Simon RushworthBaltic are a new band of indie rock heroes hailing from Tyneside and Charlie Barlow (vocals/guitar), Lewis Nicholson (vocals/rhythm guitar), Thomas Seagrave (bass) and Luc Hindmarch (drums) have just released new single MIND. Here’s what gets the band going on the way to a gig…
The Strokes – Hard To Explain
As a group that’s our favourite Strokes song. It’s a melodic track and was one of the inspirations for us starting a band. When we were starting out the other lads would come round to my house and we’d just blast out The Strokes.
Candi Staton – Young Hearts Run Free
We love the old school groove. It gets all of us in a great mood and it’s a real singalong tune for us in the van. We’ve been considering covering it – that could become a thing!
MGMT – Time To Pretend
This is a really nostalgic song for all of us. It’s great to have in the playlist and we have a real connection to Time To Pretend.
The Beatles – For You Blue
There’s a bit of a back story behind this one. There was a time when everyone would religiously go round to my house and we’d head to my room and play vinyl. We’d go through the Beatles Anthology from front to back and when we came across this song for the first time none of us knew it – and we were all blown away. It brings back great memories of having a laugh and enjoying a few drinks together.
Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc
The title says it all. It’s another classic and you can’t go wrong with this in the van on the way to a gig. It’s a good tune for so many reasons and we all love it.
The Libertines – Death On The Stairs
We’ve had the pleasure of supporting Pete Doherty and he’s always been an influence on our band. We opened up for him at the Riverside in Newcastle and on the back of that he asked us to the same in Leeds. This song has such energy about it and it’s great for getting us going on the way to a gig.
David Bowie – Sound And Vision
This is a bit of an inside joke. I was playing the main riff once and suddenly the rest of the lads started playing along. It’s a great song.
Led Zeppelin – Good Times Bad Times
We have to include a Zeppelin song to keep our drummer happy. His favourite drummer is John Bonham. Adding this to the playlist on tour means we don’t forget our rock roots.
The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows
Are we allowed two songs from the same band? It’s been one of our top five favourite Beatles songs for a long time now. It’s pretty crackers – it’s a crazy song.
Frank Sinatra – That’s Life
We walked out to this song at our headline show last month but it’s also such a pleasant song to play on the way home from a gig.