Cast Come Back. Has All Changed?

It will be the strings of an electric, fender telecaster that receive the attentionbackstage tonight, in the hope that they stay in tune. Its player will have swapped his trusty acoustic, the aid to his 7 year solo voyage, for this amplifiable substitute, He himself will not be doing the tuning, that will be the job of his bands roadie.

Tonight at Liverpool’s O2 Academy, John Power, the singer/songwriter of 90’s Scouse indie quartet CAST, will lead his band out for a live reunion gig to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of their chartbusting debut album All Change. The sell out home crowd will be expecting an electric blast of anthemic power reminiscent of their Britpop glory days. The acoustic will now be used sparingly, for the lighter waving ballads like ‘Walkaway.’

The occasion marks the beginning of a sold out UK tour, ending back in Liverpool on Dec 9^th and is the first live Cast gig since 2002.

The word ‘reunion’ these days is enough to draw groans from avid music fans. What with the alarming recent trend of thirty, forty or even fifty something rock stars who have chosen to conjure up the now distant, but still craved adulations from an equally aging following, we may forgive their cynicism.

The Artists themselves presumably feel no shame admitting to reliving some past glories. And if people will pay (again) to see them, we have to ask ‘well, why not?’ Cynics would simply say that they’ve ran out of pocket money.

So what makes John Power, and the reformation of Cast any different?

For starters, there is new material, and genuine plans for a new album. And, far from coming out of retirement, John Power has been more than active since he last put down the telecaster to pursue his solo career. This is far from the relief of withdrawal symptoms.

Two solo albums in the form of ‘Happening For Love,’ the critically acclaimed ‘Willow She Weeps,’ and a string of solo tours have ensued since Cast split up. Power himself says he has come ‘full circle’ musically and that the extent of this reunion of sorts has taken even him by surprise.

Speaking in Citylifers, John says; “If you’d asked me if [this] would happen a few years ago, I’d have laughed. I didn’t really see it coming.”

With regards to how the rest then transpired he goes on, “I wrote a couple of new songs and I thought they sounded like they could be Cast songs. Then I got in touch with a couple of the lads and said to them that I was thinking of maybe getting together again and doing some songs. They found it a bit of a shock I suppose. But then someone suggested that we do a couple of dates and it turned out to be 15 years since All Change, so we started thinking about that.”

There is still room for cynicism however. Many fans of Cast were once fans of Power’s previous band The La’s, the latter already being members of the ‘reunion club,’ their own one having much the same detail as the current one with Cast.

The La’s consolidated briefly in 2006, John teaming up with original partner Lee Mavers, the band’s mercurial leader. This came as a surprise to their followers, the pair having had something of a war of words, and even lyrics, since Power left in frustration. Power’s second Cast single and album opener ‘Alright’ in 1995 was widely perceived to be dig at Mavers, the opening line ‘I guess I’m alright’ leaving little to the imagination, once his volatile departure had been documented. Indeed, it was Power’s boredom with doing the same songs for ten years led to the formation of Cast.

John with The La's in their heyday

The La’s reunion was bittersweet. Fans young and old had a burning thirst quenched with their live shows, yours truly seeing them for the only time. Fans also heard through the grapevine that new material would follow. A perusal through any of the La’s websites will tell you how much this is wished for, and how agonisingly close it came to happening on more than one occasion. It didn’t happen in 2006, and left some followers with the suspicion they were just cashing in with the tour.

So, having walked away nearly a decade ago, CAST have eventually come running back.

How do they convince people its far from a cashing in stunt? And do they have to? The 11 planned dates being near to total sell out says that they don’t, but the casual observer may cast a suspicious glance. So what is it that’s so different for Power and Co this time?

Well, not only will they show up with the afore-mentioned familiar enthusiasm to reminisce, and the supposed new material, but also an imaginative way of getting the wheels in motion for the new album, which suggests the material is definitely there. This then is arguably the most exciting of all the factors in their reunion, and the most persuasive argument to battle the cynics with.

The means for acquiring funds is an interesting one, a largely untried model that may serve as useful to others in this currently cash strapped, lop sided industry.

Speaking on Soccer am, Power told viewers about how the costs will be covered; ‘what it is, people who are into the band, they pledge a minimum amount of money, and when it gets to 100% on the pledge, it happens like.’

And when the making of the album is complete?

‘the album is delivered to you signed. The money doesn’t get taken until the album is made. There’s no record company involvement, you’re just dealing with us, and we’re dealing with you.’

Click here to take part in the making of the new Cast album and see what else your pledge will return for you! Exciting things on offer! Signed photo's, drumskins, VIP passes and more!

Any plans to be as successful as their defining debut All Change – it became Polydor’s fastest selling debut - may have to be put on hold using this method, and so will any chances of mirroring their previous chart success.

All the singles from All Change – Finetime, Alright, Sandstorm and Walkaway, reached the Top 20, and Flying, released between the first and second album Mother Nature Calls, was the bands best chart position at 4.

In a private gig in Liverpool’s Radio Merseyside a few weeks ago, deemed as their ‘warm up’ before the big tour, I was one of a few who got to see if the band had successfully brushed off any musical cobwebs. In close quarters, to a handful of people, the overriding feeling was one of surprise. Why had a band this good been forgotten? What happened to them? Not too long ago they played the perfect northern understudies to giants Oasis, Noel Gallagher commenting that watching them was ‘like a religious experience.’

Lesser known fans outside Radio Merseyside in 2010 gave their perspective, and it was telling of the attitude to reunions.

Nicholas Otaegui, 30, from Anfield said, “even when Cast were in their heyday, I never really understood how good skin’s (the lead guitarist) playing was, but seeing it so close up tonight I can really see he’s one of the best in the world, I’m really surprised I didn’t realise that at the time”

Tim Tierney, 28, Kensington added “from the looks of it the tours gonna be amazing on that showing, but more importantly, I want to hear what the new stuff is like.’

When I asked if it was a cashing in stunt he replied ‘I don’t know, I don’t really care, it was brilliant watching them again, especially the songs from All Change which didn’t get much of a look in once Mother Nature [Calls] took off. It made me feel like I was in the 90’s again.’

When it comes to band reunions then, it seems people’s willingness to reminisce will always be the ace card. The fact that Cast have genuine claims to a new start with fresh produce does enough to quell any generalised judgements which in most cases are not far from the mark.