We spoke to Young Knives drummer Oliver Askew in the run up to Rage Out in Winter about working in HMV, being chatted up by a Pop World girl and why he wants to be stuck in a lift with a dead comedian.

Did you really come up with your name by flicking through a book?

Yes we did. It was the bassist Tom who found it. He was flicking through a Scottish history book and he misread “young knaves” as “young knives.” He said, ‘That looks cool,’ and we said, ‘yeah’.

We were actually called Pony Club and we had to change our name because there was another singer/songwriter who was doing rather well who was also called Pony Club.

Did The New Young Pony Club steal their name from you then?

That’s a very good point! We had the opportunity to ask them at the Mercury’s and we didn’t. I can’t believe we didn’t ask them! I think we had other things to think about that night really. But it just seems like a little bit of a coincidence doesn’t it! Let’s just say they did.

What’s been the best gig you’ve ever played?

The most memorable gig recently has been Glastonbury – that was amazing because it’s always been something we’ve dreamt about doing. And the big gigs, like playing the Astoria for the first time – the atmosphere was amazing that night. We supported Gang of Four once at the Barbican. We’re big Gang of Four fans and that was such a privilege, it was one of our first bigger gig experiences. Those are the gigs that stick in our brains.

You’ve played with some great bands, which has been your favourite?

Probably Gang of Four. But we supported Hot Hot Heat about four years ago and that was a pretty memorable evening as well. We’ve played with some strange bands actually – like we supported Dirty Pretty Things on one of their tours and we did get some fans out of that, but I think it was a strange pairing. Everyone was obviously there to see the headlining band so there were a few nights when it turned a bit nasty, the atmosphere wasn’t very good.

Have you ever been star struck?

Yeah quite a few times! Me and Tom used to work in HMV in Oxford and Thom Yorke would come in occasionally and that was always a bit difficult, even though he looks fairly unremarkable and he wears shades and stuff so you don’t really recognise him – and then he comes up to the counter and asks you a question and you turn into some sort of prepubescent boy who can’t speak! Also we once played with Supergrass, so meeting them for the first time – even though they’re Oxford boys as well left me star struck. I’m usually okay and we have met stacks of famous people I promise, but I think it’s when it catches you off guard you start squealing.

What are your favourite bands?

At the moment there’s a band called Foals, they’re also from Oxford, our friends, and they’re doing very well. There are a lot of bands doing Raptur-esque music, but they’ve gone that bit further and made it a little bit disco, very dancey in fact. They’re definitely a band to look out for when the album comes out next year. And then obviously there are so many bands from the 70s that we’re constantly listening to still. Killing Joe I quite like and then more recently the Pixies and all the recent Frank Black albums. I think the Dartnell brothers will probably say bands like Fairport Convention, because they like the more folky sensibilities. But we don’t sound like any of those bands so I don’t know what we’ve been doing!

Any bands around at the moment that you don’t like?

We try not to slag anyone off. There are bands that I don’t understand why they’ve done so well, and I guess it’s more to do with the way they’ve been marketed. There’s bands that the first thing you see of them is a billboard and you’re not introduced to them slowly. The way that The Enemy have done quite well surprised us a little bit and now they’re about to do an arena tour – I didn’t realise that they’ve got that big and have that sort of following.

What's your pre-gig drink of choice?

We’ll have a few beers and perhaps a warming winter drink like rum before we go on.

Have you ever been chatted up by a celebrity?

No! Well, at a festival last year I got talking to this girl from Pop World. I’ve watched it a couple of times when I have nothing to do on a Saturday. She took a picture of me with my glasses. I thought, hang on that’s not on! It was a bit surprising. Obviously she was after my glasses and that was it!

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

Bowie. I don’t think I’d ever speak to him but if I was trapped in a lift with him that would be pretty impressive. There’s a lot of dead comedians I’d like to speak to, people like Bill Hicks or Peter Cook.

Is it true drummers are the crazy ones in bands?

No. Drummers get bad press. You know that 82 Ask thing on your phone? I was interested if there was ever a drummer who’d died on stage because that interests me, that kind of self destructive element some drummers have. But apparently there’s no one that’s done it yet. [sounds incredibly surprised]. No one’s died or killed themselves on stage! That set me thinking. [laughs raucously].

Tom [Dartnall, vocals and bassist] is probably the most rock and roll person in the band. He certainly gets the most drunk before and after gigs, to the point where some gigs that we play are the most shambolic affairs. But as a band we’re not very rock and roll. We get drunk but the whole illegal side of things we try not to do too much of.

Who do you think should have won the Mercury Prize?

We like MAPS. I thought he was a very nice fella; I was speaking to him at the Mercury’s. I quite like the music and I thought it would mean more to him in terms of exposure and what he got out of the money to win – as opposed to Klaxons, who have already got a foothold really. I thought the Klaxons were going to win and I was glad that they did win over the View, because I’m not the biggest View fan. Not that they’re a bad band but I thought there should have been a different band in there. I was very surprised we got nominated! I’d have been flabbergasted if we’d won! They did that thing when they were about to announce the winners and there’s a cameraman on each of the nominees’ tables. So you think, oh no there’s a camera on our table! And then you realise there’s a camera on all the nominees’ tables. The Klaxons were on the next table to us so it was good to go and congratulate them.

What’s your advice to people trying to break onto the scene?

I think there are a lot of bands out there now, it feels like there have been more in the last couple of years than ever before. Looking at MySpace, every person who’s asking to be your friend is in a band. And I do think the bar’s been raised a bit but I think you don’t necessarily only get one chance – as long as you’re determined, there are various points at which you can prove yourself, it’s not necessarily down to one gig or one deal. We’ve had a few lucky breaks. We did our first release and then the label folded and we thought; that’s the end of that. But then we persevered and I think that’s the thing. Even when we were between labels we had a self belief, and we didn’t stop doing gigs. Carry on doing the gigs in the smaller venues, enjoy it and things are bound to get better. That’s my philosophy.

What band would you join if you could?

You don’t want to take a drumming job away from one of your idols. There are bands we’ve been on tour with that we have a great laugh with, like Peter and the Pirates – so if they’re after a second drummer I’d join them.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

We might have moved into different directions, like Henry might have moved into production, we might have started a label, it’s difficult to say. At the moment we’re really happy with what we’ve done with our new album that’s out in March, so we can’t wait to get on the road and start promoting it and get the next single out in February. And then it’s going to be back in the studio and more writing. So as long as we’re writing and doing something creative I don’t really mind. Hopefully we’ll still be a unit and still releasing albums. The music that we’ve just done for this album is a development from the last one so we might even be writing folk albums, who knows!

Why did you decide to play at Rage Out In Winter?

We’ve just finished a month-long tour for the last single Terra Firma, so we decided to just do a few cherry-picked shows in December. It’s great because it's close by in London and the venue is really good. We hope to make an event of it and do something a bit special, perhaps play some of our new music from the album. I just can’t wait to get out there!

Catch the Young Knives at Rage Out In Winter at Canvas in Kings Cross London, on the 13th of December. To win yourself a pair of tickets, Click Here.