INTERVIEW - BUSH: "To be as wildly personal and wildly deep-diving led me to a place that is more universal than I intended or anticipated and that just made it feel even more authentic because the simple idea of, we are all the same on the inside"
British rock band Bush formed in 1992 and released their debut album 'Sixteen Stone' in 1994. Now, in 2025, they have just recently released their tenth album, 'I Beat Loneliness', via earMusic. We spoke to the frontman of the band, Gavin Rossdale, to find out all about the new electrifying release, which is one of their most personal and honest records to date.
The day I spoke to Gavin was Wednesday Evening UK time on the 30th July, the day of Ozzy Osbourne's funeral procession in Birmingham and Gavin briefly touched on the power of Ozzy in the beginning of our conversation as we exchanged pleasantries, commenting "There is a lot about Ozzy in the air and debt that we owe him."
I also caught Gavin on a day off from the Shinedown American tour, in which Bush is supporting. Gavin was excited and eager to share his tour experience. "It has been really amazing to play this new record live and integrate it with the other songs. It's a bit more experimental, which makes me so happy. I think greatest hits is great to do that, and it's really fun to look back at all those songs, but it's nice to just weave in some intrigue and stuff into the set."
He continues and jokes, "I introduce the songs when I'm playing these big arenas and I don't even know if half the people know me because I'm playing with Shinedown, so I have to accept that they don't and air on the side of English and be like 'fuck it, no one knows me', so therefore I'm thinking am I playing songs that they don't know, and brand new songs that they really don't know. In an arena, hits are your best friend when you are playing those big places because people carry the song with you if they don't know it, so it feels really brave and experimental, and it seems like we are having great shows at the moment, and it feels like a good thing."
'I Beat Loneliness' was written last year, Gavin reveals. As it is one of their most personal records so far, given the subjects and album title, I asked what led to such a personal offering and whether it was intentional.
Gavin states: "What happened was I thought about writing another record, and I thought ten records is quite a big number, so I just tried to think about what would be the best contribution. To be the best of yourself, is to be the best of yourself and have no other shackles, just your own direction and that went in tandem with talking to people and reflecting on the power of the songs for those songs, and the power of music really, the overall power of music. I'm no good at story songs or situational songs. I just do what I'm thinking about and what is important to me, and I tried to be as honest as I could, so again it would be the biggest contribution I could make, otherwise why make a record if you can't give everything of yourself".
He adds: "Usually like five or so songs in whenever I'm making an album, after about five songs of talking about myself, I start to think 'Fuck, this is getting a bit silly', so I literally look at outside sources of inspiration to write about to get away from my navel-gazing. Then on this one I thought, well actually I have spoken to so many people and it's not always the same songs, but the link is always a connection that a song, did something for them at a certain point in their life or gets them through bad times and people have a connection to the songs and I just put that into focus and perspective for myself when I was writing it, so I just did a deep dive and thought wow this confessional stuff, it might be there to help people because so many people are struggling and people struggle in silence and obviously, if you know the band I have always spoken about these sort of mental health and the personal side of dire situations, you know like 'Bomb' on the first record ('Sixteen Stone' 1994), about going to the shopping centre and then someone in the shopping centre gets blown up, so it's always like a personal thing so it's more of the same, but it's weird because I did 'The Art Of Survival' (2022) which is more like generalised for everyone to relate to all the things we have to do every day to survive and then this ('I Beat Loneliness') is what we have to do every day to survive emotionally, if we are even surviving emotionally."
He pauses briefly before continuing to add: "I can't believe how many people commit suicide. I'm a really happy, upbeat person, but I have empathy for people who are broken, because I think that is most people, as they have to deal with so much stuff. It's incredible the things that people go through, and I think that society doesn't promote that, it isn't very appealing to people, it's more like aspirational, like make money, and so I thought making a record that was really personal was my best contribution."
Reflecting on their past releases and how the new record represents the band, the frontman offers. "We have made a lot of music, so it's got to be good, but I'm really happy as it feels like it's really incisive and raw, and to play it's really exceptional in the way it all fits in."
As our conversation neared an end, the talk turned back to the current US tour they are on and the upcoming tour in the UK/Europe with Volbeat that kicks off in September 2025, as well as future plans for the band.
'I Beat Loneliness' is out now. Listen to the album HERE.
