SPILL FEATURE: IN THE MEANTIME – A CONVERSATION WITH JONNY CRAGG OF SPACEHOG

IN THE MEANTIME

A CONVERSATION WITH JONNY CRAGG OF SPACEHOG

If you were to compile a list of the most underrated bands from the ‘90s, Spacehog would be on that list. The two records they released in the ‘90s absolutely rock. You probably have heard their delightfully irresistible intergalactic glam power pop tune “In The Meantime” more than once in your life. Their debut album, Resident Alien, featuring their signature hit, is a very underappreciated record. Meanwhile, The Chinese Album is a remarkable sophomore album in which the band delivers some cool art rock tunes. This year, Spacehog is embarking on a co-headline tour with EMF, another amazing ’90s band.

“I’m not exactly sure of the mechanics, but they were looking to play in America, and we were looking to start up again, and we like them,” says Spacehog drummer Jonny Cragg about the upcoming co-headline tour. “Obviously, they represent a slightly different sound and slightly different era within the ‘90s epoch… My understanding is we’re going on last but that does not mean we are bigger or better, or we’ll play for longer. It’s a co-headline. I encourage everyone to be there for EMF who will go on there before us.”

Cragg can’t wait to play these shows. “It’s very exciting, and it’s almost existential in so much of, you know, we don’t honestly know how many more opportunities we’re gonna get to play our music,” he says. “So, we’re just super excited to play four records, not all four records, all of them, all at once, but songs from those records and just celebrate the heritage, if you like.”

Cragg thinks Spacehog’s set will be heavy on their debut album. “I guess after Resident Alien, it’s really about what sounds best in the context of an hour and a half’s worth of music,” he comments. “I think it’s sort of up to us and where we’re at, how ambitious we’re feeling, and whether or not we take a keyboard. I always enjoy the keyboard section because it’s a little bit more chill and gives the songs a bit of room to breathe. It gives Anthony [Langdon] an opportunity to play bass.”

Compared to other rock bands of the ‘90s, Spacehog stands out as they did not really fit into any of the scenes happening at the time. “I think for us, it was important that we do something very different from that, and we were deliberately trying to make sounds and write songs that were more timeless, if you like, and sort of less caught up with the aesthetics of the time, and I think we did that,” comments Cragg. “I would say that in spite of all of our conscious efforts, unconsciously, a lot of that sound and that era of the early mid-90s crept in there, too. In retrospect, it’s sort of a mish-mash of different genres and different sounds and styles. Roy [Langdon] and Anthony were the big Bowie fans, and Richard [Steel] and I were familiar with Bowie and liked Bowie, but we really kind of learned more about Bowie once we were in Spacehog, and people started saying we sound like Bowie. So, then it was like, ‘Oh, so we sound like Bowie. Let’s go listen to Bowie.’ Then we were like, ‘Oh yeah, we do sound a bit like Bowie.’”

2025 marks the 30th anniversary of Spacehog’s Resident Alien. “Very grateful for that record and the gifts that it brought,” says Cragg. “Obviously, “In The Meantime” was the focal point of that album. We were very young, and we made a record that sort of befits that age, that feeling, and that era, and I’m really proud of it. Every time I listen to it, I have great memories of making the record and touring the record, and I think it still stands up.”

Reflecting on some of his favourite moments from the time of Resident Alien, Cragg says, “I had a wonderful time making the record in Woodstock, New York. Just such a magical time and a magical place Bearsville Studios is. It’s closed now. But the grounds, the facility, and the staff were all really amazing. We had this incredible sort of bulletproof mentality at the time. We didn’t have a care in the world really. We felt very passionately about our music. The touring that was around that was super fun. We got to open for a lot of great bands. We got to headline shows on our own in a way that I never really experienced before. It was, for the most part, a really wonderful experience.”

Recently, “In The Meantime” regained popularity as it was featured in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. “You can tour relentlessly, and you can sign to a record label, and they can push your record to all the radio stations, but ultimately if you can get a song on a movie like that with such enormous distribution and reach it, it exponentially ups the ante and creates an enlarged profile that no one could have really predicted,” says Cragg. “I was literally at home one day, and my phone just started ringing, and people started sending me the trailer, like YouTube links, and we knew nothing about it until it was actually put in the movie. I was just really, really excited. Obviously, they kind of did a version of the song for the trailer and the original master appears in the movie. It’s just great to see a song of ours in a movie like that with such a high profile, see the numbers go up, and have it create opportunities like this one to go play the music live again.”

Another standout track from Resident Alien is “Cruel To Be Kind”, an underrated ‘90s gem just as good as “In The Meantime”. However, it never took off quite the way “In The Meantime” did. “I think, to paraphrase, we were unanimous in the decision to release “In The Meantime” as the first single, and that sure-footed approach paid dividends when the radio stations picked up on it, and MTV added the video,” exclaims Cragg. “I think when it came to the second single, there was a lot more confusion and dissenting voices about what was going to be the second single. We made a video for “Candyman”, and it wasn’t a great video, and we switched singles, and I think it created a lot of confusion and ultimately “Cruel To Be Kind” didn’t really get the push that it deserved.”

Spacehog’s follow-up to Resident Alien was The Chinese Album. At one point, the record was supposed to be a soundtrack to a movie that ultimately did not get made. “It was a bit of a romp, kind of like A Hard Day’s Night sort of thing,” states Cragg. “We all started writing screenplays, and it never quite materialized – I know our manager wrote a screenplay that we ultimately rejected, and then I tried writing one, and that one didn’t really get any traction either.” The Chinese Album was also a lot more experimental than Resident Alien and, in some ways, a concept album. Cragg continues, “It started with some of the leftovers from Resident Alien, but it ended up sounding very conceptual. We just didn’t necessarily have a concept. It sounded like a concept album. It sounded almost like a Todd Rundgren record or Pink Floyd record.” Unfortunately, The Chinese Album ended up not being as successful as Resident Alien. “I think it was a reflection of the industry at large not quite knowing what to do with the record. There wasn’t any really clear-cut singles, and I think our manager was just trying to promote it in a way that was a little unconventional in the absence of a hit single. But it’s my favourite Spacehog record.”

One of the most interesting tracks of Spacehog’s career is “The Hogyssey” from the album of the same name. The song is a reworked version of Richard Strauss’ Thus Spake Zarathustra. The inspiration for their song came from Being There, a film which has a version of Strauss’ piece. “I think it’s one of Roy’s favourite movies,” says Cragg. “We really liked the movie. We watched it time and time again on the bus. There’s a scene where Peter Sellers is walking down to the Senate building, and we just thought it was a brilliant scene, and we were also aware that the same music shows up in 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is another favourite movie of ours which really resonated. So, we thought it would be great to do something with that music, make it our own, and have it sort of as a thematic centrepiece for what became “The Hogyssey”.

If you are looking for a great nostalgic night out, then be sure to catch EMF and Spacehog when they hit the road on their co-headline tour.

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Background Photo Credit: Eli Hershko