'Therapeutic & Much Needed Escape': Feeder On Why They Still Connect With Australian Audiences

Welsh rockers Feeder are making their way to Australia next month, locking in their first tour Down Under in fourteen years.

When Feeder last toured Australia, the live music and festival landscape looked very different. They played across the country as part of Soundwave, one of Australia’s greatest rock and metal festivals.

They joined 2011 festival headliners Iron Maiden and Queens Of The Stone Age and acts like The Starting Line (who reunited for the festival), Slayer, Bullet For My Valentine, Stone Sour, The Amity Affliction, and many more.

They also played in a venue that, sadly, doesn’t exist anymore—hey, The Palace—and the Annandale Hotel. A lot has changed, but Feeder’s penchant for writing solid rock tunes sure hasn’t.

While Feeder are remembered by the masses for their 2001 and 2002 LPs, Echo Park and Comfort In Sound, respectively, die-hard fans know the band certainly didn’t stop there. The Feeling A Moment band have kept chugging along since their formation in 1992, selling over 20 million records and getting to #1 on multiple occasions on the UK Albums Chart in the process.

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Last year, the band released their twelfth album, Black/Red, a remarkable double album that doesn’t miss.

It has the hard rock riffs in Sahara, balladry of Hey You, a slight Celtic feel on Soldiers Of Love, and the groovy Playing With Fire. They explore rock in all its facets and complete a trilogy that began with 2022’s Torpedo, according to frontman, songwriter and guitarist Grant Nicholas.

In a press release, Nicholas explained that the double album was made with the fan in mind, stating that Black/Red is “almost like a musical production with an interval.” He also detailed the writing of the album, describing the process as a “musical pilgrimage” and a “labour of love” that ultimately resulted in an album of “undeniable” Feeder songs.

Catching up with The Music ahead of the band’s upcoming tour, Nicholas discussed the decision to go big or go home on Black/Red. “After 30 plus years of being a band, it just felt like the right time to go for a double album,” he shares. “It goes against the musical grain a bit, in the current climate and that appealed to us.”

He adds, “I’m proud of the way the album turned out and it really was a labour of love making it. The songs felt like they had purpose and still feel undeniably Feeder. We really tried to make sure the album or albums had no filler and took the listener on a journey.”

Detailing the album highlight Soldiers Of Love, which marks the first time in Feeder’s history that one of their songs has featured bagpipes, Nicholas says, “I know bagpipes are not something you hear that much on indie rock albums anymore. When I was writing Soldiers Of Love, I had this almost Celtic soundtrack in my mind.

“We had an idea to use bagpipes, but it didn’t really happen until right at the end of the recording session. They are not the easiest of instruments to record and play in the correct key required for the song, but we made it work. On reflection, I think they really set the mood for the intro of the song, so it was totally worth the effort.”

With twelve albums in their discography and bandmate Taka Hirose by his side since 1995, Nicholas has consistently toured with Feeder. The secret behind the band’s longstanding success? Decades of hard work and making the best music they possibly can.

Nicholas shares, “I think we’ve always just tried to make the best music that we can and also the music we genuinely like. The rest is a bonus, but I’d be lying to you if I said it hasn’t been hard work and self-belief that’s kept us going all these years. We have also had undeniable love and support from our loyal and forever growing fanbase.”

Nicholas continues to be surprised by the band’s devoted fanbase. Reflecting on Comfort On Sound, which recently celebrated its 22nd anniversary, and its follow-up Echo Park, he recalls the former album’s recording period being “very weird and difficult” after the devastating passing of original drummer Jon Lee.

Of Echo Park’s mainstream success, he remembers, “I was quite surprised by Echo Park’s more mainstream success, especially Buck Rogers. It was a song I had originally written for another band, but after playing the rough demo to our label and producer Gil Norton, they persuaded us to not give it away.”

Comfort In Sound was another story. “Comfort In Sound was a very weird and difficult time for us after losing Jon, right when things were starting to get successful for us.

“I immersed myself in writing songs of recovery, I guess. These songs became the Comfort In Sound album and it was then that Taka and myself made the decision to try and carry on. It proved to be our biggest selling album to date, and I remember having a gut feeling about a few of the songs I had written whilst recording.

“It was one of those albums that just seemed to connect with people, and for me personally, was a therapeutic and much needed escape.”

Australia has long connected with Feeder, and the band loves us right back. This April, the band will tour across Australia, performing in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.

“We are really looking forward to coming back,” Nicholas says. “It’s taken us way too long, but it’s not from the want of trying. Finally, everything has aligned for our far east tour, which starts in Singapore.”

All they want from fans who come to the shows is for everyone to “have a great time and be involved.” No just standing still, arms crossed and watching! “We love audience participation, so let us hear your voices,” Nicholas states. “A happy crowd [makes for] a happy band.”

When Feeder were last in Australia, they appeared at Soundwave Festival. Remembering that one of the days was “extremely hot,” Nicholas tells The Music about the experience of playing such an iconic festival early in the day.

“It was always a bit of a lottery if the doors had opened on time to allow people in to catch our early set,” he recalls. “We did have a lot of fun though and the crowds were very up for it.” And it was “great” to share the stage with the likes of Gang Of Four and Slash, in addition to the acts mentioned above.

Nicholas recently mentioned that Perth is one of his favourite cities in Australia. Opening up about his love for the city, he explains, “We have a few friends that live in Perth that showed us around, so we have some fond memories of that time.” But there’s a lot to be excited about regarding Feeder’s impending return.

“Just the chance to play in Australia again is a bit of a box ticked for us,” he says. “I also remember my manager’s friend, who lives in Sydney, taking us on a trip around Mosman and Manly Bay in his boat, followed by a swim at Bondi Beach. My manager and I went in for a dip, but he hadn’t brought any swimming shorts so [he] decided to wear his white boxer shorts [laughs]. “I’ll leave the rest to the imagination, but even the great white sharks kept their distance.”

As it’s been fourteen long years since Feeder played in Australia, Nicholas addresses fan expectations. “It’s all about the tunes and having a good time,” he says.

“When we connect with an audience, it’s the best feeling, so that’s always our goal. We will be playing songs from the latest Black/Red album, plus some Feeder classics. Don’t miss it as we aren’t getting any younger and it’s been a while.”

Feeder will tour across Australia in April 2025. For tickets, visit The Phoenix. The tour dates and venues are below.