*BUSH TOUR WITH SHINEDOWN
7/19 – Boston, MA – TD Garden *
7/20 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden *
7/22 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena *
7/23 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center *
7/25 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena *
7/26 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum *
7/28 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center *
7/29 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center *
8/2 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center *
8/3 – Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum
8/5 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center *
8/7 – Portland, OR – Moda Center *
8/8 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena *
8/11 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverik Center *
8/12 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena *
8/15 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center *
8/16 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena *
8/18 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse *
8/19 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena *
8/21 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center *
8/23 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena *
8/24 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena *
8/27 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center *
8/28 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena *
8/30 – Memphis, TN – FedExForum*
9/5– Omaha, US (Shadow Ridge Music Festival)
BUSH TOUR WITH VOLBEAT
9/18 – Herning, DK – Jyske Bank Boxen
9/19 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
9/23 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
9/24 – Antwerp, BE – Antwerps Sportpaleis
9/26 – Stuttgart, DE – Hans-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
9/27 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena
9/28 – Oberhausen, DE – Rudolf-Weber Arena
9/30 – Vienna, AT – Stadthalle
10/1 – Vienna, AT – Stadthalle
10/3 – Prague, CZ – O2 Universum
10/4 – Berlin, DE – Uber Arena
10/6 – Munich, DE – Olympiahalle
10/7 – Munich, DE – Olympiahalle
10/8 – Frankfurt, DE – Festhalle
10/10 – Leipzig, DE – Quarterback Immobilien Arena
10/11 – Hamburg, DE – Barclays Arena
10/13 – Warsaw, PL – Torwar
10/15 – Tampere, FI – Nokia Arena
10/17 – Stockholm, SE – Tele2 Arena
10/18 – Oslo, NO – Unity Arena
10/19 – Gothenburg, SE – Scandinavium
10/21 – Hannover, DE – ZAG Arena
10/22 – Rotterdam, NL – Ahoy
10/23 – Esch-sur-Alzette, LU – Rockhal
10/25 – Zurich, CH – Hallenstadion
10/28 – Bilbao, ES – BEC
10/30 – Barcelona, ES – Sant Jordi Club
10/31 – Madrid, ES – Vistalegre Arena
11/2 – Paris, FR – Zenith
11/5 – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
11/6 – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
11/8 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
11/10 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
11/12 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
11/13 – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley
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He continues and jokes, "I introduce the songs when I'm playing these big arenas and I don't even know if half the people know me because I'm playing with Shinedown, so I have to accept that they don't and air on the side of English and be like 'fuck it, no one knows me', so therefore I'm thinking am I playing songs that they don't know, and brand new songs that they really don't know. In an arena, hits are your best friend when you are playing those big places because people carry the song with you if they don't know it, so it feels really brave and experimental, and it seems like we are having great shows at the moment, and it feels like a good thing."
'I Beat Loneliness' was written last year, Gavin reveals. As it is one of their most personal records so far, given the subjects and album title, I asked what led to such a personal offering and whether it was intentional.
Gavin states: "What happened was I thought about writing another record, and I thought ten records is quite a big number, so I just tried to think about what would be the best contribution. To be the best of yourself, is to be the best of yourself and have no other shackles, just your own direction and that went in tandem with talking to people and reflecting on the power of the songs for those songs, and the power of music really, the overall power of music. I'm no good at story songs or situational songs. I just do what I'm thinking about and what is important to me, and I tried to be as honest as I could, so again it would be the biggest contribution I could make, otherwise why make a record if you can't give everything of yourself".
He adds: "Usually like five or so songs in whenever I'm making an album, after about five songs of talking about myself, I start to think 'Fuck, this is getting a bit silly', so I literally look at outside sources of inspiration to write about to get away from my navel-gazing. Then on this one I thought, well actually I have spoken to so many people and it's not always the same songs, but the link is always a connection that a song, did something for them at a certain point in their life or gets them through bad times and people have a connection to the songs and I just put that into focus and perspective for myself when I was writing it, so I just did a deep dive and thought wow this confessional stuff, it might be there to help people because so many people are struggling and people struggle in silence and obviously, if you know the band I have always spoken about these sort of mental health and the personal side of dire situations, you know like 'Bomb' on the first record ('Sixteen Stone' 1994), about going to the shopping centre and then someone in the shopping centre gets blown up, so it's always like a personal thing so it's more of the same, but it's weird because I did 'The Art Of Survival' (2022) which is more like generalised for everyone to relate to all the things we have to do every day to survive and then this ('I Beat Loneliness') is what we have to do every day to survive emotionally, if we are even surviving emotionally."
He pauses briefly before continuing to add: "I can't believe how many people commit suicide. I'm a really happy, upbeat person, but I have empathy for people who are broken, because I think that is most people, as they have to deal with so much stuff. It's incredible the things that people go through, and I think that society doesn't promote that, it isn't very appealing to people, it's more like aspirational, like make money, and so I thought making a record that was really personal was my best contribution."
Reflecting on their past releases and how the new record represents the band, the frontman offers. "We have made a lot of music, so it's got to be good, but I'm really happy as it feels like it's really incisive and raw, and to play it's really exceptional in the way it all fits in."
