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1.) We’re super-excited to have some time today with acclaimed Manchester indie legends extraordinaire, The Man From Delmonte; greetings and salutations gang and thanks for carving some time out of a very busy schedule to speak with us and our readers here at Vents Magazine! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, could you all say ‘hi’ and introduce yourselves to our ever-inquisitive readers?
Hi, I’m Mike, singer and acoustic guitarist for The Man from Delmonte.
Hi, I’m Martin. Pisces, 5’11”, size 10 shoes. I live on a canal in Glasgow. Guitar, harmonica, backing vocals is my usual credit.
Hi, I’m Sheila and I play bass!
Hi, I’m Howard and I am the drummer.
2.) Major kudos and accolades on your stunning new single – the very first in thirty-five years! – Believe Me which is ably and beautifully backed up by the B-side, The International! Mike, before we delve into the backstory of these amazing drop-the-mic tunes, how does it feel to be back smack dab in the middle of the ever-crazy music scene after this extended musical sabbatical?
It’s wonderful to be back playing with my old friends, the lovely people that got me started on a life of making music all those years ago. I didn’t take a sabbatical. I emigrated to America and became a touring Country/Folk singer, banjo player and record producer. So, I never left the music industry. I’m a lifer.
3.) Sheila, was it difficult to wrap your head around reforming The Man From Delmonte? Or did the pieces all fall into place rather organically? Did the years sort of fall away once you were all back in a recording studio making some amazing music?
Once the idea of reforming was mooted (and a big thanks here to Iain Lee), it really all just fell into place. Mike having a studio in Wales made everything much easier. We had a place to meet, practise and ultimately record, so yes, it was very organic. And we got well, as we had all those years ago! It felt totally natural to be playing together again.
4.) Martin, speaking of amazing music, what can you tell us about the genesis of your amazing double-sided single, Believe Me b/w The International? How did these two ditties come into being?
‘Believe Me’ was buried treasure. Mike rediscovered it on a demo he’d made 35 years ago. The band had never played it or even heard it. It’s such a catchy tune, we obviously wanted to do use it.
‘The International’ is a brand new song. It looks back at the days immediately before we started the band when Mike was an aspiring song-writer, going to see bands playing at a Manchester venue called ‘The International’. It was a great place that gave the first break to so many bands and perhaps doesn’t get the same recognition as certain other more self-mythologising parts of the Manchester music scene! The song is a nod to the past, but very much narrated in the present.
We approached these tunes the same way we always used to. Mike brings a song and we work out what we can play to make as good as we can, and hopefully do the material justice.
5.) Howard, cinematic maestros Daniel Castrogiovanni and Julian West respectively directed the out-of-this-world companion music videos for Believe Me and The International. What was it like collaborating with these visionaries?
Right from the start of this reunion Julian West has played a massive part in everything that’s happened. He’s a great drummer and is part of a great band called ‘The Mudd Club’ who we’ve been lucky to have as a support for most of the gigs that we have played so far. Especially lucky for me as he lets me use his excellent drum kit and sets it up as well, so he’s already a hit with me. He then turns out to be great photographer taking some very good shots of the band during rehearsals and playing live, so it’s no surprise that he has made really lovely video. It’s a really nice piece of work, the idea of featuring just Mike performing the song and slotting in just a little bit of footage of the band at the start and the end of the video works perfectly.
The video by Daniel Castrogiovanni is terrific aswell albeit a very different piece of work, I think the style of animation is perfectly suited to the song it’s such a joyous bright colourful film that’s moves along at the same sparkling pace as the tune.
6.) Mike, hot on the heels of the September 5 release of The Man From Delmonte’s crackling new double-sided single release of Believe Me and The International, word ‘round industry campfire has it that the band is set to unleash the eagerly-anticipated album Better Things on November 14 on both CD and vinyl; major congratulations! Can you give readers the VH1-Behind the Music origin story on the challenges and ultimate triumphs of reuniting as a band to record this very much on-time new LP?
The reunion was so unexpected, and then we had so much fun rehearsing and performing together, we didn’t want to stop. So we decided to make the studio album that the band never got to record the first time round. I run a recording studio in Wales, so for the first time the band had the chance to spend a week together in a studio. We tracked everything but the horns and few organ parts live, playing together in the live room… something we were never allowed to do in the 80s. So, the recordings feel full of life. The record actually sounds like the band! The songs were chosen from unreleased demos and live bootlegs that friends and fans sent us. Then we included some songs I wrote shortly after the band broke up, as well as three songs I wrote a month before the recording session. So, the material spans four decades! And I love that the songs sit together in a really cohesive way. They kind of tell a story. Though I’m not exactly sure what that story is about
7.) Sheila, who did the heavy lifting producing-wise on the Better Things LP and what did the in-studio collaboration between The Man From Delmonte and this Svengali of sound look like? Was there a bit of magic involved in the production of the new album?
Mike’s studio is super well kitted out and he’s a great engineer and producer, so we all got to play, be creative and try things out and then he put it all together. He’s a really good producer and a total powerhouse!
8.) Martin, an epic launch party to properly welcome the group back on the scene is booked for December 21 at the distinguished stomping grounds of 02 Ritz, Manchester; congrats again! What does this specific launch party mean to you and the other members of the band, and will there be follow-up shows and possibly a tour on the horizon to keep the momentum going?
I used to regularly go to the Ritz as an art student in Manchester way back in the day, and I still have a lot of fondness for the venue. It’ll be our biggest show since we got back together, and it’s Christmas! We’ll be celebrating a year of things we never dreamt would happen.
Having said that, we also don’t really know what the future holds. We have a couple of things lined up for next year. We’re all having a great time doing this again, so if people want to see us, we definitely want to play for them.
9.) A question for all of you: What are you most proud of on the upcoming Better Things album? What really stands out for you, whether it be a particular piece of music you’re excited about, or perhaps the joy in reuniting with old friends?
Mike: I’m particularly fond of the song ‘The International’, because that club was so important to me, so inspiring to me, so many amazing shows. It lit a fire in me that still burns today. I also think the song ‘Every Day’ (which is coming out on a limited edition 7”) is classic Delmonte, even though it was written just a couple of months ago. When I listen to the album, I can feel the joy in all of us. Everybody enjoyed the recording process. This is the record we always wanted to make but never had the chance to.
Martin: It makes me very happy that my favourite songs on the album are the new ones. What was most pleasing about the process was that we all just got on with it. We recorded 12 songs in four days and everyone was totally on it. This is the company you want when you’re in a band. I’m ready to do the next one!
Sheila:I think the new album has a great feel – live and fresh but not manic. My son said it clearly sounded like The Man From Delmonte but not like we’re imitating our younger selves. I agree with that. Every song has something I like – the brass, lots of backing vocals, bits of lovely guitar riffs, little bass tunes and, always, the words. He’s a clever wordsmith Mike West. I’d love a wider audience to hear this music – I do think people would like it if they got to hear it!!
Howard: Overall, I think the album is a really terrific set of songs there’s a great range of subjects here. Mike is such a great songwriter he’s given us songs about his early days in Manchester before the band existed right up till the present day writing about some of the real important experiences he’s had throughout the years.
10.) Howard, at the end of the day what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving many-a-spin to the brilliant new single Believe Me/The International as well as the forthcoming album release of Better Things?
What I hope mostly people will walk away with is copies of the single and the album that they’ve just bought from a record shop. I think we’ve made a pretty good album that’s a true record of what we sound like as a band. We truly enjoy playing together and I’m sure that’s what the listeners will enjoy most of all.
