Scottish rockers Gun are presently firing on all cylinders – quite literally. The group’s latest album Hombres, became their first Top 10 album since their seminal release Swagger, back in 1994. A testament to the band’s consistency and staying power throughout the years.
Gun were recently awarded the Album of the Year at the Scottish Music Awards.
“It’s just incredible. We spent a lot of time working on the album, making sure that we got the right songs. Because I think that’s one of our, I wouldn’t say downfalls; it’s probably the opposite. We spend a lot of time working on songs and wanting to make them right, and never does it cross our mind that we want to just have fillers on the album, to make up the tracks,” said Dante. “We’re always quite passionate about how we write songs – Jools and I. And it took a bit of time to get it right. So, it just made it so much more worthwhile, and the fact that it was the Number 1 album in Scotland and Top 10 in the UK, and I think Number 1 on iTunes as well, is incredible.” He adds: “So, for the album to go to Number 1, we’re absolutely delighted about that. It’s just a great achievement.”
Gun are presently out on tour in support of their latest offering. But how is the tour going so far? “Absolutely brilliant. Galashiels was great, Southampton was fantastic, and I don’t even remember the last time we played Southampton. But Southampton was incredible,” said Jools. “We just love playing gigs – it’s great. And the songs that we play off the Hombres album have been going down really well, as are the golden oldies if you want to call it. But it’s been a great vibe.”
The band’s fans hold the new album in high esteem. “It’s great that we’ve had an amazing response from our fans. They’ve said it’s as good as any album from the early days, and that’s such a nice compliment,” said Jools. “I think it has gone back to basics, big guitars and choruses and verses and just bringing the rock back into the sound and into the band.” He adds: “We want it to be as good as anything that we’ve ever done, and I think we’ve kind of nailed that.”
Gun are presently celebrating the 30th anniversary of the album Swagger. “It was a good time, and roundabout then, we’d won the MTV European Award with Word Up. After the Gallus album, which a lot of the fans loved, we just wanted to try and up it a little bit more and try and make sonically bigger guitar sounds. But it was a lot of fun making the record, and we did some amazing tours on that album because of the success it had. And we’re going to be adding some extra songs as well from the Swagger album to mark the 30th anniversary,” explains Jools.
With the band’s new album and the 30th anniversary of the Swagger album, how is the setlist for the show looking on this tour? “We’ve got a mixture of songs from the Gallus album, songs from Swagger, Taking on The World, and more songs from the Hombre’s album. So, we have a good mix. There are songs from Favourite Pleasure as well, so we have a really good mix,” confirms Jools.
Gun will return to Tyneside on Wednesday, 11th December. But is the North East a locale the band enjoys playing? “100%, it’s always amazing. I think the last time we played there was at the Fire Station in Sunderland,” said Dante. “I think it’s very much like a Scottish crowd. I think the Glasgow crowd are kind of the same – honest and vocal. And I appreciate that it’s great to come and play Newcastle.”
Gun will wrap up their 2024 on home turf with an eagerly anticipated date at the Barrowlands in Glasgow. “We always love playing the last show at the Barrowlands because it’s our hometown gig. It’s where Dante and I were brought up,” said Jools. “I don’t think there’s any better place for us to be playing our last show at a 2000-capacity sellout. It’s a phenomenal atmosphere, and there’s something really magical about it. The band just come up to the next level as well because as soon as you put that guitar on, as soon as the lights go down, as soon as you hear the roar of the fans, the adrenaline starts to take over. It’s an amazing feeling – it’s just the best gig for us to finish off the tour.”
Gun will perform at the Wylam Brewery in Newcastle on Wednesday, 11th December, with support from Kira Mac and Collateral. For ticket information and an up-to-date touring schedule, please visit https://www.gunofficial.co.uk/.
Words by Adam Kennedy