Gaz Coombes has an indelible memory of Dundee.
The Supergrass frontman’s played all over the world during his stellar 35-year career, but a night at the city’s Session Street stays with him.
“I remember playing Lucifer’s Mill there, probably in ’94 or ’95, and it was nuts – an insane gig,” he tells me.
“We started playing and then everyone started moshing, then the PA stack fell down and we had to get people to try and hold it in place.
“It was one of those mad sort of punk gigs where everything went a bit mental – it was pretty wild.
“I don’t think there will be much moshing this time with me and my piano and guitar, but you never know.”
Coombes, 48, is referring to his upcoming visit to Fat Sam’s, part of a five-night Scottish solo tour also taking in sold-out Dunfermline.
“It’s just me,” he explains.
“I’ve got a cool set-up which I’ve been doing for a while now – just having a bit of fun with different arrangements – and it’s been working great.
“I’m so lucky to have different set-ups that I really enjoy. I did a good tour in Europe last year where there was just three of us without the drum kit, so I really like playing around with the format.”
Dad life is Alright for Supergrass star
The Oxford-born troubadour started out in The Jennifers in 1990 aged just 14, before forming ever-quirky Supergrass three years later with school pal Danny Goffey and Mick Quinn.
Following international success the Britpop legends split in 2010 before reforming in 2019, appearing post-lockdown at 2022’s massive Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at Wembley, where Oxford-born Gaz also sung alongside Foo Fighters.
After an 18-month spell fully focused on his fourth solo album Turn The Car Around, he’s ready to return to live duties after taking a well-earned breather.
“It’s been a really good summer – for once I’ve actually managed to get some time away with the family,” says the father of two daughters.
“The last four or five years have been non-stop so it was good to finally take a bit of a break and I feel pretty refreshed now. I haven’t been on stage for three months so I’m really buzzing to come and see everybody.
“You get into this cycle of recording an album, then touring it, then back to recording again, and I’ve been on that cycle for so long it was kind of cool to step off temporarily and take stock and refuel.
“We just hung around the UK with my kids – luckily they’re my biggest supporters. I wish I could bring the family up to Scotland, but maybe next time.”
Gaz Coombes ‘might throw out an oldie’ at Dundee gig
With material from his four solo albums in his armoury, along with countless Supergrass classics like Alright, Going Out, Pumping On Your Stereo and Moving, the talented songsmith has quite the back catalogue.
Currently expanding his already broad musical palette by dabbling in film soundtracks, Coombes hopes fans will relish the chance to see and hear him perform up close this weekend.
“If there’s just a couple of hundred people there’s a real intimacy to playing those songs in that way, and maybe a little bit of that vibe of when I first wrote them sitting in a studio with a guitar,” he explains.
“Playing them in this way definitely taps into their soul, which I really enjoy. It gives a glimpse of the true song behind the production and what ends up on that album and all that sort of thing.
“I might well throw in maybe an oldie or two as well if everyone’s very friendly and they’re calling out for it.”
Debut album was ‘cheeky, beautiful assault’
Further ahead, Supergrass will regroup in 2025 to mark 30 years since their iconic debut album I Should Coco.
“That album just means the world to us and it was an incredible time,” says Gaz.
“We were still teenagers putting that record out and it’s really important for us to have a chance, maybe one last opportunity, to play it in full.
“A few years ago my daughter was playing it in her room alongside Nevermind by Nirvana or The Bends by Radiohead, and it’s got that quality to it.
“It’s up there with some of those records in terms of how it kind of hits the listener when they first hear it.
“It’s like a kind of a cheeky, beautiful assault on your ears.”
Gaz Coombes plays Fat Sams, Dundee, on November 3 2024.
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