Howie Payne

Musician — Liverpool

01Profile

A Howie Payne Photo

03Interview

Name?
Howie Payne

Where are you from?
Liverpool, England.

What do you do?
musician, songwriter and record producer.

Describe your style in three words?
Post-Scal, European.

If you could make a record with anyone from history?
George Martin - He was the best producer, all the skills.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to and why?
Arthur Lee in Liverpool Academy 2002 stands out. Love are huge in Liverpool, as big as anyone and it was a pretty small gig, maybe about 500 capacity or so, so it was always gonna be a bit special. Arthur had not long got out of jail and I’m not sure he was expecting quite that level of adulation from the crowd. You could kinda see him getting taller and getting bolder as it went on, and he just played the shit out of those songs.

What British music icons inspire your sound today?
Nick Drake.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Shakespeare - to hang out you know, maybe ask him how he did it.

Which British subculture means the most to you?
I grew up in Liverpool in the 80’s and was very much into clothes and music and that whole thing that was happening, but for my crowd it wasn’t about football, it was about music, books & films. I’d say we identified with Mods more than anything else, and that Mod thing still resonates with me.

If you could share the bill with any British band in history?
Early '70s Rolling Stones. They were really cooking around that time and the Keith Richards/Mick Taylor guitar team was blisteringly good. I’d like to have seen that.

What music did you listen to growing up?
Pink Floyd, UB40, The Beatles, The Electro LPs, The Smiths, then I spent some time in New York as a teenager and picked up on a lot of American music, Pixies, REM, The Velvets Underground, The Byrds that kind of thing.


 

Howie Payne was the lead singer of Liverpool indie rock band The Stands. Howie now records as a solo artist. He has released 2 albums and will be on tour this October. For more information visit www.howiepayne.com.

You can also pre-order 'The Stands Recordings 2003 - 2005' at www.pledgemusic.com/howiepayne.

04Playlist Notes

What was the first song you played on repeat?
'Hanging On The Telephone' by Blondie.

One record you would keep forever?
'Alone Again Or' by Love.

A song from your favourite album?
'Young Americans' from 'Young Americans' by David Bowie.

A song you wish you had written?
'If I Were A Carpenter' by Tim Hardin.

A song that defines the teenage you?
'Rock & Roll' by Velvet Underground.

What was the last piece of music you bought?
'Silver Timothy' by Damien Jurado.

A song lyric that inspires you?
'Get Up Stand Up' by The Wailers.

Is there a song you like that people wouldn’t expect?
'Our Lips Our Sealed' by Fun Boy Three.

Best love song of all time?
'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' by Roberta Flack.

Best song to turn up loud?
'Les Fleurs' by Minnie Ripperton.

Best song to bring people together?
'I Want To Take You Higher' by Sly & The Family Stone.

Four songs you can’t stop listening to right now?

'No Woman' by Whitney
It’s a beautiful song, the sound is really thick and wooden, and they’ve just caught something. They could record this a million times and never beat this version.

'Pretty Pimping' by Kurt Vile
It’s super cool pop music, and I’m a sucker for cool pop.

'TIBWF' by The Budos Band
They have a great feel, really good grove & there’s a killer guitar lick that moves around the bars and gives the tune a strange motion. Very cool.

'Garden' by C. Duncan
I don’t know much about him, but he clearly knows his business and this is great, musical sunshine.

03Interview

Name?
Howie Payne

Where are you from?
Liverpool, England.

What do you do?
musician, songwriter and record producer.

Describe your style in three words?
Post-Scal, European.

If you could make a record with anyone from history?
George Martin - He was the best producer, all the skills.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to and why?
Arthur Lee in Liverpool Academy 2002 stands out. Love are huge in Liverpool, as big as anyone and it was a pretty small gig, maybe about 500 capacity or so, so it was always gonna be a bit special. Arthur had not long got out of jail and I’m not sure he was expecting quite that level of adulation from the crowd. You could kinda see him getting taller and getting bolder as it went on, and he just played the shit out of those songs.

What British music icons inspire your sound today?
Nick Drake.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Shakespeare - to hang out you know, maybe ask him how he did it.

Which British subculture means the most to you?
I grew up in Liverpool in the 80’s and was very much into clothes and music and that whole thing that was happening, but for my crowd it wasn’t about football, it was about music, books & films. I’d say we identified with Mods more than anything else, and that Mod thing still resonates with me.

If you could share the bill with any British band in history?
Early '70s Rolling Stones. They were really cooking around that time and the Keith Richards/Mick Taylor guitar team was blisteringly good. I’d like to have seen that.

What music did you listen to growing up?
Pink Floyd, UB40, The Beatles, The Electro LPs, The Smiths, then I spent some time in New York as a teenager and picked up on a lot of American music, Pixies, REM, The Velvets Underground, The Byrds that kind of thing.


 

Howie Payne was the lead singer of Liverpool indie rock band The Stands. Howie now records as a solo artist. He has released 2 albums and will be on tour this October. For more information visit www.howiepayne.com.

You can also pre-order 'The Stands Recordings 2003 - 2005' at www.pledgemusic.com/howiepayne.

04Playlist Notes

What was the first song you played on repeat?
'Hanging On The Telephone' by Blondie.

One record you would keep forever?
'Alone Again Or' by Love.

A song from your favourite album?
'Young Americans' from 'Young Americans' by David Bowie.

A song you wish you had written?
'If I Were A Carpenter' by Tim Hardin.

A song that defines the teenage you?
'Rock & Roll' by Velvet Underground.

What was the last piece of music you bought?
'Silver Timothy' by Damien Jurado.

A song lyric that inspires you?
'Get Up Stand Up' by The Wailers.

Is there a song you like that people wouldn’t expect?
'Our Lips Our Sealed' by Fun Boy Three.

Best love song of all time?
'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' by Roberta Flack.

Best song to turn up loud?
'Les Fleurs' by Minnie Ripperton.

Best song to bring people together?
'I Want To Take You Higher' by Sly & The Family Stone.

Four songs you can’t stop listening to right now?

'No Woman' by Whitney
It’s a beautiful song, the sound is really thick and wooden, and they’ve just caught something. They could record this a million times and never beat this version.

'Pretty Pimping' by Kurt Vile
It’s super cool pop music, and I’m a sucker for cool pop.

'TIBWF' by The Budos Band
They have a great feel, really good grove & there’s a killer guitar lick that moves around the bars and gives the tune a strange motion. Very cool.

'Garden' by C. Duncan
I don’t know much about him, but he clearly knows his business and this is great, musical sunshine.

 

05Videos

Howie Payne | The brightest Star (2017)

The Stands | Here She Comes Again (2004)