Carey Willetts to return to hometown of Crewe with indie band Athlete for gig at M Club

Jul 22 2009 by simon halewood, Crewe Chronicle

It’s safe to say indie band Athlete’s gig at the M Club in Crewe on Friday will be a special moment for bassist Carey Willetts.

For the 32-year-old is a former Shavington High School pupil who was brought up in Crewe.

He said: “I’m really excited. I’ve never had the chance to play in my home town before and I’ve got loads of old friends coming down. I can’t wait.”

Carey, who is promoting the band’s fourth studio album Black Swan, says the final show of the group’s UK tour at the High Street venue will be an emotional moment as well as a great opportunity to catch up with family and friends.

He said: “The show was supposed to be at the start of the month but I busted my knee playing football. The guys played a few dates without me but I didn’t want to miss the Crewe gig so we moved it.

“Now it’s the last show of the tour it works out great because it means I can hang around, see my old friends and spend some time with my family.”

The son of the Rev Geoff Willetts, who retired from West Street Baptist Church, Crewe, in October last year, Carey says he has fond memories of growing up at Nantwich Road.

“I live in London now but I was born and bred in Crewe and it’s a great place to live and grow up,” he said.

‘I lived there until I was 18 and used to love playing football and watching the Alex.”

Friends since the age of 14, Carey and bandmates Joel Pott, Steve Roberts and Tim Wanstall, formed Athlete in 1999. Since then they have been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, scored a number one album, Tourist, and scooped the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song with Wires.

The song was written by Joel after his newborn baby was rushed to intensive care after a premature birth.

But despite their success, it has been a hectic few months for the band, who split with their record label Parlophone in June, throwing plans to release the new album up in the air.

But they have just signed a new deal with Fiction Records, home of indie megastars Snow Patrol and Elbow, meaning Black Swan will be released on August 10.

Carey added: “There are some really high and some really low times in every band but now is a really exciting period for us.

“The music industry is tough because you make a record that you are really happy with and then you are at the mercy of loads of other people who decide whether it is any good.”

Carey says the title Black Swan represents the unpredictability of band life.

“It comes from author Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Black Swan Theory,” he said. “In the 17th Century everyone believed categorically that all swans are white so when they discovered black ones it was a massive thing.

“The theory relates to high-impact, hard-to-predict and rare events that I think you have to get used to in a band.

“Everything has gone so quickly over the last few years. It’s been a brilliant journey so far.”

Carey promises fans that the gig will feature all their hits such as El Salvador as well as showcasing a few songs from the new album.

He is also looking forward to his first visit to the M Club.

“Last time I went the building was still a cinema so I can’t wait to see what they have done,” he said.

“I remember when I was growing up there were loads of kids who were brilliant musically but they never had anywhere to play to an audience. It’s great that Crewe is building a thriving music scene and a few great venues.”

Doors open at 8pm on Friday. For tickets, priced £15, log on to www.themclub.co.uk.