November 18, 2009 15:41

Biffy Clyro: ''The Captain' was almost a prog-rock tune' - video

Band reveal secrets of the hit that almost never was

Biffy Clyro have admitted their recent single 'The Captain' was initially a prog-rock song before they remoulded it into a rock hit.

The track that opens their fifth album 'Only Revolutions' was initially called 'Help Me Be Captain', singer Simon Neil told NME.COM in an exclusive video you can watch on the right.

He said the band radically retooled the track bringing in horns to make it the chart anthem that it eventually became. "We've a had a couple of different versions of that song," he said. "One of them was a version called 'Help Me Be Captain' which was a lot more prog, a bit more complex and it took you on a whole different journey."

He added: "We just focused on this big fat stoner rock riff that was really grooving. It was a heavy song and we just thought, 'What would be the most ridiculous thing to put on this to not make it sound like a heavy distorted guitar song?' We just thought, 'Trumpets'. We knew we were onto a winner from then on in."

Video: Biffy Clyro Interview

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