Barry is in a Christmas mood. The singer and guitarist of The Futureheads from Sunderland, UK spontaneously plays a line of “Oh Christmas Tree” on the guitar as he spots one on a brightly lit building over the street. It is cold on this mid-November evening, so everything has to be done quickly. Just outside the venue we climb on the roof of the Flex-Café surrounded by the Ringstraße on the one side and the Donaukanal on the other. Barry hits the first chords of “Radio Heart” and instantly creates impressive dynamics, just using his voice and an acoustic guitar. The renditions of the two songs in this offstage-session are obviously very different from The Futureheads’ stage performance, but the more intimate, stripped-down versions still get the same energy across. Even the welder in front of the Flex entrance stops his work when Barry wants to kick off with “The Beginning Of The Twist”. Much to Barry’s amusement he restarts for a few seconds just for the camera.


thefutureheads.co.uk