Fitzsimon and Brogan can be described as “pure pop for now people.” I had never heard of them until Michael over at MTS Management Group introduced me to the band. They have a fun story and their music reminds me of what you might hear at a sock hop or at a high school dance in the 1970s. They have won several awards and have an album on Spotify I would highly recommend. The songwriting is solid and they really have a grasp on producing quality tunes. This interview was a long time coming. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Fitzsimon and Brogan.
You guys are from London, England. I love London. What is the music scene like there? Where are some of your favorite places to play?
Well, in London, it’s always thriving, and you can see any genre of music that you like, every night of the week. We have played, the Mean Fiddler and The Marquee Bar & Club, but perhaps the biggest gig we did in London was the Fairfield Halls, where we played to over 2,000 people.
There are a lot of great pubs in London. What are some of your favorite places to grab a pint?
There’s so much choice, there;s a pub on practically every corner of London, but we usually go to The World’s End pub at Finsbury Park, where we’ve played also. The Dublin Castle, in Camden, is also a favourite and it’s also a brilliant music venue.
Tell me more about your time with Pretty Blue Gun.
Well, initially, when we were signed to our first recording deal, Pretty Blue Gun weren’t a band as such. There were three of us and actually the record company signed us without seeing us live, purely on the strength of the songs. It was only later that they put a band around us and we then started to gig under the name of Pretty Blue Gun.
Neil, tell me more about your songwriting process. Do you sit down to write a new song or do they just come to you over time?
It varies. Sometimes you’ll stumble over something and then the process begins. But on other occasions, such as The Eurovision Song Contest, we had a limited amount of time to come up with two songs. They both had to be written and recorded within two weeks. Luckily, we managed to come up with something where one song actually got the quarter finals, and the other one got to the semi-finals.
Tell me more about Big Blue World, your new album.
We’ve tried to make the album as varied as possible. We wanted to avoid writing the same song thirteen times over. I think that is a trap that some bands fall into, even if they have other influences, these are not evident in their work, as where we are not frightened of putting a ballad next to a rock song.
There are a lot of great bands out there. Who are some of your biggest influences?
Our influences go way back to The Beatles, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Webb and Mozart and Chopin. We have to say we find quite a few bands around today to be overly generic which makes music sound likes it has been produced on a conveyor belt.
Tell me more about your relationship with MTS Management Group.
We decided that for our future projects, we needed a motivated management company behind us. We have three publishers and one record label and though that is great, we do feel that you need someone fighting for you in your corner. MTS Management fit the bill perfectly.
You have a lot of singles on your website. Do you ever play cover songs, or are you focused on originals?
We’ve never recorded covers. However, when we were gigging as Pretty Blue Gun, we used to include Elvis Costello’s “Oliver’s Army” in our set.
What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
Neil: I saw Prince at the Wembley Stadium and not only was it a brilliant musical event, visually it was stunning. I was lucky enough to be only a few rows back from the stage, and to be that close to Prince and Sheila E and co., was an experience I’ll never forget.
Bee: I saw Morrissey, of The Smiths, at Brixton Academy. I love him.
I am obsessed with Spotify. As musicians, do you like solutions like Spotify and Apple Music?
Yeah, we think they’re great. It allows musicians from all over the world to get their music heard.
Can you explain “Pure Pop For Now People?”
Well, we have to admit, that Nick Lowe (Elvis Costello’s producer who also had hits in his own right, such as, “Cruel to be Kind”), came up with the term. We suppose, in a way, it’s an elitist way of saying that the people in the know, love our kind of music. The reason being, it is pure pop in the truest sense, catchy, short and to the point. As Elvis Costello once said, “Say it well, but just say it once.”
What’s next for Fitzsimon and Brogan?
We are currently working on new material in our own studio. We have a new single, “Big Blue Word,” that is the title track of the album with the same name, which was released on June 22, 2018. We also have another album scheduled for release in the fall, called The Girl Who Shouted Love at the Heart of the World. Both these albums were produced by Pat Collier, who also produced Katrina and the Waves’ international hit “Walking on Sunshine.” Both these albums are being released through WTPL.
Thank you for doing this. In all of the interviews I do, I always give the artist the last word. Go.
We have to say that these questions have been brilliant. They obviously come from somebody who really knows the music business. Finally, we hope people get as much enjoyment out of Big Blue World as we did recording it.
Connect with Fitzsimon and Brogan:
Website: https://www.fitzsimonandbrogan.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitzsimonandbrogan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BroganAnd
