'It's nice to be on the road again, performing live'

WHEN an up-and-coming band enjoys a rise to stardom that most young hopefuls could only dream of, it can be hard to know where to go next.

Alternative indie rock band Athlete's first few career moves could not have been orchestrated much better.

After being signed to their first record label in 2002, the North London school friends Carey Willets (bass), Joel Pott (vocals), Steve Roberts (drums) and Tim Wanstall (keyboards) earned themselves a Mercury Music Prize nomination for their debut album Vehicles and Animals. They also had huge chart success with whimsical pop songs You Got the Style and El Salvador.

Then in 2005 the single Wires, a poignant track inspired by frontman Joel's experience of nearly losing his newborn daughter, propelled the friends into the music mainstream. Their second album, Tourist, reached number one in the UK album charts in its first week.

The boys then spent a few years in record industry wilderness experimenting with low-key, self-produced songs. But now they're back with a new record label, a new album, Black Swan, to be released on Monday, August 17, and the biggest tour of the UK they've done in years.

"The tour is going great so far," keyboard player Tim told the Echo. "It's nice to be on the road again, as we hadn't toured for 18 months so we were starting to get itchy feet.

"We are playing quite a lot of small, intimate venues, which means the audience gets a better experience.

"It's reminded me of when we started out, and we played lots of places that were off the beaten track."

The set list contains a mixture of crowd-pleasers along with some new material.

Tim said: "We are mostly playing our old stuff that people know and can sing along to. But we will be leaking a few of the new songs in there, especially as we near the album release date.

"Black Swan's not an amazing departure for Athlete. It's just full of good tunes really, which is something we have been known for in the past.

"A lot of our songs have a story in them that is firmly rooted in our own lives."

Athlete will be straying from its headline tour to perform at a handful of festivals this summer.

"We were going to wait until next year, after our new album was released, before we did any festivals," said Tim. "But we were persuaded to play at V festival and Guilfest.

"Festivals are definitely one of the highlights for us. It is a rare experience to have thousands of people in one place watching you perform. I love it."

The path has been littered with exciting moments for Tim, who tries not to take anything for granted. He said: "When our record was first played by BBC Radio One DJ Jo Whiley, it was definitely a special moment.

"We were listening to the radio and when we heard it we just started jumping around.

"It was also quite cool when Wires knocked Eminem off the top airplay spot!"

Tim claims not to get star-struck, except when he once met his childhood idols.

"We were at a record label party once and I met the Pet Shop Boys, which was really exciting," he recalled.

"It was those guys who inspired me to learn to play the keyboard, and the first record I ever bought was by The Pet Shop Boys."

Could Tim imagine life without the band? "I'd probably be an actuary, as I am quite good at maths," he said. "Or a primary school teacher — they get really long holidays!"

Athlete performs at Exeter Phoenix on Thursday.

Doors open at 8pm and tickets cost £16. Details: 01392 667080 or visit www.exeterboxoffice.com.