A brief backgrounder furnished Funfare by Sony Music, Inc. which is the local distributor of the group’s CDs:
In two years, The Script notched up a handful of hit singles, including We Cry, Breakeven and The Man Who Can’t Be Loved. Their 2008 eponymous album went to No. 1 (with over two million sales worldwide) in the UK and Ireland where the three guys are from: Danny O’Donoghue (vocals/keys), Mark Sheehan (guitar) and Glen Power (drums).
They played stadium shows with music heroes U2, Take That and Paul McCartney. They performed a triumphant homecoming set at Ireland’s Oxegen Festival before 78,000 fans and won Best Live Performance at the 2010 Meteor Awards (beating their mentors U2). And to top it all, Breakeven became one of the slowest climbers in US pop history, eventually hitting the top of Billboards Adult Pop Song radio airplay chart after 40 weeks on release, selling over 1.7 million downloads in the US alone.
On April 16, Filipino fans will have a chance to watch and listen to The Script “live” at their concert at the Araneta Coliseum.
Funfare recently did an exclusive phone interview with Mark Sheehan (calling from London). Excerpts:
Is it your first visit to Manila?
“Yes, it is for the Script but not for me. I’ve taken a vacation with Danny in Manila a long time ago, 11 years ago, and we really enjoyed ourselves. I remember that the food was amazing, the weather was amazing, and the people were absolutely fantastic. It’s probably why the band is looking forward to going back.”
How much of the country did you see?
“We went to three islands. We flew to Manila from Australia and we had fun. Why did we include the Philippines in our itinerary? Well, I guess if you come to Europe you should include Ireland because it has so much to offer. So if you tour Asia, the Philippines is a ‘must-visit’. Like Ireland, the Philippines has a great tradition and history, and Filipinos have great musicians.”
What have you heard about the Philippines since then?
“Well, that there has been a surge in music and there has been a lot of concerts, and people are loving ‘live’ music. Very much like Irish people — you know, have a drink and enjoy themselves while listening to music.”
Have you worked with any Filipino?
“Yeah. While we lived in California we worked with a couple of Filipino artists based there.”
Some of your songs are sad, based on your experience, such as For The First Time which was inspired by how Ireland has sunk into a devastating economic crisis, one of the hardest hit European countries following the credit crunch.
“We were writing about Ireland but actually the rest of the world was in the same situation. We realized that only when we went back to Ireland. The End Where I Begin is a bittersweet song inspired by the death of my mother and that of Danny’s father while we were recording our debut album.”
The Script’s rise to stardom is described as a “rags to riches, glory ride, an emotional roller-coaster, an all-action, all-star blockbuster.” I’m sure your life has changed dramatically.
(Laughing) “Hmmmm, our lives have really changed since then. Now, we are able to pay our bills. We don’t have to worry when we go to a restaurant because we are sure that we can pay. We’ve been broke musicians for such a long time that we feel we’ve been successful longer than we actually are. We cherish the position that we are in now and we try to enjoy every minute of it. These things don’t happen all the time.”
The Script has been used playing little clubs and when you played big theaters you said it was “shocking.” Why?
“Oh, I called that shocking because while you dream a dream you never actually know that your dream will come true. We played small clubs to 60 people. Now, we are playing venues to an audience of 60,000. It’s a little bit of a jump and I found it strange to accept that reality. So, isn’t it shocking?”
You will playing big venue when you come to Manila on April 16, the Araneta Coliseum.
“Yeah. What’s the capacity?”
Around 15,000.
“Do you think a lot of people will be there?”
I’m sure. Anyway, your song Nothing is quite popular among your Filipino fans. It’s about “a drunken, broken-hearted phone call to a lost love.” Is it inspired by your experience?
“Yeah. I think that’s very much from experience. I think being Irish, what we tend to do when a friend has issues about affairs of the heart is we get really drunk, thinking that the problem will go away. But as we all know, the alcohol only complicates the problem. It makes you call the person that you shouldn’t be calling in the first place.”
Has it happened to you, being broken-hearted and getting drunk?
“All the time. It also happens to Danny and Glen. We are the same. We get drunk when we are broken-hearted.”
You also write songs for other artists (Beyoncé and James Blunt among them). What’s the difference between writing a song for Script and writing a song for somebody else?
“When we write a song, it’s usually based on our own experience. So when somebody else sings the song, they do it with the emotion drawn from their own experience.”
The three of you said that you were incredulous when Paul McCartney personally asked you to support him at a series of shows in the US. How was the experience?
“When you perform with somebody as big as McCartney, all you can think of is the historical value of the person. Thankfully, McCartney is such a nice guy who doesn’t make you feel that he’s that big. He’s such a humble person.”
The message of your music is very positive…it’s about hope and healing, and a bright new day.
“That’s the point. While our songs may sound bleak sometimes and there may be a dark message in them, generally we try to inject feelings of hope into them.”
Please briefly describe the Script guys.
“I don’t think I can fairly describe Danny and Glen. All I can say is that they are amazing persons and amazing artists. Me? I’m a pretty complex guy.”
By the way, why did you call your group The Script? Does it imply that your lives are scripted, beautifully?
“No, it’s quite the opposite. The only thing that’s scripted is our music. Everything else is not.”
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)