He dives deeper, sharing: "We have been around so long, I think there are certain moments when making records that I feel like, possibly when I'm trying to be as honest and interesting as possible for people to read, that it did strike me a bit that when we came back with (the album) 'Sea Of Memories' (2011), it has some really great tracks on it that I really like, but there was a sense of treading water in a couple of songs that I think about and so what it made me reflect on and pushed me forward, so that's why I do experiment now with different tunings and different approaches, so I maintain a time in my music where some of it is partially confusing still", he laughs.
The singer continues: "So like twenty five percent is a bit confusing, like how to I get it and how do I put the songs together in my sort of feral way and that's what I think is important and that is the most interesting thing about the record to me, is that I know that it is reaching, it's like every song is an experiment which has always been like that with me, especially going from big records to an more electronic record so just shifting on that landscape between.. I think 'Loneliness Is A Killer', that song on 'Man On The Run' (album 2014), like I could be playing that now. I didn't realise until a few years ago that all the songs I played at festivals were D tuned, so I only wrote in D tuned a few years ago except on 'Everyone Is Broken' (On 'I Beat Loneliness) because I wanted to write something that could touch people, so I spent a couple of days playing through loads of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, just cool things that prove to you that when you write song, simply is good. Those are some of the best songs. You only need a simple chord structure."
The new album seems to be widely well-received amongst fans like myself, especially as it's sincere and relatable, something the band have always been good at and has their signature sound that they expect, but also acts as an excellent gateway album for new fans. Gavin agrees: "It was weird because to be as wildly personal and wildly deep-diving led me to a place that is more universal than I intended or anticipated and that just made it feel even more authentic because the simple idea of, we are all the same on the inside and people are generally good and yet there is so much trouble and so much madness in the world. I just like having those songs that give people this concept of being seen, like when you are struggling you feel cut off by society, not that this is for the cut from society destitute people only. Still, it is like a celebration of every day as opposed to an aspirational self-help bling, like my life on a yacht, so I think it's interesting that ('I Beat Loneliness') starts with 'Scars' which is this universal concept of that everyone is pretty scared inside and out. Then it ends with 'Rebel With A Cause' and that is just like the ability to get through the everyday and make the best of it and find the light amongst all the annoying and terrible things so it's good to find that balance. So yeah, I think it is a good gateway record."
The day I spoke to Gavin was also the day they released the new single and video for the standout focus track 'Scars', which is another powerful and honest song. The singer dives further into the making of the track: "I was really inspired by certain things that people getting really worried about which is short attention spans of the world and I thought it was a really interesting concept and I think one thing that has come out of all of this short attention span is, the love of melody, that you just need a period of time of floating music and just a great melody, so when I was thinking of that and why I did that verse like that, like if you were talking to someone and you wanted to get to know them quickly, as when you meet someone it takes a minute to get to know them especially if they are shy, but I always think like what is the phrase or what would unlock that person for you so you could get past all the social norms of feeling a bit insecure about the situation and just get right into talking and connecting and so I think that opening was an intention to create a little melodic world before it even got to the 'Scars' bit, that was just talking to someone…I may not talk to someone exactly like that if I'm in a coffee shop, but something along those lines, you know", he grins.
The singer continues: "So like twenty five percent is a bit confusing, like how to I get it and how do I put the songs together in my sort of feral way and that's what I think is important and that is the most interesting thing about the record to me, is that I know that it is reaching, it's like every song is an experiment which has always been like that with me, especially going from big records to an more electronic record so just shifting on that landscape between.. I think 'Loneliness Is A Killer', that song on 'Man On The Run' (album 2014), like I could be playing that now. I didn't realise until a few years ago that all the songs I played at festivals were D tuned, so I only wrote in D tuned a few years ago except on 'Everyone Is Broken' (On 'I Beat Loneliness) because I wanted to write something that could touch people, so I spent a couple of days playing through loads of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, just cool things that prove to you that when you write song, simply is good. Those are some of the best songs. You only need a simple chord structure."
The new album seems to be widely well-received amongst fans like myself, especially as it's sincere and relatable, something the band have always been good at and has their signature sound that they expect, but also acts as an excellent gateway album for new fans. Gavin agrees: "It was weird because to be as wildly personal and wildly deep-diving led me to a place that is more universal than I intended or anticipated and that just made it feel even more authentic because the simple idea of, we are all the same on the inside and people are generally good and yet there is so much trouble and so much madness in the world. I just like having those songs that give people this concept of being seen, like when you are struggling you feel cut off by society, not that this is for the cut from society destitute people only. Still, it is like a celebration of every day as opposed to an aspirational self-help bling, like my life on a yacht, so I think it's interesting that ('I Beat Loneliness') starts with 'Scars' which is this universal concept of that everyone is pretty scared inside and out. Then it ends with 'Rebel With A Cause' and that is just like the ability to get through the everyday and make the best of it and find the light amongst all the annoying and terrible things so it's good to find that balance. So yeah, I think it is a good gateway record."
