Malcolm in the Middle

As a recording artist, if you found yourself fronting a media onslaught to usurp the latest X Factor muppet from the Christmas top spot one year, then preparing to play a festive-themed gig at a working man’s social club in Govan the next, you’d be forgiven for thinking that something had gone terribly wrong in the intervening twelve months. Not so for Malcolm Middleton, one half of the seminal Arab Strap, whose solo career is certainly not in freefall.

Last Christmas, the perpetual misery guts released We’re All Going To Die, his rather un-festive and somewhat tongue-in-cheek reaction to the monopolisation of the hallowed Christmas charts by Simon Cowell and co. However, chatting with him almost one year on, Middleton, it seems, took things a little more seriously than we all may have thought. “It started out as a joke,” he confirms, “but then I got carried away and by the last couple of weeks I was thinking that since I’m doing this much work, it [had] better achieve something. I think a little part of me was, not ‘believing’, but sort of ‘hoping’ - just to see what might happen, and that was a bit weird. I still had my feet on the ground, but I was taking it too seriously.”

Video: We're All Going to Die

With time to reflect, Middleton is suitably proud of his endeavour, though he has obviously learnt a lot from the experience. “I felt uncomfortable with the exposure, but at the time I was also thinking it was funny, but I’ve realised that I don’t really want to sell that many records or be in the charts,” he asserts. This may explain his decision to make more down-to-earth plans for this yuletide season. Burst Noel will see Malcolm headline said working men’s club in Govan, along with some hand-picked local favourites such as De Rosa and Strike The Colours. “It’s like Phoenix Nights or something,” he laughs. “It’ll have the bingo next door and the pool table and stuff, and really cheap drink. Second to that was to get some bands that I really like to play.”

It promises to be the antithesis of last year's frivolities, and with good reason too, as Middleton continues to explain of his minor brush with celebrity. “I just had one word going through my head the whole time and it was Nizlopi,” he laughs, referring to the English duo who scored an unlikely Christmas number two with the JCB Song in 2005. “Even though people who like that band know they’re not a one hit wonder, the general consensus is that they are. But that’s what people must think anyway; people who saw me in the Daily Record, thinking ‘where is he now’? But I’ve just being doing the same as I’ve always been.”

This is good news for us, if not so much for Scottish tabloid readers. As we chat, Middleton is taking a break outside Cava studios in Glasgow, where he is currently trying to flesh out his fifth solo album. He is initially hesitant about the details; “It’s um...it’s coming along,” is how he responds when I ask how it’s coming along. However, he is far more definitive about its place in the Middleton canon. “I think this’ll probably be my last solo record,” he coolly states. “I’d like to do something different, whether it’s under a different name or start a new band or something. I’m starting to feel like I’ve done as much as I can with this creative voice. I think I’m getting to the point where Arab Strap were, where we felt like we couldn’t do much more once we were placed in our pigeonhole.”

Scratching a little deeper, he admits to a current crisis of confidence as being an underlying factor. “I’m not very comfy with presenting myself,” he confesses. “When I wrote Into The Woods, I remember thinking that it was going to be for a band. Like, I’m going to record and produce it, but get someone else to present it. Maybe I’d just like to do that; write songs for people and produce, without having to go and stand on stage and act like a fanny, you know?”

But having acted like a ‘fanny’ for some years now, has Middleton not adapted himself to it? “No matter how much you tour, you go out and you feel the same lack of confidence,” he assures us. “It’s not like you can accrue what you’ve learnt before and take it with you.” Such crises, it seems, have also followed him into the studio. “In the past with my solo records, I’ve pretty much been really confident, thinking I can tell straight away if what I’m singing is good or if it’s just crap. But right now I’m not so sure of that, or whether there’s any reason to be singing about these things, or if it’s just someone complaining. I think that’s what I miss about being in a band; you don’t have other people to bounce off, which, after being in Arab Strap for so long, I needed to get away from, but now I miss it a wee bit.”

Video: Cold Winter

Don’t take this as a sign of an impending ‘Strap reunion, though. “I think it was a good time to call it a day,” he states of his former band. “Unless there’s a definite need and desire for us to play, I don’t think we should ever get back together.” However, neither Middleton nor Arab Strap’s other half, Aidan Moffat, have ruled out future collaborations. “We always said we would [collaborate again] when we split up, but I think maybe it’s still too soon,” he muses. “Maybe in a few years when we’ve got time, we’ll maybe try something for a laugh. Who knows?”

On that upbeat note I can’t help but ask if Uncle Malkie has any advice on how to have ourselves a merry little Christmas this year. “Avoid alcohol and don’t buy any presents,” he cautions without a hint of humour. “That should take the stress out of things.”

Bah humbug indeed. We wouldn’t have it any other way.