News Upbringing: Dan Croll

Dan wrote one of the year’s finest singles with ‘From Nowhere’. In this interview he reveals himself as a Chatroulette addict and an early fan of The Thrills.

Words: Jamie Milton
17th October 2012

Ever the presumptuous type, for some reason Neu deemed Dan Croll to be a bit of a softie. It’s not clear why: There’s no real connection to Dan’s breakthrough hit ‘From Nowhere’ and his proneness to shed a tear or two. That song (stream below) is some of the most celebratory, hands-in-the-air moments of 2012 pop: Its writer is bound to wear a smile 24/7. In this interview about Dan’s cultural inspirations however, we were surprised to learn that he’s a System of a Down fan, that he spends far too much time on the internet, that he ought to curb his addiction to Chatroulette and that he’s a big fan of cheesy films, for those are the one of only things that’ll get our hard-as-nails interviewee bawling.

First film that made you cry.
There hasn’t really been a film thats made me really cry, I might have got a bit teary to ‘Marley & Me’. The last time I bawled my eyes out watching something was whilst watching Louis Theroux’s extreme love, dementia documentary.

Most memorable gig from your teenage years
I remember my sister taking me to see The Thrills, that was a pretty amazing gig, might also of been my first gig.

First piece of music which you felt compelled to play for hours on end
As a kid I always collected the free kerrang CD’s, I played those non-stop. In particular: The Hellacopters - ‘By The Grace Of God’; Simple Plan - ‘I’d Do Anything’; Motion City Soundtrack - ‘Everything Is Alright’; System Of A Down - ‘Toxicity’ [choice! stream below]; Feeder - ‘Seven Days In The Sun’ and AFI - ‘Girls Not Grey’.

Worst musical habit, writing or recording
Starting a song and not finishing it, I have hundreds of songs in half finished states.

Most underrated band still around today
Fellow scousers Wave Machines.

Worst gig you ever played
Hop Farm Festival.

Greatest site on the internet
Chatroulette / eBay / animalsbeingdicks.com.

Best Youtube find
Any fail compilation / Vader plays the blues.

Greatest piece of advice you’ve ever been given
Paul McCartney told me to ‘Keep it groovy’.

And one final quote…?
Dumb and Dumber…
Airport Clerk: Sir, you can’t go in there!
Lloyd: It’s ok, I’m a limo driver!