Following the massive success of their album ‘This Life’, The Original Rudeboys were set to take their blend of Indie and Hip Hop to both Oxegen and Indiependence this year.
I caught up with the man of the ukulele, Sean Walsh (“Walshy”) before their set on the Main Stage of Indiependence.
Hey Sean! Ready to play here at Indie later? Main stage- you must be delighted?
Yeah, amazing! We played here last year on the second stage so to come back this year and play the main stage is a pretty cool feeling!
Absolutely! How was Oxegen yesterday- good reaction?
It was absolutely mental because we walked out at half three and down to the stage and there was nobody there, and when we got on stage it was basically full. It was crazy! We played Oxegen two years ago before it took the break. We played to a very very small crowd compared to now so the build keeps on happening and it’s pretty cool.
I saw you at Leopardstown a few weeks ago and you guys have a real energetic stage presence so it looks like festivals really suit you?!
Yeah, that’s another one like Leopardstown was mad! Blown away!
Well, you obviously had massive success with the album. It looks like you never expected the support and the reaction to sky rocket the way it did?!
No, we never even expected to be making an album, nevermind making an album that would go to number 1 in the charts and do so well. Considering the state that music is in with people illegally downloading stuff, like they didn’t have to buy it so for that many people to go out of their way and buy the CD is pretty amazing.
How did the band come about? I mean, you kind of have an unusual mix of genres and sounds. What sparked it initially?
Well, the three of us grew up together, we know each other since we were 7 or 8 so we were always mates. One night we were in Ned’s house and Burch had been playing guitar for a while, Ned had always been doing his rap thing underground- it was always something he’d done as a pastime and one night we just said “right we’ll write a song, what harm is it gonna do!”. We wrote the song ‘Stars In My Eyes’ and then put it on Youtube the day after and that’s how it started. There was no plan, we didn’t want to be a band, we didn’t set out to be a band. We were all working- Burch was working in Tesco, Ned was in college, I was working with my dad. It just sort of happened weirdly but naturally- people just kept asking for more.
With the blend of genres, do you have any solid influences between all of you or is it really all taken from separate areas?
We always say The Beatles are a common foreground, like for digital music they really sparked it with production and stuff. And then we all have our separate influences as well from Hip Hop to traditional music to singer/songwriter. We’re really open minded with what we listen to and what we make.
Lastly, who are you most looking forward to seeing today?
I’m looking forward to catching up with Ryan Sheridan! Haven’t seen him for a while. And obviously Bastille- main headline. I’ve heard all about them but I haven’t actually got to see them. [Oh yeah, I’ve seen them live- absolutely fantastic!] Deadly, can’t wait!
Thanks so much for that interview Sean, best of luck on the Main Stage!
Aw thanks for having me!