NSG’s David Lancaster caught up with Space’s keyboard player Franny Griffiths, ahead of their new tour and opening show at Liverpool’s Grand Central, to talk about songwriting, watching scary movies as a kid, and getting drunk on vintage scrumpy.

DL: Hi mate, thanks again for the interview. Why keyboards Fran, and why music? did you ever play another instrument, where, when, and how did it all start for you??

FG: Good day. As a child I was aware of all weird and interesting sounds that were going on in the movies my parents watched, Quatermass and the Pit, Assualt on Precinct 13, Logan’s Run, etc.. this was my introduction to electronic music. Later my friends had synths and I knew then that was what I wanted to do. I play most Instruments, if you can play one you can get your head around others very easily.

DL: Did you always want to be a musician then

FG: I always wanted to create, I loved art, woodwork at school.

DL: Late ’90’s, you join up with legendary Liverpool band SPACE who had been around for about 12 months before you join up with them, how did you end up in one of England’s most iconic bands?

FG: I was friends with Tommy when we were very young, we shared the same interests in music, movies, wine, and clubs. He was playing in a group with his mates and he asked me to join. I really didn’t know what I was doing but I knew I wanted to make music with a band and not just on my own. We’ve pretty much made music together ever since.

DL: The band had massive successes in the late ’90s and early 2000’s, 3 top 10 hits with ‘Me and You Versus the World,’ ‘Avenging Angels‘ and The Ballad of Tom Jomes,’ along with 2 other huge singles, ‘Neighbourhood‘ and Female of the Species.’ I remember the band being everywhere at that time, Soccer A.M., T.o.t.ps, and your music being used for TV themes and stuff. Was it it bit strange being thrust into the limelight like that, all of a sudden were you getting stopped on Church St and stuff?

 FG: We were just four scallies from Liverpool making music we liked, then we discovered other people liked it too. You sort of go along with the flow, it all happens so quickly, you really don’t have time to think about it. It was amazing and tough for all of us, in equal measures.

DL: Can you tell me a bit about ‘Neighbourhood?’ did any of you really have neighbours like those mentioned in the song? 

FG: Well if you knew where I came from, definitely yes. I think we all have characters that live across the road like the ones in that tune.

DL: Can you remember where you were when ‘Female of the Species’ and ‘Me and You Versus the World’ were written? how did those songs come together??

FG: ‘Female’ was mostly written in Ridge Farm Studios, rotten drunk on 15 year old scrumpy. Me, Tommy and Jamie had all swapped Instruments for a laugh while everyone else was in the pub. Many of the ideas from that night made it to the final release.

DL: You’re responsible for the keyboards, the synths, the samples, and the electronic stuff in the group, do you think that makes SPACE stand out from the crowd a bit?, a bit of a U.S.P??

FG: Maybe it was in Liverpool at that time. I think “synth” was a bad word for a while…

DL: You made some great videos back in the day and I think my favourite SPACE video is the promo for ‘The Ballad of Tom Jones,’ the duet that you did with Cerys Matthews of Catatonia. How did the band end up working with her? Was it always Cerys that you had in mind for the female vocal?? She seems dead sound like how did that shoot go, it looked a bit costly like it had a few quid spent on it?

FG: We supported Catatonia on tour and became great friends with them, we still are. We were also huge fans of their music and Tommy always had Cerys in mind for the tune and we were buzzing when she agreed to do it. It’s our best video because I didn’t have to appear in it.

DL: You’ve recorded seven killer albums with SPACE and also released an anthology in 2019, impressive work, what was your favourite album to work on Fran?

FG: ‘Give Me Your Future‘ without a doubt. The input from the four of us was huge on this album, we felt as one. No outside distractions, great tunes. The four of us get on so well, it just felt real good. Great studio, a great producer, and a great cover that I did all the original artwork and design for, I had to get that in, haha!!!

DL: You had years to craft and develop the songs for your first album, ‘Spiders,’ did you feel any pressure trying to replicate that album’s success with ‘Tin Planet‘, or did you guys have loads of songs in the bag?

FG: There was no pressure with that album, maybe there was with the singles. The tunes were really flowing at the time and we knew we wanted to change from a groove filled album like ‘Spiders’ to a more song based album.

 DL: So many bands have different approaches to songwriting, can you tell me a little bit about how SPACE does it? Any advice for other songwriters who are starting out??

FG: We do it many different ways but with technology, as it is now we can work on ideas remotely. Sending things to each other over the internet and bringing them to life in the studio. My advice to young musicians starting out is to be brave and be original, don’t let anything distract you from your dreams.

DL: Did coming from Liverpool make you feel you had big boots to fill with bands like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Echo and The Bunnymen, and The Real Thing all coming before you, not to mention those other 4 fellas who did alright for themselves?

FG: No not at all, we weren’t making music to be big, it just happened.

DL: The band had a huge tour in ’97 and Tommy already told us about hanging out with Johnny Depp an stuff… The band are an amazing live act, everytime I’ve seen you, the shows are filled with energy and I’m looking forward to catching you on this new tour…Any funny stories from the tour bus over the years Fran? anything you could share??

DL: What’s happening with the band at the moment? I see you have the ‘Music For Pleasure, Music For Pain‘ tour all booked and ready to go this year, any other plans? anything else we should be looking out for??

FG: Collectively, the usual…Huge tour to promote the album, festivals, and one or two surprises. We’re also really busy doing our own thing too, so lots going on.

DL: Once again thank you for giving us the chance to interview you, anything else you’d like to add?

FG: It’s been a crazy period in all our lives. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on the road again. Can’t wait to get out there and do it, man.

Thanks, stay safe!

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