Biffy Clyro: Only (New Year's) Resolutions

It’s one of the world’s top festivals, and this year’s Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations place Biffy Clyro right at the epicentre. Not that this fact fazes the distinctly unflappable Ayrshire trio, who can now justifiably count themselves among the biggest acts around. Drummer Ben Johnston tries to put it in context: “Hogmanay is a big deal for Scottish people. I think we [members of the band] celebrate and anticipate the coming of the new year as much as anybody. But I also think it can be a bit of a let down. We can build it up in our heads quite a lot, then nothing much happens and that's been the case a few years for me and my friends. So it will be nice to do something different, be part of an event and get out and about, rather than just hanging around in someone's house waiting for the bells.”

So there we have it. Playing in front of half a million people is 'different to waiting around in someone's house waiting for the bells’. But after calling it a serious honour to be asked, Johnston reveals that he, guitarist Simon Neil and twin brother/bassist James have a rather straightforward, but likely effective strategy for the evening. “I think it's going to be a bit of a crazy scene so we're just going to stick to the guitar, bass and drums, and not take the orchestra [which has appeared on their recent work]. Keep it simple, keep it lively and fast. I believe we're going to do two sets, one before the bells and one after, so we're just going to rock it I think.” What if the weather is not up to scratch, is that going to bother you? “Ach no, we're Scottish, we're used to it.” Fair point.

Biffy's years of steadily amassing a fiercely loyal following before hitting the big time is a tale oft-told. Since signing to Warner in 2006 they’ve seen singles such as Mountains and That Golden Rule trouble the upper echelons of the charts, whilst latest album, Only Revolutions was nominated for this year’s Mercury Music Prize.

When asked how this increase in exposure has affected the band, the answer is predictably grounded. “I don’t think it’s affected us greatly, it just means we've been dead busy. We've been flying around the world, playing lots of really cool places, but we haven't changed as people and we've still been doing tours in vans around small venues in America and the rest of the world. Not being in Britain so much means we haven't really had time to stop and realise the level of success we've had here, which is maybe a good thing. It keeps your feet on the ground.”

Biffy’s output has always been a mix of straight up angular rock fused with, well, whatever the hell they felt like and Johnston can’t really pinpoint the precise reason for their current mainstream appeal. He does give serious consideration to the notion that this success might have a direct impact on the nature of their future musical output (“Maybe subconsciously”) but then decisively rules it out. “We never try and second guess the fans because I think that would be a huge mistake and there's no outside influence from the record companies.” Really? “They might make suggestions but we don't listen to them. The thing is, we got signed after three albums and already had a good fan base. We had proven we knew what we were doing so I think the label knew they weren't going to be able to walk all over us. Working with the label has just really been about getting more exposure and having the opportunity to play cool places.”

Those cool places and increased exposure saw them collaborating with legendary Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age rocker Josh Homme on one track, Bubbles, from Only Revolutions, a sure sign they’d hit the big leagues, given that it turns out he asked them. “That was a dream come true, he's a hero of ours, an icon of our time. We toured with Queens a couple of times and got to know Josh pretty well. It's just cool to say that he's played on it. He just offered and we didn't really believe him at first. Then we were in L.A. when we called him up and he said 'Where are you, I'll come find you?' So he just came and did it. He hadn't heard the track so we played it for him, had a couple of tequilas and then went for it.” So anyone else lined up for future collaborations? “No, we hadn't really lined Josh up and it just happened. It's not like we're a hip-hop band featuring lots of different people and we don't like to milk the fact that we're friends with certain people. It's a bit cheesy.”

Johnston admits that playing the Hogmanay gig, whilst exciting, holds no particular fears for the battle-hardened veterans, who hope to begin work on a new album early next year. “We've played in town squares for various festivals; to be honest, we've played all kinds of gigs in our career, I think cruise ships are the only ones we haven't done.”

Unsurprisingly, when asked which of these has been most memorable, Johnston chooses an anecdote about one which didn’t go so well. “It was in Manchester, a double venue with a jazz show upstairs while we were downstairs. Also, at the front door, there was a strict dress code to get in because of that jazz gig. So, when we turned up, we weren't actually allowed in the front door. We had to get in via the fire exit but it also meant none of our fans were allowed in so there were about eight people there, who for whatever reason, happened to have worn shoes. So, we weren't dressed properly to get into our own gig, and then we got asked to keep the noise down so that we didn't disturb the jazz crowd. Turns out Kerrang! magazine had sent someone down and it was the first gig where we ever got reviewed. Oh well.”