Formed in Bridgend, Wales, a decade ago, Those Damn Crows have grown slowly yet steadily to the point that their third album, 2023’s Inhale/Exhale, reached No.3 in the UK chart. Frontman Shane Greenhall checks in as the band prepare for their biggest headline show to date.
2024 was quite a year for Those Damn Crows. Opening for ZZ Top at Wembley must have been a massive highlight?
We’ve also played with the Hollywood Vampires and the Goo Goo Dolls recently, but that was an unbelievable moment, the high point of our year. Afterwards we watched their show, which was so cool because there was no production, it was all about the songs.
Did you get to hang with Billy Gibbons?
We saw him backstage and there was a very brief encounter. He seemed so normal. I’d love to have got a photo, but when you’re the support band we try to keep out of the way. Considering it was our first time at Wembley, I thought their fans accepted us really well.
What about Rival Sons, who were also on the bill?
We chatted to Mike Miley [drums]. They used to be on our label Earache Records. Rival Sons are a great band. Jay Buchanan has got an incredible voice.
The warm responses on the main stages at festivals like Download and Maid Of Stone suggests that the band’s hard touring is beginning to bring rewards.
I appreciate that. We’ve been together for ten years, and it’s only now that our hard work is starting to pay off. One of the best things about honing our craft is going to territories where we are not known, places where we must work hard to raise our game and prove ourselves.
You’re talking about some continental gigs with German band Böhse Onkelz? And jeez, the size of those open-air crowds!
We played to more than 350,000 fans with them in stadiums. By the tour’s end their fan base were calling us the best support band they’d ever had. To have gone there alone we’d have played to maybe a hundred and fifty people. It’s by sheer luck, but we feel like we’ve almost jumped a few levels.
Your aim is to become an international band?
I think so. We’ll go wherever the offers come. We just want to play in front of as many people as possible.
The band end the year with your biggest headline show so far, at the five-thousand-capacity Utility Arena in Cardiff. Excited?
Excited and nervous. Last year we played the Swansea Arena which holds around three thousand, so this is a step up. It’s the place I saw so many bands back in the day. To be headlining there is unbelievable. I’ve seen the latest ticket sales and it’s… daunting. It’s where we’re from, so it will be special.
Those Damn Crows' new album God-shaped Hole will be released on April 11. They play Cardiff on December 16, with support from Sophie Lloyd and Himalayas, with more UK dates following in March. Get tickets.
