Life after Supergrass is busy for Gaz Coombes, though, he tells TIM HUGHES, he wouldn’t have it any other way

For any musician, the decision to leave the band and go it alone is a huge one. But when you are as big as Supergrass it’s nothing less than momentous.

For the band’s iconic frontman Gaz Coombes, however, there was never any doubt he was doing the right thing. It is now three years since the Wheatley lads resolved to call time on their globally-successful group and concentrate on their own individual projects, which, for Gaz meant stepping out alone as a solo artist.

Fortunately his confidence was more than matched by his talent – and the chirpy, and still-impressively sideburn-clad, rock star has emerged from the shadow of his chart-topping Mercury, Brit and Ivor Novello award-winning band, to recast himself as a groundbreaking singer-songwriter in his own right.

It’s an exciting new chapter in the career of Oxford’s most recognisable musician. And his adventurous solo debut Here Come The Bombs, partly recorded at his home in Wheatley, shows how far he has come since Supergrass. A feast of dreamy synths, grooves and distorted guitars, it has become an instant classic which, while very different, ranks alongside the best of his earlier work.

Of course none of this is a surprise to Gaz, who is gearing up for an eagerly-awaited hometown show on Saturday. “The album has been really well-received, and people love it more for hearing it live, he says. “They are saying it really nails it – and they are certainly not asking for Supergrass!”

Few people know the music industry as well as Gaz. It is more than 20 years since he first took to the stage – initially with his band The Jennifers, before forming Supergrass with bandmate Danny Goffey, and friend Mick Quinn, whom he had met while working at a local Harvester.

The band, later joined by Gaz’s brother Rob, went on to become one of the biggest of the ‘90s, scoring six top 20 albums, three of them platinum – including the seminal I Should Coco, which was the biggest-selling debut for Parlophone since the Beatles released Please Please Me in 1963.

I caught up with Gaz at the house in Wheatley he shares with his partner Jools and children Raya and Tiger, and found him busy preparing for rest of a tour which has already taken him from Kent to Teesside and, this Saturday, to the O2 Academy Oxford.

“I’m just packing my pants and socks,” he tells me cheerfully. Surely, I suggest, he has a butler to look after such things? “One of these days!” he laughs.

“In the meantime I’m thinking of making my kids do it.” It’s a beautiful sunny day – and the view from the Coombes home is of rural Oxfordshire at its finest.

“As I speak, I can see the cows running around like mad,” he says. “It’s a lovely scene.”

It is, he says, the perfect antidote to a young life spent chasing around the planet, living the rock and roll dream – which is why he moved back to his old childhood home with his dad, John, following the death of his mum, Eileen, in 2005. “Life has been pretty manic for the past 20 years,” he says.

“A lot has happened. There were the trans-Atlantic flights and all the touring, and when I got back I wanted some peace, tranquillity and countryside. Now I’ve got a little chance to enjoy it – and at the moment it feels great.”

One of the big differences in being a solo artist is he now has to do everything himself – from arranging and performing songs to organising tours.

“Now I’m on my own so I can’t delegate to anyone but myself – whether that be touring, art work, and arranging the band or crew,” he says.

“The buck stops with me. It makes it tough but I wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s all really good and what I wanted. It is a big change but I wanted to experience things in a different way. In the early days we were riding a wave; we were feeding off each other and existing on each other’s energy. They were times I’ll never forget.”

And while the emphasis is entirely on the new stuff, Gaz, 37, has certainly not turned his back on his band days. “The whole set is the album with a couple of covers thrown in,” he explains. “But there is always a treat for fans. For the encore I’ll pop in a couple of acoustic things which I’ve pulled from the vault.

“It’s really cool. Some separation has to be made but, equally, I’m really proud of what I did. I had a great run of it with Supergrass, and playing a song like Moving is still... moving.

“It’s important that the main set is all about the future and moving forward, but also that there are a couple of old ones. After all, when I’ve been to see artists I love over the years I like to see them throw some old ones in. So, I think there may be some gems from the past, if people shout loud enough.”

The show is part of the at the O2 Academy’s Upstairs nights, which also features Candy Says (Juju from Little Fish’s new band), Vienna Ditto and Salvation Bill. It marks the release of a new double-A side of his songs One of Those Days and Break the Silence (itself iaccompanied by a new animated video directed by his brother Charly).

And instead of heading home afterwards, Gaz will be staying on to play a DJ set at the venue’s Propaganda indie-club night.

“I’m going to clear the floor after two songs,” he laughs. “I’ll be playing only avant-garde Czech music!” “I’ve actually got some good stuff,” he says, more seriously.

“I’m aware it’s got to be danceable, and there’s all sorts of stuff I’ve played over the years that is very danceable. I’ll also be tapping into Charly’s expertise. It will be fun. And don’t worry, as much as I love him, I won’t be doing a Thom Yorke-style dub-step set!”

The East Oxford date is something for a homecoming for Gaz. Supergrass once lived in Cowley Road and wrote some of their best-loved songs on the street. “I had some really great years there,” he says.

“We lived in the same house together and had some good times. “I remember once winning an NME ‘Brat’ award which was sponsored by Miller lager. We were given 50 crates of it and had it stacked up in the front hallway. It was supposed to be a year’s supply, but it had all gone in two months.”

He goes on: “The great thing about Oxford is the people. We were surrounded by artists, drop-outs, drug dealers and students. It was so diverse with such a range of cultures and was a rich part of my life. “I remember writing Richard the Third there and being too paranoid to step outside the house.

“But it brought something great – and amazing things happened there.”

  • Gaz Coombes plays Upstairs at the O2 Academy Oxford on Saturday. Doors 7pm. Tickets are £12.50 from ticketweb.co.uk.
  • He also DJs at the venue’s Propaganda indie club night, from at 10.30pm. Tickets are £5. Gaz Coombes Presents… Here Come The Bombs is out on Hot Fruit Recordings.