Method in their cricket inspired madness

Their first cricket album was such a surprise hit, they decided to make another. Duncan Seaman speaks to Duckworth Lewis Method.
The Duckworth Lewis MethodThe Duckworth Lewis Method
The Duckworth Lewis Method

If Irish musicians Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh were first class cricketers, one suspects they would make a fine batting partnership.

Intelligent, sly of wit and clearly on the same wavelength, the pair – otherwise known from the bands The Divine Comedy and Pugwash – have instead chanelled their energies into the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest cricket pop combo”, The Duckworth Lewis Method.

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The pairing, named after a complex mathematical formula designed to settle the result of limited overs cricket matches which have been curtailed by the weather, sprang out of conversations in Dublin pubs five years ago. An album of humorous cricket-themed songs was released to accompany the 2009 Ashes Test series, at the end of which the band went into hiatus.

This summer they have returned with a follow-up, called Sticky Wickets, timed to coincide with another clash between old cricketing foes England and Australia.

For Walsh, an interest in the “gentleman’s game” began more than 30 years ago. “1981 for me – the Ashes Test series, Ian Botham,” he says.

Hannon got into the sport “a bit later – when I left school, 19 or 20, I started watching around then”.

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In lieu of an Irish Test team, Dubliner Walsh and Derry-born Hannon both support England. “For 20 years I never knew there was an Irish team,” the former admits. “Now they’ve started to recruit better players.”

The England team’s victory in the recent Tests against Australia was, says Walsh, not only “great”; it also proved lucrative for his songwriting partner.

“Neil won a £20 bet with me,” he says. “He correctly predicted 3-0. I was a bit worried on the last day that England were going to win,” Hannon chips in – a result that would have tipped the series 4-0. In the event, the match controversially ended as a draw, due to bad light.

“We were at the Oval on the Sunday,” Hannon recalls. “It was a crazy game.”

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Both agree the umpires should have allowed England to see out the final four overs of the day, from which they required 21 runs to win. “What’s the point of floodlights if you’re not going to play under them?” sighs Walsh.

Never mind the bad-tempered nature of the series – involving incidents with David Warner, Stuart Broad, Australian coach Darren Lehmann and the England players allegedly relieving themselves on the wicket at the Oval – Hannon sees it as part and parcel of Test matches between England and Australia.

“To be honest, most Ashes series are like that – it’s rivalry,” he says, recalling the controversy in 2009 when Ricky Ponting was run out two runs short of a half-century by England’s substitute fielder Gary Pratt. Ponting believed England had fielded too many subs and the decision went on to swing the match – and the series – England’s way.

Walsh admits to having “a bash” at the cricket himself. “That’s an understatement,” Hannon quips – playing for a Taverners side in Dublin, though he “doesn’t get to do it very often”.

“I play the ukulele,” Hannon says wryly.

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DLM came about when Walsh asked Hannon “to be on a charity single of his”.

“We discovered a mutual love of ELO and cricket,” he adds. “We were trying to write songs together before we came up with the Method. In the pub we thought ‘wouldn’t it be funny if we wrote songs about cricket?’ we went from there, really.”

They decided to reactivate the band this year for fun. “We met up one day and said, ‘Do you feel like there’s something there?’ Neil said, ‘Yeah’ and I kind of said ‘Yeah’. We met up and decided where to go.”

If the sheer musical variety displayed in the songs on Sticky Wickets feels like the duo trying on several musical hats, Hannon shoots back: “Thomas wears the top hat and I wear the pith helmet.”

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“To be honest for a moment,” he continues, “when we sit down and write things happen mysteriously. It always works out sounding pretty good. We kind of draw from the same well, musically. Songs go in a certain direction.”

Many of the ideas spring from Neil before he edits them with Pro Tools “while Thomas doodles various cricketing words”.

Another impressive supporting cast for new album

THE Duckworth Lewis Method’s eponymous debut album featured guests such as Phill Jupitus, Alexander Armstrong and Matt Berry. This time the cast includes Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe. The decision to invite Stephen Fry to narrate part of the song Judd’s Paradox came about when Walsh rejected Hannon’s version. Despite the positive reaction to Sticky Wickets, DLM’s autumn tour may be their farewell. “We’re done! Leave it alone!” jokes Hannon.

DLM. September 27, Brudenell Social Club, Queens Road, Leeds, 7.30pm, £20. www.seetickets.com

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