It's a rare hot and sunny day in Hammersmith and the lads from Funeral for a Friend are getting ready to play the last date of their rescheduled tour. In the main area of the Palais, it's lovely and cool; elsewhere, it's more sweltering than outside but this doesn't stop me grabbing a quick chat with bassist Gareth Davies, who's rather under the weather.

R13: You're playing Download this year, how excited are you?
GD: Very, actually, last time we played the main stage, we had an absolute disaster and all the vocals were cutting out, out front. So this time will be interesting, especially playing under GnR, with the GnR fanbase. Yeah, we're looking forward to it. The intimidation factor is obviously something we've thought about and we're gonna play for an hour whether they like it or not - they're not gonna get rid of us. It's just gonna be a nice one to tick off the box; GnR done, wicked.

R13: Excellent, as they're a massive band obviously, are you really excited to be playing under them?
GD: Absolutely, 'Appetite for Destruction' was one of the first records I bought.
R13: So you'd list them as a main influence then?
GD: Exactly.

R13: And given that you were the secret band last year, how does it feel to actually be playing officially this year?
GD: Like I said, it's exciting and it's something I've been looking forward to since we found out about it. So yeah, it's just going to be a good weekend, know what I mean?

R13: And what sort of reaction are you expecting? 'Cause last year, you had a massive reaction.
GD: Well, I think a lot of people were expecting Motley Crue to show up last year and that's part and parcel of being the surprise band. Nobody knew what was going on, even though it was stuck on a billboard 60x60, 'FFAF stage time = this'. People still didn't get it. Yeah, we're expecting a good reaction, to be honest, every festival experience we've had there's always been a good reaction.

R13: And how does playing Download compare with other festivals?
GD: It's very, very similar to be honest. It's the same sort of vibe - you know, you go in, set up your shit, play, enjoy other bands and get drunk. Same as every other festival [laughs].

R13: Cool, do you feel any pressure to top last year's performance?
GD: Er, not at all, I think the band as we are currently are tighter and more on than we've ever been in our career span, thus far.

R13: Excellent, and what do you enjoy most about playing festivals?
GD: The piss up afterwards is always a good laugh. It's something festivals were created for I think - have a nice, blowout weekend and just go and enjoy some decent music. It's cool.

R13: You're also playing a rescheduled tour, how's that going?
GD: It's been great, actually, the vibe cos I think a lot of people have been waiting since December and the intensity builds up around it a little. So the kids seem to be kicking off a lot more than usual which of course is fuelling us to play better and we're interacting more. It's just been the best UK tour we've done.
R13: What? Full stop?
GD: Yeah, full stop, best UK tour definitely.

R13: What's the best place in the UK you've toured, if you could pick a place?
GD: Oh shit, so many. The Shepherd's Bush show was absolutely brilliant, I think we were absolutely floored by the reaction for that - just an absolutely amazing building and it's absolutely full. Four storeys high and it's like, 'I can see you up there having a dance'. I think that was one of my favourite shows thus far.

R13: OK, and Matt obviously had laryngitis [during the tour] and you had to postpone it, how frustrating was that?
GD: Pretty frustrating, y'know. Kids were getting pissed off about it but nobody was as pissed off as we were. There's no doubt about it, postponing tours is never fun but it's inevitable when somebody's health goes down. People would be a lot more pissed off if he came out and played a show with a really bad singing voice so it made sense just to postpone the tour until he was in full health.

R13: Absolutely, so do you think the touring schedule you had played a part in that?
GD: No, it was just a general fluke freak thing. He was in Germany with his girlfriend, came over to rehearse and he seemed in great health and the day after the first date, he came down with it. It's just something that happens and you send your apologies a million times over and we're actually here now and we're enjoying it. I hope the kids are too.

R13: You've travelled around the world on tour, how would you say that's matured the band's sound?
GD: It's hard to say. It's made us appreciate airport food a lot more 'cause there's continuous delayed flights and connecting flights so you tend to eat a lot of shit food. So it's just made us fat more than anything.

R13: Cool, also where's the best place that you've played?
GD: Hmmm, Australia is absolutely mental - kids just absolutely explode. We did a show in Sydney and we walked out and we couldn't hear the first song - people screaming, it was just like Beatlemania. It was nice, 'We're gonna have to stop in a minute and say "can you simmer down, just keep your voices down a bit so we can hear what's going on and see if we're playing well."'

R13: Was it a bit surreal?
GD: Yeah, absolutely - it was the first time we'd ever encountered that kind of volume and it's exhilarating though. It actually just kicks you into shape and makes you want to play harder.

R13: So when it comes to writing and recording or playing live, which do you prefer?
GD: I dunno, both have their ups and downs. When you're on the road, you wish you were in the studio, and when you're in the studio, you wish you were on the road. So it's kind of a see saw effect. Personal preference, I'd say is recording because it's always nice getting new material down and the excitement behind that and then once the record's done the excitement for touring but once you come to the end of touring, it's like, "I've had enough of touring, let's get back in the studio and write some more songs."

R13: And what do you miss most when you're on the road?
GD: Family, I miss my girl and baby boy.

R13: Finally, what next for Funeral for a Friend?
GD: Next is our new record, this is our last tour for the year. We have three shows left: we have tonight in London, we have Ireland on Friday as part of the Download weekend, and then Download on the Sunday, and then that'll be us done for the rest of the year. We'll just hit the recording studio, start writing and recording and put out a record early next year.

R13: What sort of sounds are we likely to hear from the early sessions?
GD: I say, expect nothing and you're never disappointed - always the way to go - and don't hold any expectations.

So, if you're going to Download this year, go and see these guys - they put one hell of a show on.