We talk to Russ from Editors as they begin their UK tour.
R13: So whereabouts are you at the moment?
Russ: We're in Exeter which is nice and it's quite warm!
R13: How has the response to your recent album, 'An End Has A Start' been?
Russ: It's been good, we're very happy with it which is the most important thing really.
R13: What's your favourite track on the album?
Russ: It changes daily but I'd say my favourite today would be, 'When Anger Fades', just because we spent a long time doing it; it was the most rewarding in the studio.
R13: Tom comes up with the lyrics, is there ever any hesitation from the rest of the band about working with anything he produces?
Russ: No, that's his part and usually we all get involved and tell each other what we think about each of the elements but with vocals we tell him if it's a stinker, but other than that they're left alone.
R13: Obviously some of the songs for example, 'Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors' deal with delicate subjects, you don't have any worries about dealing with issues like that?
Russ: Quite a lot of the songs spark something off in people but no, we don't have any worries.
R13: What do you feel that the overall tone of the album is; it's often criticised as being quite "negative"?
Russ: It's not negative; I think the negative gets confused with singing about serious subject matters. It's not a negative perspective and musically I think it's a very upbeat record.
R13: Was there a lot of material that was left off of the album?
Russ: No, we wrote 12 songs and 10 went on! 2 were kept as bsides but every other work went on.
R13: You've obviously all studied Music Technology, has that influenced how you write songs and how you imagine them as an overall product?
Russ: No, not at all, our music technology experience taught us to be complete amateurs, we leave it to the professionals! When we got in the studio for the first time with Jim Abyss the difference was just amazing; they're proper pros and in the studios we certainly weren't.
R13: How have you been playing bass then?
Russ: We formed in 2000 and I started playing when we formed the band. I used to play guitar and piano; piano was my first instrument.
R13: How's the touring going then?
Russ: Good, it's the third date in, we've done Norwich and Portsmouth and the gigs have been good so far.
R13: Do you miss the massive festival stage or do you enjoy having more control during headline shows
Russ: It's nice to do your own shows because you can get everything right and practise it; it's sometimes fun doing festivals but they can be hard work as well.
R13: What's been your best festival experience so far?
Russ: Glastonbury this year, it's amazing and we had the best time on stage.
R13: Do you feel that Glastonbury is really different from all the other festivals then?
Russ: It's the one with the biggest platform and "the world is watching" kind of feel; people know about Glastonbury around the world and it's the big one.
R13: Had you been as a punter beforehand?
Russ: We played in 2005 and I'd been as a punter. I like it a lot, especially when it's sunny, I've been twice now and it's been muddy and it's a bit of an arse to be honest.
R13: Which songs, other than your own would encapulsate Summer 2007 for you
Russ: 'Right On Time' by Black Box just because we've been dancing to it
R13: Do you have any favourite UK venues?
Russ: Birmingham Academy, Brixton Academy - it's a shame they're all Carling Academies, Carling is taking over all the venues... Glasgow King Tuts...there's a few we've got some good places.
R13: Why are those ones so special?
Russ: Brixton and Birmingham there are a lot of people but it's somehow intimate because they're right on top of you and you can really get engaged with them. King Tuts is a small venue but the sound's great and it's definitely the best venue in the UK.
R13: You covered The Cure's 'Lullaby' for the Radio 1 Anniversary album, did you choose the track yourselves and why?
Russ: We chose it because we had to pick a song from that year and everything else that was from that year we didn't like!
R13: Are The Cure an influence though?
Russ: Not directly, we like them a lot though, I think they're great. I bought their whole back catalogue in the last few years and I listen to them quite a bit but I didn't when I was younger.
R13: What have you been listening to on the road then?
Russ: I keep putting on this band called Studio from Sweden and a French band called Weekend, which pissed everyone off yesterday! Usually we have dance or reggae afternoons and today we're playing Jimmy Cliff.
R13: What are you working on at the moment then, is there any new material in the mix?
Russ: We need to have a break before we record anymore, we have to stop and then reassess basically.
R13: Do you feel like you're famous or you've made it big at all?
Russ: Not famous but I think people know our band, which is good.
R13: Do you see yourselves filling stadiums in the future then?
Russ: No I don't really care about anything like that, it's been written that we're the new Coldplay or U2 and so on, but I don't think that's very logical.
R13: But if someone offered you the chance to play Wembley Stadium would you say no?
Russ: I'd like to think that you should do it like Muse did it by just working hard and touring loads, you get respect like that. I wouldn't want to support there, I don't really want to do any opening, Rolling Stones support etc because I don't think anyone would watch us, they'd be waiting for the Stones!
R13: If you did have the headline slot and get to put on a mini-festival à la Muse, who would you choose to support you?
Russ: We always choose our support bands even for these shows, we've had some great bands like The National, Ra Ra Riot and The Kissaway Trail but if we were doing a big show, I don't know, maybe Spiritualised and Elbow.
R13: What are you going to be doing this afternoon then in preparation for the show
Russ: Drink my Purdys and play on the Internet, the Internet can kill so much time, it's ridiculous and you really don't achieve anything, or I bought a DVD yesterday Romanzo Criminale so I might watch that - a bit of afternoon violence!