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Preview: The Feeling
by David Sue23/ 2/2007
ROCK 'n' roll, as we all know, is a narcisistic world, full of
vanity and obsessed with notions of credibilty and "cool''. It's no
wonder then, that Britain took so warmly to The Feeling - a group
who, from day one, were brazen in their attempts to tear up the
rock star "cool'' rulebook.
Hailing from London, The Feeling shamelessly filed themselves under
the banner of Guilty Pleasures music - the sort of naff pop music
which you admit to liking in public, albeit with an ironic eyebrow
raised.
They professed to be influenced by ELO, Wings, Meatloaf and Queen
and gleefully told stories of their dodgy musical past - when they
were a cover band performing at French ski resorts.
Add to that their bad sartorial tastes (garish matching waistcoats)
and you have a band who would likely make cool-obsessed readers of
the NME want to scream in despair.
Nonetheless, that's precisely what made them one of 2006's biggest
bands - their ability to celebrate the naff and cheesy when most
rock music takes itself far too seriously.
But The Feeling are thankfully less about any militant "anti-cool''
message than they are about just simple, honest, melody-packed
songwriting. Their debut album Twelve Stops And Home was a 12-step
masterclass in pop songcraft.
Its influences ranged from The Beatles to Queen. They took cheesy
pop genius to new heights and delivered chorus-packed songs which
simply demanded to hog every radio station in the land.
Indeed, their hit single Fill My Little World was named the most
played song on commercial radio stations of last year.
As their recent Brit Award nomination proved, The Feeling's cheesy
pop manifesto is spreading and even gathering critical
recognition.
In some ways, they've even opened the door for the likes of Mika,
an artist who similarly revels in notions of camp, cheese and
uncool.
Uncool, then - it's the new, erm, cool.
The Feeling play the Apollo on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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