The day I spoke to Gavin was also the day they released the new single and video for the standout focus track 'Scars', which is another powerful and honest song. The singer dives further into the making of the track: "I was really inspired by certain things that people getting really worried about which is short attention spans of the world and I thought it was a really interesting concept and I think one thing that has come out of all of this short attention span is, the love of melody, that you just need a period of time of floating music and just a great melody, so when I was thinking of that and why I did that verse like that, like if you were talking to someone and you wanted to get to know them quickly, as when you meet someone it takes a minute to get to know them especially if they are shy, but I always think like what is the phrase or what would unlock that person for you so you could get past all the social norms of feeling a bit insecure about the situation and just get right into talking and connecting and so I think that opening was an intention to create a little melodic world before it even got to the 'Scars' bit, that was just talking to someone…I may not talk to someone exactly like that if I'm in a coffee shop, but something along those lines, you know", he grins.
As our conversation neared an end, the talk turned back to the current US tour they are on and the upcoming tour in the UK/Europe with Volbeat that kicks off in September 2025, as well as future plans for the band.
"I'm really excited about the Volbeat tour, obviously, whilst it's amazing out here (in the US), I thought I had the summer off. I agreed to do the Volbeat tour, thinking I had the summer off. I was trying to decide where to go, and then the Shinedown offer came to play some shows with them. We had spoken about this for a number of years and it just never worked out and then it was like, this is really good for us. I think it's a completely different crowd, but there are a few songs that are inescapable if you live and listen to American radio for the last thirty years, you will know those songs, so I thought maybe they just don't realise who made those songs as I play (a new song) 'Scars' then I play 'Machinehead' (on 'Sixteen Stone') then their like 'Oh shit', so I like it. My intention was just to put on a really cool Bush show, not just about the record right now and just promoting this record, so I'm really excited about that. There are other talks about England again, actually the following year (2026), so that will be really fun to top up some shows in England, so the shows with Volbeat and then again hopefully the following year."
*BUSH TOUR WITH SHINEDOWN
7/19 – Boston, MA – TD Garden *
7/20 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden *
7/22 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena *
7/23 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center *
7/25 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena *
7/26 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum *
7/28 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center *
7/29 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center *
8/2 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center *
8/3 – Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum
8/5 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center *
8/7 – Portland, OR – Moda Center *
8/8 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena *
8/11 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverik Center *
8/12 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena *
8/15 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center *
8/16 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena *
8/18 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse *
8/19 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena *
8/21 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center *
8/23 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena *
8/24 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena *
8/27 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center *
8/28 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena *
8/30 – Memphis, TN – FedExForum*
9/5– Omaha, US (Shadow Ridge Music Festival)
BUSH TOUR WITH VOLBEAT
9/18 – Herning, DK – Jyske Bank Boxen
9/19 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
9/23 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
9/24 – Antwerp, BE – Antwerps Sportpaleis
9/26 – Stuttgart, DE – Hans-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
9/27 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena
9/28 – Oberhausen, DE – Rudolf-Weber Arena
9/30 – Vienna, AT – Stadthalle
10/1 – Vienna, AT – Stadthalle
10/3 – Prague, CZ – O2 Universum
10/4 – Berlin, DE – Uber Arena
10/6 – Munich, DE – Olympiahalle
10/7 – Munich, DE – Olympiahalle
10/8 – Frankfurt, DE – Festhalle
10/10 – Leipzig, DE – Quarterback Immobilien Arena
10/11 – Hamburg, DE – Barclays Arena
10/13 – Warsaw, PL – Torwar
10/15 – Tampere, FI – Nokia Arena
10/17 – Stockholm, SE – Tele2 Arena
10/18 – Oslo, NO – Unity Arena
10/19 – Gothenburg, SE – Scandinavium
10/21 – Hannover, DE – ZAG Arena
10/22 – Rotterdam, NL – Ahoy
10/23 – Esch-sur-Alzette, LU – Rockhal
10/25 – Zurich, CH – Hallenstadion
10/28 – Bilbao, ES – BEC
10/30 – Barcelona, ES – Sant Jordi Club
10/31 – Madrid, ES – Vistalegre Arena
11/2 – Paris, FR – Zenith
11/5 – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
11/6 – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
11/8 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
11/10 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
11/12 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
11/13 – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley
Twitter / X
TikTok
YouTube
Spotify
www.ear-music.net
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