“I’m sitting here looking at my 1972 Gretsch Champagne Sparkle. That’s my favourite drum-kit. The touring kit I use is a C&C. However, I have this really old Gretsch kit that I put away for a while because it was getting thrown about the place. I took it out when we moved into the rehearsal room, I hadn’t touched it for two years, and it sounded fucking great. They don’t make them like they
used to.
“Back in those days they were made personally by hand, each fashioned separately. They’ve got little cool built-in dampeners underneath the drum heads, The Beatles used them to get their distinctive sound – you know, that real dead sort of tom sound and dead kick sound. This is a little gem, I’d never get rid of it.
“I bought it from Johnny Boyle (former Frames drummer). He was getting rid of it, and was hesitant about selling it to me. However, I managed to get it off him for a good price. And to this day, every time I meet him he’s like, ‘How’s the kit?’ It’s like I adopted his child or something!"

The Minutes play Whelan's, Dublin on December 7.