Courteeners’ Liam Fray says 15th anniversary of ‘St. Jude’ success gave band boost after “the industry washed its hands of us”

The Courteeners‘ Liam Fray has shared that the reissue of ‘St. Jude’ gave the band a boost after the industry had “washed its hands of us.”

Originally released in 2008, ‘St. Jude’ peaked at Number Four on the Official Albums Chart at the time and contained three Top 40 singles including indie dancefloor staple ‘Not Nineteen Forever’. In 2023, the Courteeners reissued the LP in celebration of its 15th anniversary and landed the Number One spot on the Official Albums Chart.

The frontman appeared as a guest on The Evening Show with Dan O’Connell on Radio X.  While appearing on the show the two discussed the accolade and the impact of the reissue.

After asking if the album reaching Number One on the charts had changed his mindset about how he felt about how the world has received Courteeners, Fray said: “The Number One thing last year, it was, I think it was nice for all the other people involved. I think I probably let go of a lot of that because I’m here doing it.

“So every day is like, you know how lucky you are and you don’t take that stuff for granted. But also, there are good bands that fall by the wayside; it’s not their fault. You know, they might not get this, or they might not get that. You have to have a lot of luck along the way.”

The two then went on to discuss how songs and music can take on a life of their own in an organic fashion and how people have been rediscovering music which has become “a whole new world that didn’t exist before”.

“There’s just so much out there,” Fray added. “I don’t know, if I relate it back to us, if you were a 16-year-old now, you might listen to, like, something from the third album, but you don’t know that that came out when we were like… basically the industry and whatever had washed its hands of us! They’d said, ‘Nah, we’re not having them.’ But then they just do lose control and go, ‘That’s a tune that.’ You don’t know where it sits in your story, or whatever. So, I think that’s quite interesting as well.”

Speaking to NME last year about ‘St Jude’ getting close to reaching that top spot on the charts, Fray said: “It’s just mad, fingers crossed but it’s hard to know how to feel,” said Fray of the chart placing. “I love ‘St. Jude’, and I’m never going to say that anything else we’ve done is better than that because that’s the one that set the tone – but I feel like our last album ‘More. Again. Forever.’ was a real step up for us. We thought that would get Number One and then it didn’t so we were like, ‘Oh, fucking hell’.”

He continued: “People say that numbers don’t matter. Are you kidding me? This industry is literally built on a Top 10 every fucking week – so don’t say that no one cares! If it gets there, it’ll be really nice. It’s been a long time coming and it’s a big pat on the back for the people that have worked with us and all the fans that have been there for us at any point. It shows that there’s still a place for it and that people are into it.

“We feel pretty blessed. I thought I’d feel all rockstar-y and fur coat-y, but it just feels pretty nice to be honest.”

In other news, Courteeners recently announced their seventh album ‘Pink Cactus Café’. The LP is set for release on October 25 and can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here.

According to a press release, ‘Pink Cactus Café’ sees Fray co-producing all tracks and features contributions from the likes of DMA’S, Brooke Combe, James and Ian Skelly (The Coral), Pixey, Charlie Salt (Blossoms), Ola Modupe-Ojo (Bipolar Sunshine) and Theo Hutchcraft (Hurts) amongst many more.

Speaking about the album, Fray said: “The last record came out on the cusp of lockdown so straight away I went into panic (writing) mode…on my own but with no real plan. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a side project, Courteeners, solo project. Just songs. Everything was up in the air. So, it wasn’t necessarily a Courteeners SOUND…I started reaching out on my Indie Rolodex as a bit of fun really, and it’s ended up being the most collaborative and rewarding thing we’ve ever done. It’s a real collage of an album, we threw everything into the melting pot.”

‘Pink Cactus Café’ follows the band’s 2020 release ‘More. Again. Forever.’ In a four-star review of the LP, NME shared: “‘More. Again. Forever’ strikes a mature balance. It’s escapist in its sound but humane in its approach to the world. It’s experimental but familiar, and tests what the band are capable of while proving to be their most focussed work to date.”

The band will also be embarking on a UK tour later this year. you can check out a full list of dates below and visit here to purchase tickets.

Courteeners’ 2024 UK tour dates are: 

NOVEMBER
14 –  Glasgow, OVO Hydro
15 –  Manchester, Co-op Live
16 –  London, 02 Academy Brixton
21 – Leeds, First Direct Arena
22 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
23 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena