Some things are too rock ‘n’ roll even for the most free-spirited among us – like travelling the world in a campervan with three young kids, as Dundonian rocker Kyle Falconer recently found out.
“It’s been crazy, man,” admits former Broughty Ferry resident Kyle, who upped sticks with partner Laura Wilde in May with their children Wylde, 7, Winnie, 5, and two-year-old Jet.
The plan was to spend a year travelling the globe and homeschooling the kids, with The View frontman Kyle attending gigs from the road.
“I don’t like being tied down to one place, so we just move when we feel like it,” Kyle explains. “I want my kids to see different places, tarantulas and snakes!”
The couple documented their adventures in now-hidden Instagram posts, with their videos showing the quirky van stuffed with clothes, a washing line hanging outside the door, Laura’s “essential” blue cowboy boots and Kyle’s guitar.
But after a “hectic” summer, the family are taking a break from nomadic life.
“We got a bit sick of the campervan,” Kyle admits. “It’s been mad, but a good few months.”
For the full-time rockstar and dad of three, going back and forth in the van between his gigs was becoming exhausting.
“There was one gig where I was playing Germany, then I had to be back within 12 hours to play Essex. With three kids in the back going crazy, it was hectic.”
Magical memories of Disney and Taylor
But the family have made some magical summer memories too, including hitting several European music festivals, sightseeing in Germany and visiting Disneyland Paris.
One highlight for Kyle was seeing Taylor Swift’s gargantuan Eras Tour in the Netherlands.
“It was emotional, man!” he gushes. “The first song that came on, Wylde burst into tears. The noise of the crowd was incredible.
“I’ve been to about a million gigs, and never heard noise like that, it was insane. I had to cover my ears, the crowd was absolutely ecstatic and phenomenal.”
Falconer girls following in dad’s footsteps
For now, they’ve settled temporarily in Spain, and are “living the pool and beach life” near to where Kyle runs his La Sierra Casa songwriting camps, attended by the likes of Cammy Barnes and Still Game star Ford Kiernan.
“I’ve always had a connection to Spain, my sister lived out here for ages,” says Kyle.
He’s set to be joined by Libertines star Carl Barat at La Sierra Casa shortly, and “loads of other big names that I’m not allowed to announce yet” but for now, Kyle’s enjoying an unexpected collaboration with emerging talents under his own roof.
“I’ve been writing a lot with my daughters at the minute,” Kyle, 37, smiles.
“Wylde, my eldest, has got this wee Dictaphone that she writes all her tunes on. She comes up to me the other day and goes: ‘What about this one?’
“She comes out with absolute belters. I think, ‘How’re you coming up with these lines?’ and then I go and make it into a song. She always reminds me: ‘Remember, 50% dad!’
“And then Winnie comes in and they do this unison singing thing. I’ve got them in the studio and they’re both proper signing, not even nervous or anything. They’ll stand on chairs and sing in the mic.
“I’m chuffed they’re doing that. It’s inspiring me, I’ve got songs coming out my ears.”
Kyle ‘not missing Broughty Ferry’
It sounds like the family are thriving in the Spanish sun, so I’m not surprised when Dryburgh lad Kyle admits he’s “not missing Broughty Ferry at all” after three months.
“I love Dundee, it’s great and I’ve got loads of pals there,” he says.
“But once you’ve had a couple of milkshakes chucked at you when you’re out on your jogs in the Ferry, it’s a bit much.”
Still, he’s looking forward to returning to Dundee for The View’s hometown headline show for Summer Sundays at Slessor Gardens on September 8.
“Since Slessor Gardens opened, we’ve all been like: ‘Oh man, we really need to play there!’ So it’s pretty cool to get to do it now, because we’ve done these festivals all up and down the summer.”
Pals warned ‘buy a ticket’ for hometown gig
The View have appeared on 12 Summer Sundays bills this year alongside the likes of Ocean Colour Scene, Ash, Cast and Embrace.
And Kyle says that “the further north we go, the further up the bill we can get”.
“It’s really good to be headlining this one,” he says. “It’s funny, my pals have been saying they’ve not got tickets yet and I’m telling them, there’s no guestlist for this one! You better buy a ticket!”
Northern Irish rockers Ash will be supporting The View at Slessor Gardens, and fan Kyle says the relationship between the two bands is a friendly one.
“I’ve known Tim [Wheeler, Ash frontman] for years, we met through Owen Morris who used to produce for us.
“We’ve been to a few parties, a few gigs together. And he’s maybe going to come to the songwriting camp in Spain too, so that’d be good. I love Shining Light, always loved that tune.”
Kyle Falconer: Vegas wedding will be ‘big hoo-hah’
But even more exciting than a hometown headliner for Kyle is his impending nuptials – nearly a decade in the making and now just a few weeks away.
Fiancee Laura, 30, celebrated with an impromptu hen do in Benidorm last month, and the couple plan to fly to Las Vegas for the big day at the beginning of October.
“We’re going to Vegas to get married, everyone’s coming,” grins Kyle. “It’ll be a big hoo-hah, a big party.”
Are there any pre-wedding jitters for the couple behind hugely successful musical No Love Songs?
“I’m not nervous, nah man!” he laughs. “We’ve been engaged for like 10 years, life’s just got in the way, loads of kids and stuff.”
It’s a busy life no doubt, but Kyle remains his unruffled self. The secret, he reveals, is “just not to think about it”.
“The key is to take it as it comes,” he says. “I’m sure I’ve got a gig in a couple of days and I haven’t even thought about it once.
“Laura just books the flights, and on the day I’ll say: ‘Where am I off to today?'”
The View play Summer Sundays at Slessor Gardens on September 8.Â
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