The song that made our drummer do a double take...

So it’s 2020, we’re in and out of lockdowns and during furlough I get to work on the album I’ve always wanted to write. Politicians were on-screen most days, telling us what new changes were coming to our lives. Maybe that was what inspired me to write a political song? It’s not something I’d done before; I hadn’t even really thought about it much. But a little itch grew and I thought I’d give it go.

What scared me was not being good enough, knowledgeable enough or clever enough to write a political song. Muse do such a great job of writing songs with big ideas, that challenge what’s going on and give a sense of powers that are affecting our lives. That’s a pretty high bar. But I went to work. It started with something closer to a rap than a song. It developed and I got it ready to share with the band, nervous about what they might think. It was so different to anything we’d done before I thought I might scare them away!

They listened, I waited for it to sink in…After a moment, the feedback began. A sort of surprised but excited feel came through from the band. Except one. Our drummer, Martin. I could tell he wasn’t so keen. He was reserved, more thoughtful. Had I gone a step too far? Was the political edge a bit ‘not Trim’?

“Where are the drums?”

All this political edge, this anti-establishment message. But it wasn’t that that bothered him. “where are the drums” was the question haha! I’d used electronic drums, more in the background. What was I thinking?!

We workshopped the song and Martin fought drums properly back into the song. Now they live front and centre, driving the song with all the energy and menace that it deserves! Great work Martin