PRODUCERS NILE RODGERS AND IAN BROUDIE ADD THEIR POP NOUS TO THE LIVERPOOL BAND’S MUCH-ANTICIPATED COMEBACK ALBUM. DAVE MCCABE AND ABI HARDING TAKE US INSIDE THE BIG DECIDER...
JEREMY ALLEN
Inset: The Liverpool band’s noughties incarnation.
The Zutons didn’t so much break up as drift apart. Having gained a reputation during the mid-noughties for their psychedelic indie pop songs, including Valerie – famously covered by Amy Winehouse – they ran out of steam come the end of the decade. Their final LP, 2008’s You Can Do Anything, didn’t live up to their Ian Broudieproduced, Mercury-nominated, double platinum debut Who Killed... The Zutons?, with chief songwriter Dave McCabe’s alcohol and drug issues beginning to overshadow the music. The group tentatively reunited for a one-off performance for their friend Kristian Ealey’s wake in 2016. Then after a 15th anniversary tour celebrating the band’s debut, and a stint in rehab for McCabe, he, saxophonist Abi Harding and drummer Sean Payne officially reformed. Now, finally, they return with a lean fourth, The Big Decider, with two legendary names on board for the ride.
Firstly, where have you been for the last 16 years?
ABI: We didn’t really split up, did we Dave? We just ended up doing other things. It was 2010 when we kind of stopped, then we had our own bands (AbiChan and Dave McCabe And The Ramifications). Though we haven’t had a record out for 16 years, we started to play together again properly in 2018.
DAVE: We didn’t split up, we fell out. I tried to do a solo thing but, to be honest, you only meet these people once in your life. Any other band I tried to get going just wasn’t as good as The Zutons and the feeling of playing live with them. I had problems with addiction, so I wasn’t in the best place for a long time. Maybe that’s why it took 16 years.
What was it like when you finally got back together?
DAVE: We did a 15th anniversary tour for Who Killed... The Zutons? in 2019 and I realised I couldn’t sing as well as I should be able to, so that’s kinda why I stopped drinking. We’re not back together for the money. I’m not saying I’ve got loads of money or anything – there are other things we can do to make cash – but we’re back together because it feels right this time.
ABI: It’s maybe something we took for granted in our early twenties. You try playing with other people and it’s not the same chemistry.
Didn’t the three of y
