Making their triumphant return to the scene after many years apart. We caught up with Breed 77 vocalist, Paul Isola and six string wizards, Danny Felice at Bloodstock Festival. Just before their victorious headline set on the Sophie Lancaster stage on Saturday night.
First of all, thanks for taking the time to speak to us today guys!
Paul: No, thank you for taking the time to speak to us, it’s great to be back here!
If we remember rightly, this your first time back at Bloodstock for quite a while?
Paul: Thirteen years! We played the first open air show here and that was, longer ago than I care to remember.
A lot has changed since those days!
Danny: Yeah the stage was on a truck back then, like a trailer that we all played on. It’s come a long way in that time!
Yeah you guys have been on hiatus for quite a few years now. What prompted you to reunite as a band?
Paul: Yeah we kind of put the band on park for a bit and through the years we’ve been waiting until the time was right to return and I think the final kick in the butt we all needed was during Covid.
That’s right, I remember seeing you guys come back during lockdown with some really cool acoustic sessions. Was that your first time playing together again?
Paul: We’d all been playing separately in different projects but yeah. That was the first thing we did together again musically. We just thought the time was right you know. Seeing how finite everything became during Covid, if we had the smallest chance to rekindle the fire and get back together as a band again we had to take it. For us, first and foremost we had to have some new material too, some new music to stand with. So that’s what we’ve been working on ever since. Culminating the last 34 years together, then finally last year we were able to get out of the studio and play live again.
That must have been quite journey, how long did it take to get back to that stage?
Paul: It seemed like it but not that long actually, it was Uprising Festival in 2021?
Danny: Yeah Uprising 2021 was our first live show back together again.
You’ve been drip feeding out some great new singles over the past year, are they from those initial sessions?
Paul: Yeah, it’s a new world we live in now. When we first came out you had to release an album straight away. Now, you can put songs out and they stand on their own. So last year, when we started really touring again properly, we started releasing them because we wanted people to have a new point of reference and some new art they could take away after seeing us.
So, in March we released End of the Line, then in May we released Outside. Then in November we added Just Act Like You Know and it’s great you know, to be able to finally share new songs with people again.
Did you find those songs acted like a gateway for new fans as well as reminding old fans that you’re still here?
Paul: Yeah exactly, that was amazing to see new faces and new people discover us.
Danny: That was a big part of the idea. We wanted to model ourselves like that because we still feel like a very present day band. I know we’ve been around for a lot of years now but we’re just as excited for the new songs and new material as we are to bring back the music that started everything for us.
We’d say it worked. The new material still sounds very current and fresh but with that same Breed 77 DNA at the core!
Danny: It is definitely still us, it’s has some of the sounds of nowadays but it’s still Breed 77. Just renewed for 2026!
Have you got plans to follow these singles with a new album in the near future?
Paul: Oh yeah definitely! We’ve got a new album ready to go. It’s called Seven, it’s our seventh album as Breed 77 so we chose Seven because it makes sense and it’s a very powerful number for us. We’re just looking to find the right home for the album to get it released here in the UK as the UK has always been very important and great supporters of us. So, it’s super important to us you know. It’s where we started, it’s where we cut our teeth so we’d love to get that out by the end of the year here. We’re really proud of the music and as Danny said. We’re a band of the here and now. We want people to be digging pur new music just as much as the music that came out way back when. We’re still proud of that too but it’s all about pushing the band forward into the here and now once again. That’s what this year is all about for us.
Cool, so the album is ready to go, is the UK just the final piece of the puzzle? Or do you still need to find a distributor anywhere else, just in case they’re reading this!
Paul: We’ve got some tentative plans in place in other territories. None of them cover the UK in the manner and fashion we think the album deserves though. For us, getting it out right in the UK is so super important so if anyone out there is listening, Bloodstocks biggest unsigned band is ready and waiting!
With so many amazing bands here this weekend, is there anyone you’re looking forward to seeing, any friends you’d like to catch up with?
Danny: It has to be Machine Head later!
Paul: Yeah they’re our bro’s. We toured with Machine Head way back when and Matt, a very good friend of ours has become their new drummer recently so we’re looking forward to seeing those guys again. Then we’re going to stick around and hang out tomorrow and just try and you know, enjoy ourselves and drink in the atmosphere.
With the whole new site and everything being on such a different scale here do you think Bloodstock’s still got the same vibe it used to have?
