In our latest Band Spotlight, Dom chats to Stuart Jones from Colour of Fire about the band’s legacy, whether their show at York’s The Crescent at the end of the year will lead to new music down the line, and more…
S] How are you today, what are you up to?
Stuart: Hiya. Bloody champion lad, thanks for asking. Today I am re-mastering old Colour of Fire demos for our new Soundcloud page.
S] I guess the first is an obvious one, why bring back Colour of Fire, and why this year?
Stuart: I’ve been against it for years, trying to focus on other projects and I don’t generally believe in going backward. However, a friend of ours asked Owen and me to play a few songs for his dad earlier this year, who is battling cancer. We were happy to oblige, but then we were like, “hang on, this is actually pretty nice to play together”. It kind of grew from there and everyone else was pretty keen to do it, although Matt is harder to pin down due to his touring commitment with Placebo.
S] To be clear, is this a reunion, should we dare to call it a comeback?
Stuart: No, I don’t think so. We’re all working on our own respective projects now, and everyone has a pretty full life with families, work, and whatnot. That’s not to say we might not write some new stuff though and see what develops, but it’s definitely not a “comeback” so to speak. Sorry.
S] Your show is at the end of 2023 at The Crescent in York, what does that space mean to you?
Stuart: I was reflecting on the loss of music venues lately, especially the smaller ones we used to play in. Many have closed completely now, leaving few “proper” places for up-and-coming bands to play.
The Crescent is probably York’s best independent venue and when I realised that Joe Coates (a legend in his own right) is the promoter there, I reached out to him to ask if he would accommodate us. We’re putting together a set that we think everyone will like, which will include almost all of the Pearl Necklace album, our singles, and a few other unrecorded tracks.
S] How do you look back at the success of ‘Pearl Necklace’ now?
Stuart: Very positively. I always wanted to be in a band for as long as I could remember and we were lucky enough to be around when it was still possible to get “signed” and put out physical records. There was no social media around in the early noughties of note (Myspace came just at the end of our career, I think). We were just kids really, but the experiences that touring and recording gave us were a dream come true and I am truly grateful for the people that helped to make it happen.
S] What does the legacy of COF mean to you all now?
Stuart: I spent a lot of time trying to disassociate myself from it, to be honest and did not fully appreciate how fortunate I was to have been a part of it. I think now, having heard from fans since announcing this show how passionate they still are about it I am humbled to have given something positive to even just a few people.
We’ve all gone on to create so much more music since splitting in 2005 (Grammatics, Too Much Future, House of Spiders, Die Zerstörten, Placebo, etc), but there is something special about this band that underpins everything we have done since. We grew up in this band, learned how to be professional musicians, and have remained close friends since.
S] What is your message to those who have continued to listen to the band, and support your other projects over the years?
Stuart: When you’re working in the music industry, they tell you that it’s all about the numbers. Chart positions, ticket sales, record sales, t-shirt sales. Colour of Fire was not a massively popular band in the grand scheme of things. Many people would have never heard of us even if they were listening to similar music at the time. But, there are a hardcore group of people who used to follow us everywhere, turn up when they could, and buy what they could afford. The music meant a great deal to them and I think it still does. We’re doing this for them as well as us, so I hope we’re not too old and dishevelled by December!
S] Is there anything else you’d like to add that I might have missed?
Stuart: You could ask readers to check out our other music projects Too Much Future (Owen) and House of Spiders (me). You could give a shout to Matt’s work in Placebo, but I think they don’t really need the publicity as much.
S] Thanks so much for making the time for me today!
Stuart: You’re welcome, Dom, and thank you for your work on Soundsphere. Being able to have a voice in music is so valuable, so thanks for speaking with us. See you down the front!
Tickets for the show will go on sale March 1.
Anyone interested can follow Colour of Fire for updates on Instagram and Facebook.
