Pegasus Bridge is ripping through UK music charts- and it’s no secret why.  Their pop-rock infused with a little electro elements are keeping crowds on their toes- and most definitely unable to hold still during their onstage serenades.

As with most great music I found out about PB by accident when a friend of mine had gone to check out another band- and was totally blown away by Pegasus Bridge!  So as it’s totally normal for you to find me scouring myspace music for the latest and greatest in the music scene (what- don’t even act like that’s not totally normal) I finally made it through my musical to-do list and landed on Pegasus Bridge’s page.  Total lust at first listen and I am not ashamed to say I had “Ribena” on repeat for a couple days straight.  (Note to our American readers, Ribena is a juice drink- “don’t you forget that I’m still the same boy- but now I drink coffee, not just Ribena, and I like it.”)

Battling a hectic tour schedule and an eight hour time difference I was lucky enough to catch up with Edward Turner of PB to get the 411 on their CD that just dropped last week!

Lauren Novik:  So you’re CD “While We’re Young” just dropped last week! What were the main musical inspirations behind the tracks?

Edward Turner:  For me, its always been about the melody. If you have a strong melody then you have the basis of a strong song. As a band, our musical influences are very diverse, but i think something that we all agreed on was the importance of melody within a song. I (Ed) look particularly towards artists like Damien Rice for his incredible melodies, but I know Cal (keys) loves bands like NIN, tom loves bands like Friendly Fires and Alex is into artists like Ellie Goulding and Passion Pit and late of the pier at the moment.

LN:  The music video for “Ribena” is by far one of my fave adaptations of the Breakfast Club- what made you bring back the 1980s?

ET:  Haha, well I don’t know whether we’re bringing the 80s back, so much as we just loved the film. We had shot a few ideas for the video with the very talented Rosie Hardy, and to keep the ‘still-the-same-boy’ theme, we managed to shoot the main performance shots in our old school gym, which we were mega happy about. We were litey stepping back into our youth. Then we needed something which linked the footage we had with the youthful feel of the song, and Dave (our director) came up with the idea of utilizing scenes from the breakfast club (one of his favourite films). At first the idea of cross-dressing tom seemed a little strange, but we ran with it, and we loved the result.

LN:  I’m sure you’ll be playing several shows to promo the new CD- can we expect some UK tours- and any plans to hop across the pond for some shows?  Any plans to make an appearance at SXSW in the states?!

ET:  You can indeed expect some UK tours – We already have a lot of shows in the calendar around the UK, and there will be more to come! Keep checking on our facebook and myspace. We’d love to come over and play in the States. Label buddies The Morning Of have said they’d love to have us over on a tour with them, and it would be a dream to play SXSW. We’ll see.

LN:  How’d you come up with “Pegasus Bridge”- give me the 411!

ET:  I’d normally let Cal take this one, but here we go. Callum and Alex both studied history at school, and Cal took a shining to a book about Pegasus Bridge, and its historical significance in the war. From that, we ended up calling the band that. We considered name changes when we started taking things more seriously, but nothing felt right.

LN:  A lot of UK bands I’ve chatted with recently have tried to make the move from the UK to L.A.- what’s the main difference between the two music scenes?

ET:  To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I love the whole west coast sound of bands like Phantom Planet (probably my favourite band) and Rooney, but the only visible difference I can think of is the weather. Maybe UK bands move to L.A because they’re sick of our terrible weather, and they want to find a new, ‘sunnier’ sound! It makes sense…

LN:  First CD you ever bought sans the aid of parental piggy banks?

ET:  I’d like to say Oasis ‘what’s the story…’ or Michael Jackson’s ‘Off the Wall’ but they were aides by parents. However, I’m unashamed to say it was Papa Roach’s ‘Last Resort’ single. What a song. It had a live b-side of the beautiful (and delicate) ‘Dead Cell’. I haven’t looked back.

LN:  Any pre-show rituals or vices?

ET:  I always do this weird humming to warm up my chords, I’ll do it while I’m in the crowd watching the band before, so no one hears. I don’t know about the other guys. Sometimes we huddle, sometimes we just get out there.

LN:  You’re stranded on a deserted island and can only bring 3 CD’s- which three?  Pick your poison…

ET:  1. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (for the mellow moments)

2. Limp Bizkit – ‘Chocolate Starfish…’ (to keep my mind stimulated and to vent any anger at the person who marooned me there) and

3. Something like the Buena Vista social club, to remind me that I’m actually on a desert island, and I should treat it like a holiday.

LN:  Well- it would definitely be a change from the English rain!

LN:  I’ve got to ask- Rolling Stones or The Beatles?

ET:  Beatles. All the way.

LN:  What’s up next for Pegasus Bridge in twenty-eleven?

ET:  Lots. A few big tours, another single (or two) released early in the new year, then more tours, and from then on, who knows!

LN:  Favorite guilty pleasure song to rock out to?

ET:  I don’t really ‘rock out’ so much anymore when I’m listening to music, except when I’m playing. I’m horribly aware of how old I sound. However, we did a DJ set in our favourite club in Birmingham (called Snobs), and I have to say Alien Ant Farm – Movies is an unbelievable song to rock out to.

LN:  Currently on your ipod heavy rotation list?

ET:  M83 – Saturdays = Youth.

LN:  How’d you all meet up?

ET:  Alex, Cal and I went to school together, and we met Tom when we played a gig with his old band, Keiko. A few years later, he was playing in our band.

LN:  Closing remarks?

ET:  Thanks for so many interesting questions. Sorry if I wrote an essay, I just got really into this one!

We may not have concrete dates for when PB will make it across the pond to play in the states- but I for one will be cyberstalking their websites (www.myspace.com/pegasusbridge) waiting to find out!  In the meantime you can fuel your new found Pegasus Bridge addiction by picking up their CD While We’re Young- so totally worth the investment.