Primal Scream‘s Bobby Gillespie has spoken out about his position in society and seemingly taken a pop at Blur‘s Alex James.
The frontman, who was brought up in a working class environment, has written an essay accompanying the band’s new album ‘Come Ahead’, which is out today (November 8).
In it he said: “I find myself in the strange position of being both inside and outside of [class],” which is something he “wrestles with”.
In a new interview with The i, he elaborated on the statement adding: “’Wrestles’ might be overstating the case but if you’re in a successful band, you get invited to things, know people from different classes, you’ve experienced things. It’s not like you’re trying to be like the guy from Blur [Alex James] hanging out with David Cameron and what’s his name, the guy that does the driving? [Jeremy Clarkson].
“That’s obviously social climbing going on there, right? I don’t mean it like that. It’s just being aware. You’ve got nice houses and are doing alright. And you think, ‘Well, not everyone else is doing alright.’”
When asked whether he feels any working-class guilt, he went on: “No, not really. We wanted to be rock’n’roll stars so that we don’t have to work in a factory or be told what to do. There was no guilt. My dad always said to me, ‘While the money’s there, you’ve got to take it, because you’re not promised tomorrow.’”
Reviewing the new album, NME awarded it four stars and described it as “funk meets punk, with grenades in the trunk”.
It added: “Personal and political, Bobby Gillespie and co’s David Holmes-assisted first album in eight years wants us to dance our way to justice.”
Meanwhile, the band are set to kick off a new UK and Ireland tour next year with 14 shows all taking place between March and April 2025. The dates kick off with an opening slot at the Beacon venue in Bristol on March 31, before continuing throughout the following month.
Support for the forthcoming gigs will come from Baxter Dury at shows in Bristol, Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham, and from Fat White Family in London. More guests will be announced shortly.
Any remaining tickets are available to buy here.