After attracting considerable press attention in the build-up to the release of their debut album ‘Famous First Words‘, Viva Brother would struggle to recover from the unprecedented critical backlash which greeted that record, and confirmed their short, but eventful lifespan had come to an end in April 2011.
And in an interview with The Guardian newspaper this week, Newell has said his new project Lovelife – a synth-pop band fronted by himself and former Mirrors member Ally Young who are now based in Brooklyn – is a far happier entity than his previous band.
“The fact is, if I was successful from those Brother songs I would be unhappy,” Newell says. “But I’m here now and I’m not successful, but I am happy. I don’t strive to be the biggest band in the world any more. I just strive to write, be with my best friends as much as I can, and if music will one day pay for that, that would be amazing.”
“I guess I was being Billy Big Bollocks,” he continues when reflecting on his time with Viva Brother. “It was my own fault. When everyone tells you you’re the next best thing, you go one of two ways. You either start believing it or you fight it. And I went with it.”
According to the paper, Newell’s former Viva Brother bandmates are now acting as the backing group for Lovelife.