The Enemy Make Friends in America

Posted on Aug 6th 2008 12:00PM by Jolie Lash
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They've supported the Rolling Stones, been on the cover of NME twice and had a number one album in the UK, but this weekend's appearance at Lollapalooza marked the debut appearance of British rock trio the Enemy, in the USA.

The band, fronted by Tom Clarke, has been riding high on their debut album, 'We'll Live and Die In These Towns,' which hit U.S. shelves this week. And starting the band's seven date Stateside tour at a festival seemed perfect for an act, who spent all summer hitting big music events across the world. "They're pretty good," Clarke tells Spinner of his festival tour schedule. "There's normally a lot of mud and it rains, and it's bit sh---- like that. But when you get to a [certain] level, there's a lot of people that want to slag you off. It's a good time to change a lot of people's minds."

Clarke says he was proven right thanks to the message he's received on the Enemy's MySpace, which yes, the band checks themselves. And it was comments they got from early American fans that made them want to come Stateside so much, even though -- like many UK acts -- they'll lose money.

"It's not even a risk that you take, it's a price that you pay," Clarke says. "If they can appreciate the music then we can make the effort and spend a bit of money and go over and play. I think America's one of the most intriguing countries in the world."

In fact, the frontman said he wishes he could have come over sooner. "If I had it my way, we would probably have come out a little bit earlier," he says. "But the way that we've done it is we've absolutely conquered the UK. We've had a number one record, we've sold a lot of albums -- it's a platinum record. It's a big achievement in a market where no one's buying music. It's really just a case now of whether people in the States get it. I imagine it's going to be a pretty brilliant tour."