Trigger was the turning point for Deaf Havana

On the surface, things were going well for Deaf Havana.

But singer James Veck-Gilodi was so fed up that he nearly broke the band up.

“I guess it seemed to outsiders that things were going alright,” he reflects.

“But it seemed like the people working for us never really had a plan – we worked on Old Souls (their third album), spent way too long recording it and there was no roll out plan for afterwards. You’re supposed to be touring, doing lots of promo and after one two week tour that was it for a bit. So it was a false start of the whole campaign, and it just felt like we had nobody behind us or helping us.”

That was true of other things too, with the group getting embroiled in a messy financial situation with their former management team. It seemed a cruel twist to arrive just as the band were becoming more popular than they’d ever been.

Four years later a refreshed and refocused band are hitting the road again, including a stop at the O2 ABC on Saturday. They’re now on a new record label, So Recordings, and will arrive in Glasgow being able to toast having a Top 5 album, after new release All These Countless Nights became their highest charting effort yet, offering up a selection of soaring, powerful rock.

The singer believes the turning point in the band’s fortunes was when he wrote the song Trigger, which has already been released as a single from the album. That kick-started a clutch of songs that led him to realise Deaf Havana still had life in them.

“Trigger was important,” he says.

“It was one of the first ones I wrote and I thought ‘oh, maybe we should carry on’. I send it round everybody and they all liked that, so that kicked it off (for making the new record).

“We all got enthusiastic and then backed off and didn’t talk to each other for another bit. But once we started playing together again it all started to snowball from there into something much better, and all of our passion came back.”

That passion came with some changes. Guitarist Chris Pennells departed the band after nearly 10 years, a move that James feels was best for all concerned.

“He’s one of my best mates but music was never his main passion or driving force in life, so I think in the band we weren’t that connected,” he says.

“When we were rehearsing for the record this time we all seemed on such the same wavelength and that made it easier to record the album.”

They also went into the album having experienced some rock n’ roll highs. Chief among them was opening for Bruce Springsteen a few years ago. Given that the influence of the Boss ran through the sound of Old Souls, it’s fair to say the band were pleased to get the chance to support him – and a bit nervous, too.

“That was properly mental,” adds James.

“Our drummer Tom (Chaplin) got to met him, but I didn’t – it was an intimidating show to do, though. It was a probably a good thing not to meet him because the nerves would have been worse, I’d have been a mess.

“Somehow Springsteen can do these things that are not cool, but he makes them seem the coolest things ever. His storytelling is amazing, and I assume that not everything he writes is based on something that has happened to him, but he tells it so well.”

If only James could have had a bit of Buckfast beforehand to help him relax. The singer has become fond of the drink since he started gigging in Glasgow, so he’ll be having some on Sunday.

“We’re massively looking forward to it, because every time we play Glasgow it’s the most fun ever,” he enthuses.

“I always end up drinking Buckfast onstage because people keep passing it to me to drink. I’ve got loads of Glaswegian friends who kept telling me to have it, and all my English friends said it was rank, but I gave in, tried it, and really liked it. It just seems like people in Glasgow have way more fun at gigs than anywhere else in the UK.”

Deaf Havana, O2 ABC, Saturday, £16.50, 7pm

JONATHAN GEDDES