Supergrass are back with an energetic bang, and their new album Diamond Hoo Ha is already making waves with its good time raucous rock ‘n roll tunes. We spoke exclusively to bassist Mick about his return after breaking his back in France last year, playing to 500 armed soldiers in Beijing and being stuck in a lift with the Cheeky Girls.

How’s your back? Has it been difficult recovering in the middle of releasing a new album?

My back's pretty good with all the screws and plates in it but I wouldn't want to walk through a magnet factory. It's been fairly easy for the last few months as we'd finished all the recording and all the proper touring isn't until March, it'll be great to play some big gigs again though.

How would you describe your new sound?

I don't know where I'd begin. Danny said it best..."really mental"

What’s been the best ever gig you have played to date?

The Beijing Pop Festival a couple of years ago was my favourite in recent memory; we walked along the Great Wall while we were there and had 500 armed soldiers in the audience.

Which bands have you most enjoyed playing with?

Arctic Monkeys at Lancashire Cricket Ground last summer was great. Had some great tours with the Foo Fighters over the years too.

What annoys you about your bandmates?

Their snoring, their constant bickering and the way Gaz is always scratching his nuts.

Why do you think you guys have managed to stay together and be successful for so long?

Because we don't take each other seriously or anything else apart from when it comes to our music and then if anyone so much as cracks a smile we're forced to kill them.

Why was Rob only officially credited as a band member later on?

He started off just playing keyboards with us live but after a few albums he started to write parts of the songs. After a while it got a bit embarrassing so we said to him, if you can do as many of the interviews as the rest of us, you're in.

What did you do before Supergrass?

Like everybody else in the world, I suffered and lacked any real direction in life.

What was your best gig or band that you have seen as a gig-goer?

Supergrass at Oxford Town Hall in December 2007. Brian Wilson, doing Pet Sounds in 2004. The Pixies at Reading Festival in 1989 or Elvis Costello and the Attractions in Oxford, 1985.

If you could be in any other band, which would it be?

The Beatles or Take That

Who are your icons and why?

Ghandi, Buddha, Jesus, Leonard Cohen, don’t know really.

When was the last time you threw up?

After one of my operations last year. It was bright green and they let me keep it in a jam jar.

What's your pre-gig drink of choice?

A nice glass of Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac 1996, or cider, Pernod and black.

Do you do the whole groupie love thing?

Every night with my wife, but it does get exhausting with the bad back.

Which other celebrity would you like to be trapped in a lift with?

Someone calming, intelligent and practical who could tell entertaining stories and find a way of getting us out. Or The Cheeky Girls.

What’s your favourite one hit wonder track?

Turning Japanese by the Vapors

Any bands you tip as the Next Big Thing in 2008?

Don’t know about the next Big Thing but there’s been some great albums in the last couple of years. Arcade Fire, Flaming Lips, Midlake, Bob Dylan, Amy Winehouse, Panda Bear, The Coral…

Do you ever feel threatened by the number of new bands currently on the indie scene?

Yeah, it’s scary, they’re always banging on the door of your dressing room and running away.

Supergrass release their new album, ‘Diamond Hoo Ha,’ out March 24th on Parlophone Records. The album was recorded at the legendary Hansa studios and produced by Nick Launay. (Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave).

Visit www.supergrass.com / www.myspace.com/supergrass

Pic: Mask photoshoot, 1st January 2008, Copyright Scarlett Page.