Vigo Thieves, the unsigned Wishaw five-piece formed in 2008, have rocketed in success over the past twelve months. After supporting The Fratellis in 2013, becoming the first unsigned band to sell out two consecutive nights at Glasgow’s legendary King Tut’s and filling up the BBC introducing tent at T in the Park, the Thieves are doing a UK tour to promote their new single This Love. Following the news that their highly anticipated debut album is in the works, they begin their tour with a packed out headliner at the O2 ABC Glasgow on March 29th.
So this is your most exciting headline show to date, what do you think has impacted this?
Last year was brilliant, we got off to a good start. We did two nights back to back at King Tut’s and are the first unsigned band to do this. We also supported The Fratellis at The Barrowland. We played the Transmission Stage at T in the Park, Wickerman and finished off with a big headline show at The Arches. So it’s been big progression from last year onwards. It’s going that way again, which is why tonight we’re playing our biggest show yet.
Any particular highlights from your success over the past year?
The two nights at King Tut’s were fantastic. And playing The Barrowland with The Fratellis just gives you a taste of wanting to play big stages and bigger venues. It gives you a major drive to go and do it again and again.
So you obviously know how to go in the right direction?
Yeah, playing T in the Park’s Transmission stage in 2013 compared to the year before where we played a much smaller stage was great. This time we had a dressing room next to Calvin Harris, Stereophonics and all the rest. We don’t want to move back down, we just want to go up and up. That’s what’s really sparked us on. We know if you work hard, you get bigger.
You have a huge Scottish fan base, but have you had much interest elsewhere?
We’ve got a lot of Facebook fans. For some reason we’re massive in Georgia. Also America and Latvia, we think Stevie looks a bit Latvian so that might be why! We feel our sound makes us a band with universal potential. We’re off to LA in two weeks time, we’re also going to Berlin, Thailand, and going to do Spain as well following the launch of our new single, This Love.
So the big question on everyone’s lips- are you working towards making an album?
Yeah, we’re working on an album and we’ve also got a good back catalogue of EPs which we will use on tour.
You’ve been asked to support The Fratellis a second time round on April 30th for an impressive sold-out show at King Tut’s, do you reckon that chances like this are down to good contacts or hard work?
It’s about working hard. If you work hard and make sure everyone notices you then the hype is too big for you not to be successful. It’s our ethos and mindset that if everyone’s talking about you then that’s the way forward. We wouldn’t say we’ve ever had luck, just hard graft paying off. But at the same time we have had help through the likes of DF Concerts and Events. They put on all the big shows and have championed us through Scotland and their help has been great for our recognition. When you get interest from DF and the Fratellis, and your fan base is growing like ours is then you know you’re doing the right thing, even if you get worried about other things. It proves you can do it on your own as an unsigned band.
So do you believe that unsigned bands stand more of a chance these days?
Yeah, we feel like we don’t need a major record label when we can do it ourselves. Yet, having the backing of a label can make you go a long way. However, as an unsigned band we’ve got a plan in place which we’re firmly sticking to.
Tell me about your new single This Love, what’s the message behind it?
The single came out on March 3rd, and is available for download on iTunes. The song sums up the light and dark, good and bad sides of love. How if you love something too much, it can become dark. We’d been listening to a lot of Springsteen and Roy Orbison during the writing process, which has influenced the theme. We definitely recommend people to go and watch the video on our website. It’s a bit like the film Drive. Stevie was watching it one night and he realised that that’s the video he wanted for the song. So the director went away and did it all, came back, handed us the final edit and asked us what we thought. He’d got it nail on the head. Spot on.
So is This Love a good taste of what to expect in the forthcoming debut album?
We’ve still not 100% decided. The drummer from our support band tonight, Prides, is helping us produce a lot of our new material. He’s been a real breath of fresh air. He’s tightened everything up, and we’re really excited to do more stuff with him next month. We want it to be the most anticipated album from an unsigned band in all of the UK, and we won’t disappoint.