March 13, 2013 17:19
Bastille on their Number One album: 'It's the last thing we'd really aimed for or expected' Bastille Tickets
Dan Smith tells NME he hopes more bands will be able to reach the top spot
Photo: Ignacio Torres/Press
Bastille have said that hitting Number One with their debut album 'Bad Blood' is "surreal" and revealed their hope that the albums chart may be moving back towards bands and away from pop.
The band, led by frontman Dan Smith, went straight to the top of the Official UK Albums Chart ahead of big-sellers such as Emeli Sande and the new album by the Stereophonics. Speaking to NME from Austin, Texas where they are performing at the SXSW festival, Smith said of being Number One: "It’s the last thing we’d really aimed for or expected so it’s kind of surreal. We’ve been really busy on tour and I kind of haven’t really had to think about it much. I don’t think any of us really know what to think about it really; it’s just the last thing I ever expected to happen."
Asked if the success of 'Bad Blood' could see a change in the Official Album Chart and lead to more success for new bands in terms of album sales, Smith adds: "It’s just nice that a band has an opportunity to get a Number One album with the climate as it is at the moment. It’s obviously changing. I guess it’s just nice to see people buying into bands and I just think we’re really proud of the fact that we made the album ourselves in a tiny studio with pretty much no money, in a little windowless basement in south London with very little help or involvement from anyone else. We receive quite a lot of messages as well, you know, like, ‘I’ve never actually gone out and bought an album before and this is the first album I’ve actually wanted to buy in years,’ which is really flattering for us."
Bastille face stiff competition to retain their spot at the top of the charts, however, with David Bowie's new album 'The Next Day' selling strongly following its release on Monday (March 11).
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