There’s a dynamic element to those early records that was essential to those songs.” Even of the shortlist they performed, there were some that didn’t make the cut: “On the night we played 18 songs but when we listened back something just wasn’t quite right with the other three: they didn’t capture the spirit of the song or the magic – or maybe there was no magic there to start with…? Well there was certainly none in the fucking room!” he jokes self-deprecating. Though the singer admits, not all of their tracks worked “stripped-back”, particularly the more experimental output from their initial albums: “Some of the more quirky, earlier songs we tried just didn’t work with acoustic guitars. The others were the ones that felt the best to us playing, the ones that had enough of a twist.” “We knew we’d always want to do ‘Machines’ for example. The chance to “reshape” the famed music channel’s series for a new era has also formed a kind of milestone for the band, giving them an opportunity to revisit their material and test it for what could work in an acoustic setting: “A few songs picked themselves,” Simon says. “To look at all the bands that have played – it was a hugely important thing for us.” Having grown up listening to the likes of Pearl Jam and Nirvana on the show in its heyday – Kurt Cobain’s 1993 appearance in particular took on legendary status and was released as Grammy- award winning album MTV Unplugged in New York after his death – taking up the offer was a no brainer for Biffy Clyro: “To get asked was a huge honour,” James explains. But we aren’t yet celebrating the arrival of their hotly-anticipated eighth studio album, expected early next year, but a standalone live acoustic recording of a selection of their back catalogue at London's Roundhouse to relaunch the iconic “MTV Unplugged” TV series in the UK. I’m sat down with the alternative rockers – Simon plus drummer and guitarist twin brothers, James and Ben Johnston – ahead of the launch of their latest record.
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