Rob caught up with Man raze before their show supporting Alice Cooper in Wolverhampton to talk about their current tour, their album 'Surreal', being in other bands and much more.

Hello and thank you for taking time out to do this interview.

Can you give us a brief history on how the band came together and how you came up with the name Man Raze?
(Phil Collen) Its Been about 5 years, i was in london writing songs with simon, we started getting these songs together, and it was like wow, this would be, we wanted paul cook to play drums, then i ran into him two days later, we hung out, talked about it, and it clicked, and its been 5 years until now where were on our first proper tour

I understand your debut album ‘Surreal’ was recorded in 2006 but was not released until 2008, was this because of commitments with other projects? And how did it feel to finally get the album released?
(Phil Collen) well its not our fault,., we just wanted to get it out there, we wanted to get a licenceing deal, it was real hard to get with the record companies, even if you do, its such a pain in the fucking arse, i mean Def Leppard have been trying to get off of our label, for 5 or 6 years, and its just finished, the record deal monolith, is really out dated, which is one of the reasons why its in the state its in now. You have todo alot of stuff on your own, which is the reason why its taken so long, i mean its only just came out properly, it was released last year, and the licencing company went under in the same week as the album release. It still sounds relevent and fresh because if it sounded dated we would be like FUCK!

(Paul Cook) We've both been busy, me with the pistols, and Phil with Def Leppard, as we had finished the album, Phil went on tour for 6 months, then i was on tour, so it was finding the window of oppurtunity, now were finished and got some time on our hands, now is the time to crack on!

What themes do you cover on the songs within ‘Surreal’?
(Phil Collen) There pretty diverese,, they go from everything from religion, Halo is on the stuff in America, its so cryptic that no one has even asked about it! and other things too, about being connected, its about the audacity of the british empire, its cryptic, there really wide open, you have to dig in there!

Are you happy with how the album has gone down with both your fans and the press?
(Phil Collen) Yeah, it hasnt had the right, forum or environment really, if i had just heard it, id say its from an alternative band, its got that vibe, weve been thrown into classic rock areana which is fine, but it hasnt listened to yet by its proper audience.

(Paul Cook) People like to put you into bags, were both in classic rock bands, so people assume that, but its not, but were breaking it out of that now, more people are turning up now, were getting more pistols fans turning up, asking for signed manraze stuff.

Considering ‘Surreal’ was recorded so long ago, have you started writing any new material and do you have any plans for your next release or are you happy to finally be playing the songs off ‘Surreal’ live?
(Phil Collen) Yeah we have, weve got about 20 songs kicking around, a couple are finshed that were left over from the fist album, we havnt recorded a demo of them, and they need tweaks!

(Paul Cook) We got to be a bit careful not to go too fast, even though its been out for a while, its still new to alot of people, so were still playing the same songs, but not alot of people have heard them, were still promoting it really.

You are currently touring with Alice Cooper, what has it been like touring with Alice Cooper and how have you gone down with the Alice Cooper fans?
(Phil Collen) Alice has a radio show, and he played turn it up, he was a fan of it, and like any band, you have a list of potential acts to tour with, he had the cd and said manraze. ive met him a few times over the years, its great.

You are playing the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton tonight, have you played here before and what can we expect from your live show?
(Phil Collen) A million years ago i played in this building,(his other half reminds him, he played here in 2003), so it was just the other year then (laughter)

(Paul Cook) Well back in the day touring with the pistols, but it was under another name, because we were banned from alot of places, so went by the spots, it was the spots tour, it was supposed to be a secret, but obviously everyone knew, it was hectic, i remember it quite well as it happens.

At this point, Paul Cook, takes offence(jokingly) to me asking some Phil only questions and says 'fuck you' into the recorder at me and our editor trigger,

How do you find time to juggle commitments with both Man Raze and def Leppard?
(Phil Collen) With def leappard, it just goes along, there no surpises. its all planned out, so its not hard really, its inconvient, but you know that going into it, orginally we were going to open for def leppard in the states but that leg got cancelled!

Being in Man Raze is obviously a lot different from being in Def Leppard but being in both bands must have positive and negative points? What would you say those points are?
(Phil Collen) Its different, were an opening act again, the main thing for me personally, i get time to get into some of the music, in manraze when im not singing im playing a guitar solo. its all positive really.

You have just recorded a video for your new single ‘Turn It Up’, what was the video like to make and what happens in it?
(Phil Collen) Well a friend of pauls, that he goes to chelsea with, mark, did the video hes a great friend and has alot of faith in the band, suggested doing it infront of a white back drop and performing the song, the song its self is about discovering music.

What do you have planned once your current UK tour with Alice Cooper is over?
(Phil Collen) Were trying to do a pod cast, a live basement gig, and just get it out there once we finish this tour.

(Paul Cook) Now that weve got no commitments with our other bands, were gonna spend abit more time promoting us and getting out there really.

What do you think about the current state of the music scene in general?
(Phil Collen) Music as you know is an art form, and when its managed by a big corporation, they dont understand how it works, and they dont listen to whats going on and what people wanted, when the downloading thing started, the labels were being a bit greedy, and lost out on it because they didnt change. the touring thing right now is what everyone is into because its easy and basic, weve been pushed into an area that the majority of the population wants to hear the whole xfactor thing, unforuntatly thats where its at. Music is as popular as its ever been, but thats where its at, at the moment.

(Paul Cook) The live situation is positive right now, bands are going out on tour becasue they cant rely on record sales anymore, ive always loved playing live, i hate being stuck in the studio its also forcing bands todo things themselves which is good, because they know its a waste of time going to record companys anymore.

One last question that we ask every band, if you could be an animal out of a Zebra and Giraffe which would you be and why?
(Phil Collen) A Zebra, well i have some insight on this subject, because i nearly bought a Zebra, there really fucking miserable, youd think you be able to approach it like a horse but you can't, there really moody, this particular one that i met, kicked my dog, but my dog did try to bite its ankles, but id still rather be zebra because giraffes look abit silly! (much laughter)

(Paul Cook) Id rather be a merecat

Thanks for your time, do you have a message for your fans reading this?
(Phil Collen) Yeah where the fuck are ya! come check us out, were still an unknown entity, so come check us out.

Interview By Robert Lawrence