Music by numbers
The Magic Numbers speak to The Oxford Student, venerating the noble art of beard growing and telling us how your sister can be your new best friend… Sat huddled on a sofa in some sort of comforting and secret band cocoon, The Magic Numbers don’t really strike you as the sort of band that could have just fi nished what was probably the best summer of their lives, invading our TV screens and music magazines and being hailed as one the bands of 2005.
Instead of an expected rock star arrogance, they are just modest and, well, nice. “The music matters the most”, claims the angelically voiced Angela, while lead singer and guitarist Romeo adds with a slight hint of satisfaction, “The songs are everybody’s”.
Such sentiment continues when drummer Shaun attempts to offer insight, in reaction to my attempt to fi nd out what is integral to The Magic Numbers, “that’s what people fi nd refreshing about us - we don’t try, we just is” - quite puzzled, I nod my head and try to harmonise my chuckle with the band’s laughter. So what ‘is’ The Magic Numbers then? It all started when Romeo moved to London and met Shaun after both had been in several different bands.
Then came the wilderness years... “We were held up in one room for ages and grew big beards”, explains Romeo, “and then our sisters joined in”. I assumed he wasn’t referring to beard growth. Thus, The Magic Numbers left the desert and into a year which would see them sell out the 2000 capacity London Forum before they had even released a commercial single.
“That’s how it happened, the word just spread”, concludes a bewildered Shaun as he tries to fathom the band’s quick and hazy climb to fame. Yet realism doesn’t escape The Magic Numbers. Romeo recalls the intense pressure on the band when they recorded their debut, self-titled album: “We didn’t want the show and the record to be two separate entities”.
Of course, this worry was soon eased when the album, described by Angela as “honest and fi lled with heart-ache and hope” was well received by the press and music lovers alike. “I just wanted to be direct and put everything of myself in there” interprets Romeo in mentioning Morrissey as a prime lyrical infl uence, and it is true that there is a great sense of lyrical honesty in the album. Perhaps greatest testimony to the album’s success was its nomination for the Mercury Music Prize.
Though they didn’t win, there’s no bitterness - they all proclaim in tight unison that victor Antony and the Johnsons unquestionably released their album of the year. So, future plans? Angela, and Michelle (Romeo’s sister and the quietest member of the band) inform me that work on the new album will begin next Spring. Until then, the band that’s typifi ed the summer with their setlist of sunny melodies will be continuing to tour.
“We’re gonna drag you through the Winter” smiles Angela in excitement as we discuss the prospects for the tour. Oxford is obviously a place that The Magic Numbers love, having performed here several times. As the interview comes to its conclusion the band are quite set on giving some important advice to any up and coming bands. As Romeo preaches: “Me and Shaun played for ten years without our sisters and nothing happened - so grow beards and get your sisters in the band”.
17th Nov 2005