Pete Greenwood & the Dark Stars is the current band of the British singer-songwriter from Leeds. Over the years he’s toured in several groups including Starsailor and Mojave 3. In addition, he has also worked with psychedelic rock band The See See and country rock band The Loose Salute. 

Now Pete is back with his latest project Pete Greenwood & the Dark Stars, and they have just released their latest album Radio Slow. With plenty of interesting tails to tell, I caught up with Pete to ask a few questions.

Your new album 'Radio Slow' has just been released. What does the name mean?

It's kind of a reference to a general feeling with the album of slowing down, detachment, just stepping back. Although it's quite upbeat in places, it's very much meant to be a lonely record. 

I believe you recorded the new album over 5 days in London produced by Sean Read, who has worked with artists such as the Manic Street Preachers and The Pretenders. Was this a rush at the time, and have you got the results you were looking for?

I worked with Sean on my first album sirens, so I knew it would be straight forward, we'd rehearsed loads beforehand so it was fairly easy to track the basic parts live with a few days to drop in more overdubs, it could've gone smoother with a producer of that calibre. 

Have you got a personal song favorite from the album?

I don't know if the lads would agree, but Deadspace is my favourite. It sums up all our individual influences, everyone in the band likes it for different reasons and I think it just came together really well. 

Over the years you have played with various well known bands including Starsailor. What sort of experience was this?

It was a bit of an eye opener, I got to travel a lot, everything is paid for, it's nowhere near what people read about, but it's a really valuable experience. It's very tiring but there's a real buzz about touring and knowing you're actually getting paid to act a bit daft. The fatigue does kick in though, you do get homesick. 

You have previously worked with a psychedelic rock band The See See, a country rock band The Loose Salute and Brit-pop band Starsailor. With such a broad range of genres, what do you label your new album as?

It's hard to say as we all have different influences. I'd say for this album at least, it's a weird mix of Americana shoegaze folk, with a healthy dose of reverb drenched god knows what. Even we can't really describe it, it sort of falls between the cracks. 

I also believe you have toured in the USA too. Have you got a standout gig or performance of all time?

I think the Roxy in Los Angeles was my favourite, just because of the history, people like Neil Young premiering tonight's the night etc. That was definitely a high point. And the bowery ballroom in New York, it's just a brilliant venue. 

According to Wikipedia here, back in 2013 Noel Gallagher cited your song "The 88" as his "Song of the Year" for Q Maqazine, and stated that he wished he'd written it - this must have been pretty cool! Did this extra bit of exposure offer any new opportunities at the time? 

I heard about that, and I'm not sure he actually said that. I heard he was in an airport and just liked the song so put it on a best of list for a magazine. I don't really know what happened, but it's nice if he liked it, I respect him a lot as a writer. 

Do you often have songwriting ideas?

All the time really, I just don't pick up the guitar unless it's sort of gestated enough. I don't like to sit there waiting for it to come, I'll just write it on my hand on a train if it's worth keeping. Best not to force that kind of thing. 

Who are your main influences?

The usual, Dylan, Neil Young, Nick Drake, Townes, Van Zandt, Hank Williams, but lots of Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Deerhunter, even some grime, classical, anything that picks my ear up. 

Have you got a dream artist you would like to work with?

I've been delving into a lot of film scores, so Hans Zimmer and Mark Mothersbaugh spring to mind, but in all honesty if Emmylou Harris turned up I'd kick them out sharpish. Perfect voice. 

When the Covid situation hopefully eases, have you got any tours or gigs planned next year? 

We've already had to pull out of a headline show in Brighton, it's been a huge kick in the nuts for most musicians. We'll probably just start working on the next album, it's too uncertain to announce gigs. As soon as we know where we stand we can hit the ground running fingers crossed. 

Thanks again Pete - all the best for the future!

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and Managing Director of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.