Miles Hunt of The Wonder Stuff: ‘Before we close the shop, I’d like to go into double figures on our albums’

The seasoned indie rockers rose to fame in the early 90s with the likes of Size of a Cow, Welcome to the Cheap Seats and Dizzy featuring comedian Vic Reeves.

Many bands of that era have rested on the laurels of their youth, whereas the Stourbridge rockers have continued to record music and have intentions of releasing a tenth album.

“Because Better Being Lucky was the ninth album, before we close the shop, I’d like to go into double figures on The Wonder Stuff albums,” says Hunt.

“I’m in no position this year to be writing again, I want a break from it. Maybe next year, myself, Malc Treece (original member and guitarist) and Mark Thwaite (bassist and co-writer) might throw some ideas around. It’ll give us an excuse to tour next year again.”

Despite not being able to play live during the pandemic, it’s been a busy couple of years for Hunt, who has written another solo album called Things Can Change, due for release in the autumn of this year.

Hunt admitted that fortunately he wasn’t affected too badly by the pandemic.

“I wrote it all in a 12-month period during the lockdowns. I was relatively happy in that time. I don’t need to go anywhere anymore; I’ve done as much travelling as I’ve ever needed to do so it didn’t bother me. I live on my own with my little dog, so life didn’t really change that much for me. I know it did for a lot of other people,” he says.

“When I came to sit down to write lyrics, I have written reflectively about the last 10 to 15 years, there’s some self-analysis going on, reflections and memories. The opening track is called I Used to Want It All and ironically, I don’t any more. I’m not driven to want to be known, I suppose.”

At 55 years old, Hunt still performs with the same energy and vigor as he did when he burst onto the scene as a fresh-faced 20-year-old when the band were formed in 1986.

The band take to the stage in June when they play at the Leeds O2 Academy and the Picturedrome in Holmfirth where they will play Never Loved Elvis in its entirety as well as a medley of other hits from over the years.

Reflecting on recording the 1991 album that reached number three in the charts, Hunt says: “It was a very relaxed affair,” but adds that it wouldn’t have been as successful without producer Mick Glossop’s expertise.

“Even though we had done a lot of demos, we had been quite lazy in our arrangements and so Mick deconstructed every bar of every track and just made it sound so natural and exciting.”

The Wonder Stuff play at O2 Academy Leeds on June 9 and Holmfirth Picturedrome on June 17. thewonderstuff.co.uk