London, Feb 21: The north London band Bombay Bicycle Club faced a dilemma when their single “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep?” was chosen for the latest “Twilight” movie.
Lead vocalist Jack Steadman admitted the band was worried that featuring in a teen movie like “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1” could damage their folksy, indie reputation.
“We ended up just swallowing all of the doubts that we had because we realized that it was going to be fun,” he said.
However, on closer inspection the assignment wasn't the high-profile leg-up they were hoping for. Their track didn't accompany Bella and Edward walking down the aisle or feature in the long-awaited sex scenes—in fact it was barely noticeable.
“Apparently it is just in the background of one scene in the film very quietly,” guitarist Ed Nash told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “I haven't seen the film but our drummer went to see it with his whole family and I think they were bitterly disappointed.”
Bombay Bicycle Club—made up of Steadman, guitarist Jamie MacColl and drummer Suren de Saram, all 22, and the 21-year-old Nash—are setting their sights on conquering the U.S. and Canada this month and next. That follows the U.S. release of their latest album, “A Different Kind of Fix,” on Jan.17.
Steadman said the single meshed beautifully with the video about a sleepwalker climbing to the moon.
“The song had a dreamlike, surreal quality to it and so we thought that animation was perfect, because you can do whatever you want and you're not limited by physics,” he said.
Their five-week tour, which began Feb. 14 in San Diego, has already sold out dates in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.
Band members, who had backed up Two Door Cinema Club on a previous North American tour, are now excited about taking control and headlining their own shows. Steadman said they are enjoying starting over with smaller gigs outside of the U.K.
“It is weird going and playing shows over there but actually it is quite nice, because in this country we are obviously playing quite big venues now, so you lose that thing that you liked so much when you started off, being intimate,” says Steadman. “It's nice to start again somewhere.”
The boys are also heading to Canada to play dates in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto before traveling back to the U.S. to finish their run in Philadelphia.
Following the tour, the guys have set their sights on something they find more appealing than vampires and werewolves—women's lingerie.
“I think we have a Victoria's Secret advert in the pipeline ... I think we are going to be the band in the video,” says Steadman. “Let's hope it comes off!”
After their U.S. tour, the band is going to Australia to support Elbow before returning for a sold-out U.K. tour that finishes up April 28 at London's Alexandra Palace.
