Fresh from rocking the LIVE 08 stage, James Ash of the Rogue Traders enjoys a quiet drink while reflecting on some of the amazing experiences life has afforded him.

Better in the Dark is the new album his band presents and coinciding with its release has been significant radio play and memorable live shows. Their recent appearance at a 20 / 20 cricket match at Melbourne’s MCG is something Ash hopes to never forget.  “I was sent a jpeg of where the stage was going to be and I thought they were kidding. As far as excitement and the view goes, that performance is burnt into my memory. It was just spectacular.”

The Rogue Traders success has taken them around the world, but performing is not something that unnerves Ash. He compares the experience to parachuting: “You know that if you’ve done all your safety checks and you’ve got your team around you, then there is nothing to worry about and it’s purely exhilarating. You jump out together, you’re in formation and you glide to the ground. And you pray that your chute will open, he laughs.”

Performing to an audience comes after numerous hours of polishing tunes that are good enough to make the record. “Performing is kind of an exhilarating ego trip, while writing is a test of your character,” he feels. “When we sat down to write this third album we were thinking ‘Can we do it again’. Staring at a blank piece of paper, thinking when is it going to come. It’s terrifying.”

And although writing and performing music is something that he has always felt he had to do, it was the luring appeal of Australian women that first brought Ash to our shores in the early nineties. “Honestly, I came here to meet girls. Ironically enough I thought wouldn’t it be great to meet someone who was on neighbours,” he laughs. “Because back then I use to watch it. I think everyone did.”

But when the time came to forge the Rogue Traders into a live act and search for a permanent vocalist, Natalie Bassingthwaighte was chosen despite her affiliation with the soap. “I said to Nat the first time she came ‘If we do ask you to join us it is not because of neighbours, its because of the amount of live experience you’ve had, the quality of your voice and the fact that you’re a seasoned performer’”. And it was also important that she was someone they could get along with on a personal level…and that’s Nat.

Although Ash admits his first release was a flop, the band did receive some recognition for the single “One of my Kind”. It was what he needed to keep the faith. “I’m not afraid to tell you when it debuted in at number 10, I burst out crying because I thought it would never happen – that we would never have a hit no matter how hard we tried.”

There is no doubt Here Come The Drums was a huge winner and Better In The Dark is sure to follow suit. But Ash hasn’t allowed himself to fully experience the hype. “I think it’s a dangerous thing to feel (that you have made it).

“There was one moment where I allowed myself to think that…we were staying in a swanky hotel in west London and Voodoo Child had just come out and we were hearing it everywhere. It debuted at number three on the British charts and then we performed on one of the last episodes of Top of the Pops. After that I remember walking out of the BBC thinking fuck…it’s real.

“All my old mates from England were there as well and we all got in a taxi and went down to the east end and had a curry and got pissed. It sounds funny, but it was the perfect moment.”

But true to his grounded nature, “nothing compares to the birth of my kids, my twin boys,” he says. “Life has certainly been very rich and full.”

Listen out for a Rogue Traders tour announcement for 2008.