Paul: It’s so well put together. People really love this festival for a reason and that’s because it’s very much by the people, for the people, you know? The same vibe that was here when we started out twenty years ago is still here. Even though it’s grown, you talk to anyone, look at anyone’s face and you can tell how at home, how safe, how accepted and part of the community you are here. It’s something that is completely missing from the recent spate of bigger, more branded festivals. It’s all built on the foundations of acceptance and we’re really proud to be a part of that.
You mentioned getting the album out here in the UK is massively important to you. Is there something special about UK audiences that you find they’re just more accepting of new ideas and new music?
Paul: I do think that, especially when you get outside of London. Being diplomatic because I don’t want to annoy anyone there obviously. There’s just so many venues they’re a little more spoiled there, for new music and tours. I find there’s a warmth in the rest of the UK too that’s really evident.
That’s ok, we’ll jump in and maybe take a little heat on that for you because different cities all have a different atmosphere too. Heavy metal shows in Birmingham for instance, have a different feel sometimes to somewhere London. It almost feels like a hometown show for a lot of the bands that visit there. Because of the history it has.
Paul: We’ve always found that too. Birmingham has always been an enourmous show when we go on a UK tour. We find that the two biggest gigs will always be Birmingham and London for us. Brum took us to heart years ago and I know it’s very fashionable to say that at the moment because of all the tragic things that have happened recently. We were always very aware of that connection though. We were hugely into Sabbath, into Ozzy and Judas Priest and it’s so evident in what we play and it feels even more special to play there because it’s the home of heavy metal in the UK.
Those influences have always shone through in your music. Along with the more traditional influences you brought in from your own country, the flamenco and acoustic parts that really give you such a unique style. Was that a deliberate choice to set yourselves apart or did you find that happened naturally?
Paul: We are very much a collection of our influences you know. When we first put the band together that was one of the biggest things. We’ve never been about listening to what’s in fashion although some of that has come with living in London for so many years. To start out with we were just massive fans of Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Maná, who are a Spanish, kind of flamenco rock band. Those were our mainstays back then that bought us together.
We were very fortunate to play with Black Sabbath too, back in 1999 which completed the circle for us. We tragically miss Ozzy now. It’s such a weird feeling, it’s a weird one for sure. He was probably one of the most important figures in our foundation of metal that I think I’ve personally lost. Ronnie, Ronnie was another big one but for me Ozzy, was such a… I don’t know. A lot of people obviously feel like they know him so well through his music. I still remember speaking to him, taking his dog for a walk all those memories and it’s just such an enormous loss. He was one of the most authentic figures in music, in any genre.
That’s something we’ve seen a lot over the past few weeks. Everyone feels like they knew him or has a little piece of him as part of their lives.
Paul: Yeah he was so personable, there was no facade at all he was just Ozzy, always.
Danny: Like Lemmy, it’s a bit of a cliche but they don’t make them like that now. They don’t, these people are just legends.
Going back to your plans for the new album. Have you got a headline tour for the UK in the works, any more shows coming up?
Danny: Of course, we’re just waiting for the album to come out and as soon as it is, we’ll be back for a tour!
Paul: We are working on it. We’ve been very busy, filling up our calendar for next year. We’ve got a bunch of festivals lined up. We’re going to be playing the first Hammerdown Open Air next year. We’re also going to be playing next years Uprising Festival which I think is going to be announced in the next week or so, that’s hot off the press!
Our ethos for next year is to build everything back from the ground up. We’ve got no big expectations just because we were a bigger band ten or fifteen years ago that we’re going to step right back into those shoes. We just want to play anywhere that will have us next year and grow the Breed faithful back up. For us, we just feel so grateful to be back to be able to do what we do and keep doing this.
Amazing, well we look forward to that too because we’re grateful to have you back, doing what you do best! Before we leave you, is there anything you’d like fans to keep an eye out for coming soon down the pipeline?
Paul: Keep your eyes on our socials and we’ll be putting up news for Seven as soon as we can and as soon as we know when it’s going to be available!
Awesome, we’ll be sure to do that and we look forward to catching your set later tonight! Thanks again!
Speaking of social media. You can head over to Breed 77’s Instagram, or Facebook and give them a follow. Keep an eye out for their seventh studio album, which will hopefully be landing in the very near future! You can also head over to the bands official website, where they have plenty of merch on sale for the Breed 77 faithful!
