Frank Carter talks his Reading return: “There’s no stage better to have us on”

It’s safe to say that, over the past decade, Frank Carter has made quite a home for himself at Reading Festival. From his explosive sets with Gallows to his high octane performances with Pure Love, he’s always left his mark on the weekender. This year, as he returns with The Rattlesnakes, is going to be no different.

“Leeds was great,” Carter offers up, thinking back to their set on Friday. “We had a great time but it’s always a strange one when you come back to this festival,” he divulges. “There’s a lot of trepidation and nerves but we just went out there and did what we do, and convinced a lot of people that this band is important, so it was good. I’m excited for today, put it that way.

Not only is Carter back at the festival in general, but he’ll be performing on The Pit, a stage which completely suits the nature of the band’s new offerings. “You never ever know, obviously,” he says, on how the performance will pan out, “but for us to be playing our first real festival here, there’s no stage better to have us on than the smallest one on site. That’s where I want to be always, so I’m really looking forward to it.

His appearance on the bill also follows on from the release of his debut album ‘Blossom’, for which the reaction he’s received so far, he says, has been “massively overwhelming.”

“It’s out-performing all of our expectations,” he continues. “We thought we’d be really lucky to get a Top 40 album - and thought that’d be quite a statement - but to get twenty places above that is quite a testament to what we’re building. I feel like I’m quite composed on the outside but on the inside there are fireworks. It’s quite bizarre for me. That’s the most successful record I’ve ever had, it’s the highest chart position I’ve ever had and I feel like I’ve really done this on my own and I feel really proud.”