Mogwai frontman Stuart Braithwaite has said he is “overwhelmed” after the Scottish rock band achieved their first No 1 album of their career.
The self-released As the Love Continues topped the UK album charts 25 years after the release of Mogwai’s debut, following a fierce but good-natured battle with grime veteran Ghetts, and his album Conflict of Interest.
“It’s not something we ever considered or prepared for,” Braithwaite told The Independent. “It’s just this massive lovely surprise.
“It’s cool,” he continued. “Ghetts was on the news driving a tank through London and we thought ‘This is insane…’ I don’t know anyone who knows a tank.”
After Mogwai were jokingly billed by their publicist as experiencing “the slowest ever ascent to No 1”, Braithwaite expressed his gratitude to friends and fellow musicians – along with Hollywood actor Elijah Wood – for their support.
He was also moved by fellow Scots The Jesus and Mary Chain – who encouraged their fans to buy the record – because he and his bandmates grew up listening to their music. Braithwaite said their support “might even be as good as [the] No 1”.
Asked how he felt about critics calling the album a “career peak”, he commented: “We’re Scottish so we’re not that into hyperbole, but we were all really happy with it. People were asking me what my favourite of our albums is, and I think it might be this one.”
“It’s a really consistent record where all the songs we achieved what we were trying to do. With the restrictions, it made us focus even harder,” he added.
