Emerging with a mischievous grin and a fistful of hooks, The Hoosiers quickly became a staple of 2000s indie-pop, known for hits like “Goodbye Mr A” and “Worried About Ray.” Their eccentric style and satirical edge brought a refreshing humour to the charts, all while striking a surprisingly heartfelt chord.
Ahead of their much-anticipated return to Belladrum 2025, we caught up with frontman Irwin Sparkes to talk creative rebirth, the band’s unshakeable bond with fans, and the special magic of playing Scotland’s most feel-good festival. Expect nostalgia, evolution—and that unmistakable Hoosiers sparkle
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You’re celebrating the 15th anniversary of your second album while releasing your sixth. How do they compare in terms of recording process and sound evolution?
An astute observation, allowing the confrontation of the past to sink in, and it’s keener felt every time we strive forwards. Allow me to break out the Heraclitus before I get more comfortably low-brow again: “No man crosses the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man”.
The weight on young Al & my shoulders after the success of the first album was something we weren’t prepared for. The label wanted hits and they wanted them yesterday. We clearly no longer have that pressure! And it was a joy to simply write the best songs we’re capable of. To borrow what our horn-boardist (keys and trumpet), Paul Frith, calls is at the route of any creative urge: to solve a problem.
“Sonically, we now walk in the confidence of what The Hoosiers always wanted to be: positive purveyors of positive pop“
Sonically, we now walk in the confidence of what The Hoosiers always wanted to be: positive purveyors of positive pop. The Illusion of Safety was trying to do a lot of things, and we’re still very proud of it. The fact it is actually still a superb listen fifteen years on is a testament to the band giving their all in terms of writing and pushing a lot of dynamic variables: I still don’t quite know how we made the middle eight of Glorious or all of Sarajevo. We weren’t afraid to stretch our musical legs.
In making our sixth – titled “Compassion” – we have the constraints of finding the recording ourselves, so whereas we made Illusion… in about eight months, we were only in the studio for five days this time. A through line is that both albums were recorded at our spiritual homeland of Angelic Studios, which our beloved, late, great producer – Toby Smith – built.
Your live performances are known for their energy, and 2025 is packed with gigs. How do you maintain that intensity night after night?
Al and I like to bend about a bit before we go on. Some people call this yoga but what we do lacks the grace and dignity of the form. That and the debt we owe our audience, who have paid their hard-earned money and travelled to hear us. They deserve a show for that. Movement an all.
Hoosiers playing MacMorayfest
Over the years, how has your relationship as bandmates evolved, and how does that influence your music today?
Al and I have been buds in bands for thirty years now. Changing line-ups along the way and falling out at times, we’ve both had to learn a lot about conflict resolution, and the learning and practise of it is ongoing.
This album is the most we’ve ever actually written together and could only happen from being comfortable in our own skin and around each other to give the honest feedback you need to come up with the goods. A book we cite as useful for the band’s progression and how we problem-fix with each other is Matthew Syed’s “Black Box Thinking.”
Looking back at your early days, how do you approach live performances now compared to when you first started, especially with an evolving audience?
Set-wise we’re finding it a joyful problem to cover six albums in a sixty-minute festival set. As far as the show itself, we’re finding we have to think about the space, how we dress it, how we move, etc and it’s especially hard for our festival sets when you’re forced to travel lighter than for your own tour.
“a live show is all about connecting with an audience through a shared experience of sound”
Ultimately, you can have all the bells and whistles (and we’d like to) but a live show is all about connecting with an audience through a shared experience of sound. That’s what unites Slipknot and Springsteen.
What convinced you to return to Inverness to play Belladrum this year?
Pretty sure we had to convince them to have us! It was the FIRST Scottish festival we played. A biggie. Really early on after we’d only had a song or two released. It’s where we learned never to place Goodbye Mr A mid-set, as we watched our sizeable crowd take leave of us to go watch Kate Nash. It’s also the first time I saw Al get excitably recognised. I’m almost over the fact that it wasn’t me, like it obviously should have been. Yeah, Belladrum’s got a special place in our hearts. It looks and smells just like a festival should.
If you have time to catch any of the other acts at Belladrum, who would they be and why?
Fantastic line-up, btw. In no real order:
October Drift – The world always needs some delectable guitar bands kicking up a stink
CMAT – An artist of singular talent. Aren’t many around
Supergrass – an early band-crush for both Al & I
Gabrielle Aplin – authentic, lush vocal delivery & she’s got staying power
Natasha Bedingfield – exceptional writer & intrigued to see her shine live
The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – legend!
Paul Heaton – a master craftsman
If your music were the soundtrack to a movie, which genre would it fit best, and what kind of story would it tell?
The music we make in The Hoosiers would suit the moment the protagonist realises they have everything they need to rise and smite Vengor the ghoul from Nebulous X, or whatever it is that’s going on.
Which film director do you think would create the best visuals for one of your songs, and why?
Michel Gondry. The mix of fantasy and reality is spot on.
Getting ready for Belladrum 2025? you can read our awesome Kassidy interview
