Brit Awards 2014: Bastille: ‘We’re Not Gonna Win Anything’

The anticipation is rising for this evening’s BRIT Awards and if anyone’s feeling the slight pang of nerves, it’s Bastille. Nominated for four awards - including British Breakthrough Act and British Group - and performing live at the ceremony, Dan Smith & co. have a big night ahead.

‘I guess it feels quite detached from what we think about ourselves,’ he laughs, when speaking to DIY about just how it feels to be nominated. ‘I know this is such a cliché, but it feels very, very nice to be nominated because, I guess, in this sense, we’re aware of where the nominations come from, and it’s quite a wide net of people across music. That’s cool.’

Granted, the pessimistic side of Smith is still never too far away: ‘I think we’re going into it pretty much knowing that we’re not gonna win anything, so we’re just gonna have a good night, and we’ve got to concentrate on playing… It’s pretty ridiculous that we’ve been asked us to do that.

‘We did our soundcheck thing yesterday and I have obviously only been there as an audience member so er…’ he trails off. ‘It was so weird! So weird being up on stage there and it’s quite a big room! I guess, I’m pretty nervous but I’m always nervous so that’s pretty normal. I think it’ll be weird playing to tables of industry people and obviously, loads of other bands. I dunno why I’m saying this: I’m talking myself into being more nervous about it!’

Regardless of whether the band do pick up any gongs, tonight will at least be an occasion to celebrate their last eighteen months; their intentions, however, are more grounded than you’d maybe expect. ‘I don’t think it’s healthy to stop and pat yourself on the back; we’re not looking to do that. We just wanna have a good night. We’re really normal and boring, so a night like the BRITs is a completely different world. We’re just trying to bring as many friends as possible, and afterwards, we’re gonna throw our own party in a pub, invite all our friends and stuff, which should be fun. We never get to be in London, so now that we’re here, it’s nice to see everyone that we know.’

The BRIT Awards 2014 takes place on 19th February. It’s being aired live on ITV from 8pm GMT.