Bastille feel 'super privileged' to still have normal lives

Virgin Radio

2 Sep 2022, 11:57

Bastille say they feel "super privileged" to be able to go about their day-to-day lives as well as being in a hugely successful band.

Dan Smith, Kyle Simmons, Will Farquarson and Chris 'Woody' Wood have had numerous number one albums, but say they experience a relatively normal life.

Speaking to In Common, Dan said: “That’s been a preoccupation of ours, right from the beginning.

“We never expected to be a mainstream band. Obviously we wanted people to listen to our music and come to our shows, but we didn’t think we’d ever be in the charts.

"When 'Pompeii' and the first album blew up, it was such a shock and it didn’t feel that real, and I think it was a preoccupation of ours to sort of separate that from our actual lives."

Unlike many musicians, Dan says he can still lead a normal life.

Dan continued: “We weren’t on the TV at all, we didn’t do that much press, we weren’t in people’s faces, but a lot of people heard our music. I think ten years down the line, we feel super privileged to have a bunch of songs that a lot of people know, but we can also live pretty normal lives and people have no idea that it’s us.”

Kyle agreed: “It’s always quite difficult getting that line right between success and fame.

"Obviously, we want to be successful in what we do. We’re really happy and proud of the things that we release, all things that get made, through the music, the visuals and everything, but obviously to gain that level of success, a certain amount of fame or notoriety comes with it and it isn’t something we’ve ever courted."

Woody said: “Ultimately we’d rather the band name was the face, rather than any of us was the face.”

Dan previously opened up about why he doesn't have any famous friends.