Videos

THE FRATELLIS RELEASE NEW SINGLE

• 12th Feb 2021

‘Need A Little Love’ is the brilliant new single and video from The Fratellis, available today on Cooking Vinyl. The uplifting, romantic track is the third to be taken from the multi-platinum selling Glasgow band’s new album ‘Half Drunk Under A Full Moon’ (out April 9) following ‘Six Days In June’ and ‘Action Replay’.

If you thought you knew The Fratellis, think again. ‘Half Drunk Under A Full Moon’, the Glasgow band’s sixth album, is a kaleidoscopic delight full of surprises. Yes, there are twists on the stomping sing-alongs with which the trio first found fame, but there are also lush, hook-filled pop songs steeped in brass and strings like ‘Need A Little Love’, a song so sweet and immediate it’s as instantly familiar as an old friend.

“‘Need A Little Love’ feels like the purest pop song we’ve ever written,” comments Jon Fratelli, the band’s lead singer and songwriter. “It’s the kind of song you don’t need to second guess or squint at and the whole story is pretty much contained in the opening few bars. It was written unashamedly from the twisted heart of a hopeful romantic.”

The video for ‘Need A Little Love’ was directed by David Eustace and shot at Leith Theatre in Edinburgh shortly before the first lockdown. Shooting in an empty venue turned out to be prophetic as, like all musicians, The Fratellis have only been able to play in empty venues ever since.

As the return of live music creeps closer, The Fratellis are primed to prove the power of pop to lift spirits and kickstart celebrations. “People are desperate to go back to gigs,” says Jon. “By pure chance, we’ve made an album that could really suit that mood of joy and release.”

The Fratellis – Need A Little Love
Following the UK Top 5 success of previous album, 2018’s ‘In Your Own Sweet Time’ – which contained the Radio 2 playlisted single ‘Starcrossed Losers’ – The Fratellis began work on its audacious follow-up in buoyant form. “On the last record we broadened our sound by trying out new ideas,” says Jon. “With this album, the plan was to push those ideas even further.”

Recorded in LA with producer and long-time collaborator Tony Hoffer (Beck, Phoenix, Supergrass), ‘Half Drunk Under A Full Moon’ is a treasure trove of excess that shouts from the rooftops and radiates joy. The Fratellis were gearing up to release the album when the pandemic put paid to their plans. Lead single ‘Six Days In June’ hit the airwaves, revealing the trio’s jubilant new direction, just weeks before the world shut down.

“We had a whole year’s worth of work that didn’t happen, but we knew it would come back around,” says Jon. “As a band who have a loyal audience we know we’re in a fortunate position.”

During the first lockdown The Fratellis teamed up with soul legend P.P. Arnold on a special, spectral version of album highlight ‘Strangers In the Street’, remotely recorded and released last May in aid of the Covid-19 Music Relief Project.

The Fratellis formed in Glasgow in 2005 and comprise of lead vocalist/guitarist Jon with bassist/backing vocalist Barry Fratelli, and drummer/backing vocalist Mince Fratelli. Their 2006 debut album ‘Costello Music’ – which contained the globe-conquering hit “Chelsea Dagger” – quickly went triple-platinum and led to The Fratellis winning the Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act in 2007. A successful second album ‘Here We Stand’ followed in 2008, but this whirlwind of success came at a cost, and by the end of the decade the trio had split, burnt out from their relentless life on the road.

Since reforming in 2012, The Fratellis have gone from strength to strength, winning over a new generation of fans and enjoying a more sustainable type of success. ‘Half Drunk Under A Full Moon’ finds The Fratellis at ease with who they are and where they are: a band who have not only survived but thrived, and are making the best, most confident, most ambitious music of their career.