PERFORMING in Glasgow is always extra special for The Kooks star Hugh Harris – thanks to his Scottish heritage.
The guitarist says he feels a connection like no other when he plays in front of a Scottish audience – and it perhaps has something to do with a distant relative.
“I connect with Scotland in a really profound way. I’m Scottish, my great, great, great grandfather Hugh Harris was Scottish.
“We played Oban a while ago and I just felt it was a really spiritual place for everyone. I just kind of imagine my history when I am there,” explained the musician.
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Hugh will be hoping to find his Scottish zen again when The Kooks take to the main stage for the final day of TRNSMT at the Glasgow Green on Sunday, July 14.
The indie rockers, including singer Luke Pritchard and drummer Alexis Nunez, first exploded onto the music scene in 2004. They will be warming up the festival crowd before Snow Patrol and headliner George Ezra close the event.
“Everyone knows how good the Scottish crowds are,” Hugh beamed.
He continued: “What I particularly like is the feeling I get from it is different to any other feeling from playing in any other stage.
“We get to play to non-believers at festivals which I really like. We get to kind of expose ourselves to passers-by who might not give a f**k, who really hate The Kooks or who have grown up not really switched on to the band.
“We get to really kind of prove ourselves at festivals to people that just wouldn’t bother and that is really exciting for us.”
After forming in Brighton, the band broke into the mainstream at the height of guitar music with timeless tracks She Moves In Her Own Way and Naïve attracting the ears of audiences throughout Europe.
“Those are our centrepieces,” Hugh said.
He added: “We have had lots of experimental hits since then but those songs are what people know us for, that’s our identity.
“I absolutely love playing those songs for people, I’m really proud of them.”
Festival revellers heading to TRNSMT might want to place The Kooks at the top of their must-see list as Hugh hinted the band are looking to do solo projects next year.
He added: “We may do a tour at the end of the year – I don’t know if that will include Glasgow or Scotland. This will be the show to come to.”
With 15 years of experience behind them, the band have evolved to cope with new audiences and a digital age which has transformed the entire music industry, something Hugh admits has brought more responsibility their way.
He said: “We are in several playlists on Spotify which means we get churned out on all sorts of things.
“The crowd is regenerating itself - it is like when you chop off a lizards head, it just grows a new fresh one. It’s like fresh faces that just keep rolling up in front of barrier.
“It is really sweet and now it is just bigger than us. It is kind of way more of a responsibility.
“Whereas back in the day, it was kind of more about having fun with it. You think it would be a hot minute kind of flash in the pan thing. Now it is actually kind of our life. It has kind of gone beyond that. I don’t know what we were expecting but we are incredibly humbled by it. We just want to be respectful and give me people a f*****g killer show.”
He added: “Being passionate about music is enough for us really. I love music, it is truly my own way of expressing myself.
“We stuck to our name and kept our heads down - and just kept doing what we love doing.”
With a break at the forefront of their next move, fans might be hoping for some new material before the boys bow out.
Hugh promised: “Anything is possible with this band we don’t really stick to plans.
“The plan is to chill and do interesting projects next year.
“If a tune a comes around and it feels good then we will put it out, we can do what we like.”
The Kooks will play TRNSMT on Sunday, July 14 alongside acts including George Ezra, Jess Glynne , Snow Patrol, The Wombats and Tom Grennan.
Tickets are on-sale via www.TRNSMTfest.com
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