Suffolk's very own Thin White Duke has been telling Stephen Foster about the formative years and what life is like in one of the bands of 'the moment'. FOZ : Take us back to your time on the local music scene. OLLY : I used to play in the band Cut'n' Edge which I think is still rocking. I also played in Band Substance which must have been about three years ago. I was lucky really because both bands had more mature members and they took me under their wing. It was a great experience for me because a lot of bands their age would have thought we're not having a whippersnapper like him at the back making a lot of noise. They were really good and taught me a lot so I'm indebted to them. Really happy memories for me. FOZ : So you'll always hold the Ipswich music scene dear to your heart. OLLY : Absolutely. I always fight the Suffolk corner in the band. We're from all over and I've always felt proud of Ipswich. It's a town that doesn't have a massive university set up but despite that it still has a great music scene and that's unusual for towns in a similar position. I've always felt the town is strong in that way.  | | The Duke Spirit - Photo: Dave Bowman |
FOZ : Before you joined local bands you used to take part in jamming sessions. OLLY : I did. They were organised by Nick Dow from The Mean Red Spiders. They took place at Bacton village hall every Saturday and Sunday which was great 'cause I lived nearby in Haughley. When I just started playing the drums my mum and dad used to give me a lift there. Because they were short of drummers I used to literally stay all day pretty much all week. It was amazing. I used to play with lots of different people and play lots of different styles which was great for me. I got to play blues, reggae, country. Not that I could play those styles but it exposed to me it! I was about 15 at the time. FOZ : How did you come to join The Duke Spirit then? OLLY : When I finished by A levels I took a year off and along with some friends formed a band called Ten Winters. We tried to muscle in on the London scene. I was still living in Suffolk but when that didn't happen I moved to London to study music at the London College Of Music and started a degree course there. I was in a clothes shop in Camden and I recognised the singer from a band I'd seen a month earlier. I thought should I speak to him or shouldn't I. I said to him I'm a drummer looking for a band and he told me a friend of his was looking for a drummer for her band. It was a weird moment and the next day I went and met them and it just went on from there. FOZ : How does it feel to be on a major record label?  | | Olly on the drums |
OLLY : We're on a subsidiary of Polydor called Loog but ultimately we do answer to Polydor. It's certainly got its benefits. They've got plenty of money helping to finance tours. We were on an indie label before that but it folded and we were left high and dry. Luckily Loog came in and a released our album. FOZ : What about the musical style of the band. I can hear a bit of Siouxsie And The Banshess in there. OLLY : Yeah that's definitely an influence. As a band we have eclectic tastes in music. We all love blues and soul music but our two guitarists Dan and Luke like a harsher sound and derive their playing from The Velvet Underground and The Mary Chain. But as a band we're certainly into old soul music. A lot of people compare us to PJ Harvey which is valid but I do get angry with all the lazy journalism around. When one major magazine says something another copies. It's not very original! FOZ : Finally Olly to your role in the band. The drumming is quite high in the mix and is clearly an important part of the overall sound. OLLY : You're the first person to say that which is pleasing. We sound a lot different live. When we recorded the album we did it in two stages. We were quite young when we started it. We hadn't been touring much and it was difficult to get the live sound in the studio. We recorded it just like the old days with six mics dotted around the studio and on some songs the drums are more prominent than on others. That was because I'd played the older songs on stage and was a lot more confident in a way. I'm glad to hear you say that though. Thanks! It's always great to see someone from the local music go on to bigger things and if anyone deserves a bit of success it's Olly Betts. As you've just read he learnt his trade locally and his story will surely be a great inspiration to the new generation of young musicians. The Duke Spirit are very hoping to line up an Ipswich gig in the not too distant future so watch this space. Also keep an eye on www.dukespirit.com. Thanks to Olly for the chat and to his very proud sister Becky for setting up the interview. | 
