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Never will he admit it, but Sam Burnham deserves a lot of credit for the impact his band has had on the indie music world. Harry Simmons talks to the frontman who has recently had a sudden surge of interest from all corners of the music universe. 

He is the stand outmember of The Lonely Future, whether he likes it or not. No-one can get enough of him at the moment. Although his arrogance is key to his performances, he is still a lovable character. His character is very unique, he has a laid back approach to everything but still manages to be perfectly organised. He arrives into the RADAR studio promptly and you can tell he knows how to work it, wether it’s the crowd at the band’s gigs or in front of our cameraman. Sam Burnham, along with Harry Smith on the drums, guitarist Max Hollander and bassist and keyboarder Pat Manson have got the mix right, the Leicestershire four-piece have really turned the indie world on it’s head. They seem to fit in perfectly with the current crop but are completely unique somehow. The Lonely Future are a band that look forward to their future and hope it won’t be lonely, they want to keep going their prominence has come swiftly but they hope to keep gathering momentum and just get better and better, Burnham in particular is hoping they do not sell out. 

You seem like a very calm character, on stage you are known for some less-calm antics. What is it that changes you like this?

I’d say it’s a mix of pure adrenaline and passion really, I love playing with my mates and there’s nothing like playing in front of a crowd and really showing all your emotions. I mean, when you think your music really works, it’s a great feeling but nothing compares when you see the fans at the gigs going crazy at one of your songs it is such a special feeling. The way to thank them is to join them and that’s why I love doing all my diving into the crowd, I don’t really think about it. 

You personally have received a lot of attention with The Lonely Future’s rise to fame, why do you think you have been so highly regarded?

It’s very overwhelming when anyone talks about you in the magazines or on TV. I think we all can’t believe how quickly things have changed for all of us. It’s not all about me at all, I don’t really understand it, i’d be nothing if it weren’t for Max, Pat or Harry. Obviously i’m not going to ignore the praise, I thrive on it. 

As a frontman, you have been compared to the likes of Yannis Philippakis and Ryan Jarman in your style of performing. Who are your main influences?

Well I do see where your coming from there, I mean those two are great inspirations for me and they both, like me do love to show passion on stage. If i could afford to smash my guitar, I would. I grew up watching Queen because of my Dad, Freddie Mercury was always a great frontman, the way he worked the crowd was incredible. Of course i’m no where near that kind of level, yet. Nowadays I think yeah Yannis is a great role model and idol for me and a brilliant artist in a brilliant band. 

So it all started for you really when you supported The Maccabees on their tour last year, would you regard that as your ‘big break’?

Yeah definitely, we were actually 4th support on most nights but it was still our first experience of going up and down the country, it was a really amazing experience. It was massive for us, not because we could book more dates but because our music was put out there, our EP was on the shelves on shops, everyone wanted pictures with us, it was mental! But yeah we seriously will always thank Orlando and the lads for letting us guys come on tour with them. 

With that tour and your debuts at many of the UK festivals, it was a huge year for The Lonely Future wasn’t it?

Of course, we played in front of some mega crowds, The Maccabees tour was played in front of some huge numbers but there’s always something a bit different, the atmosphere is a bit more magical if you like. Glastonbury was amazing, the whole weekend was incredible, we’ve all been before but it’s so much different when your playing, there’s an extra buzz around you. 

So do you prefer to be on tour or in the studio?

I mean, I love playing in front of crowds but they’d be none of that if we didn’t sit down write songs, and record them we couldn’t possibly set up for playing live. It’s normally a case of we want to be in the studio when we’re on tour. When we’re on the road, we moan that we’re not in the studio. 

Going even further back, it all started with you jamming in Sam’s garage was it? How and why did you decide to start The Lonely Future. 

Well us 4 were always good mates at school and we all loved music. Harry played drums, Max was brilliant on guitar, Pat could play pretty much anything and I yeah I could sing. So we all just thought ‘why haven’t we started a band yet?’ That’s really where it all began, and yeah it was actually my bedroom, we all crammed in and slashed it out for hours on end. Eventually the mindless thrashing turned into proper music, or at least what we thought was proper music. 

So your album has just hit the shelves, already tipped to top the indie charts, how do you think it will do?

Well you can’t really answer that question, we’ll have to wait and see how it does. Most of the songs have been played out live and of course we’re hoping we get the same unbelievable reception out of the studio that we have had out on stage. Writing the album was again a great experience, we all had ideas and it gives it a really wholesome feel, we all deserve full credit for everything on the album. We hope everyone enjoys it as much as we have. 

You’ve been very clear that you don’t want the band to peak too early, is that to do with the fact you’ve come to fame so quickly?

A lot has happened so quickly for us definitely, we haven’t rushed anything though. Yeah i’m determined to keep a lid on things in a way, we want to keep going and i don’t want people to think we’re ever going to sell out. If we do, make sure you let us know. We will take a long hard look at ourselves because we all hate it when we love a band, they have a brilliant debut album then their second is a mess. So I want to make sure we can please everyone and ourselves for as long as possible. 

Why do you think you everyone has paid more attention to you just recently? why has hit taken a while, and then you burst onto the scene?

Well, personally the first time I felt any kind of fame was when we were asked wether our song could be put on the next Fifa game, haha. But to be honest I think when we knew the album release date just after the new year, everyone went mad for us. I’ve was told a lot of people were looking forward to it after a very successful tour with The Maccabees, so the pressure was on to deliver. I guess we did and that’s why we’re getting a bit of attention right now. 

How important is image in your band?

I don’t know! We want to look cool, I think you’ll have to ask Max about this one. He’d give Mark Ronson a go in a cool list, coolness just comes naturally to him. But really, a quick answer would be ‘not really’ we care about making music and enjoying our own work, if we look good, we’ll take the compliments! 

So what’s happening in 2011 for you guys?

Well we’re actually just chilling out for a bit at the start, The album’s just out so we’ll go around plugging that for a bit and then we’re lining up a tour in October and November. So I suppose this year could be as hectic as the last! 

You can catch Sam Burnham answering some of your questions at www.radarmagazine.com

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This is another draft front page, I have done one with a plain and simple white background and another with a gradient grey - white background.