RIALTO QA
IT’S 24 YEARS SINCE THE BAND LAST RELEASED A RECORD THOUGH LEADER LOUIS ELIOT HASN’T BEEN TWIDDLING HIS THUMBS. HERE HE TALKS TO CP ABOUT TOURING WITH GRACE JONES AND FINDING “LIBERATION” AFTER A BRUSH WITH DEATH WHILE ON HOLIDAY IN SPAIN.
JEREMY ALLEN
Rialto headline London’s Scala on 14 May in support of their new album, Neon & Ghost Signs
© Chris Floyd
L ouis Eliot is back with the excellentNeon & Ghost Signs,nearly a quarter of a century after Rialto’s last studio album. The indie outfit had hits withMonday Morning 5.19andUntouchablein the late 90s before seemingly falling off the side of the earth (they were probably in South Korea where they were as big as BTS). Not that Louis hasn’t been busy in the meantime, collaborating with Grace Jones and Supergrass’ Danny Goffey, as well as contributing a key interpolation to Will Young’sLeave Right Now.He can’t talk too much about the latter, given that his songwriting credit has only recently been recognised, but he’s more candid about the bad boy behaviour that led to a near-death experience, inspiring the group’s new album. “I dived in wholeheartedly for a bit,” he tellsClassic Pop.