick. But if that's the case, Wallace isn't feeling it.

"The last album sold a million and three copies or something like," he laughs, "but I still don't think there's any pressure on us.

"The label left us to it (recording the second album], whereas if they were pressuring us to sell as many records there's no way they would have let us build our own recording studio in Glasgow. If they were worried about results, they would have wanted to keep tabs on its progress."

Here We Stand won't hit the shops until June, but the band's busy schedule continues.

The Fratellis are back on the road and headlined the Teenage Cancer Trust show at London's Royal Albert Hall last month, which was organised by Roger Daltrey.

The Fratellis were shocked to be given the ultimate accolade when the 64-year-old singer of The Who popped onto the stage to introduce them.

"If Scotland had produced The Who, we'd have been called the Fratellis," said Daltrey.

The band looked stunned – as well they were.

"It's no secret Roger Daltrey is one of my all-time heroes and that The Who are one of my favourites bands, so that was a big thing for me," beams Wallace. "He said the most amazing thing ever, something that would have been a compliment to any band, not just us.

"He said that if The Who had been Scottish they would have been called the Fratellis – can you believe that? It blew me away.

"Imagine, you're just about to go on stage and one of your biggest heroes says something like that – mind-blowing stuff. I was on cloud nine for about three weeks after that. I still am."

Having got to know Daltrey better since the charity gig, Wallace says the rock legend could teach today's stars a thing or two about humility.

He says, "Roger is a great guy, just by the fact that he does this event every year – he's not just at home in his mansion. It's very admirable.

"He is known to be one of the nicest men in rock and he actually is.

"I've met a lot of absolute p***ks in my life, especially in this industry, which is full of them, but he's one of the good guys.

"Consider all he's achieved compared to all those idiot bands that I've met these past few years who have done nothing – it's then you get the measure of the man," he adds.

Looking ahead to tonight's gig, and Wallace says he can't wait to get up on the Queen's Hall stage.

"From what I remember, it's a really great venue," he says. "I went to see Shed 7 play there when I was a kid, and maybe even Suede. So to be going back to play there with my own band, well, that's just mental, isn't it?"

• The Fratellis, Queen's Hall, Clerk Street, tonight, 7.30pm, £17.50, 0131-668 2019