Tim Hughes gets a little insight into the life of one of our favourite bands – and finds things are buzzing for The Bees.

LIFE is a hive of activity for The Bees. They admit, they have never been busier – or better.

Taking to the road to promote their fourth album, the Isle of Wight band are bubbling over with enthusiasm which comes from a three-year recording hiatus.

“Over the past few years we’ve learnt a lot about music, what it means and the power it has,” says singer and songwriter Paul Butler.

Guitarist, bass player and fellow songwriter Aaron Fletcher agrees. “We’re like this mystical band; always bubbling under. But it’s time for us to come over the top now. It’s time to be massive and mystical.

“It’s like starting all over again. Only now we’ve got loads of fans and people who love us. And our own studio. And an amazing label.”

Their new album Every Step’s A Yes – their first for the Fiction label – is, says Paul, the most focussed and complete record they’ve ever made. And it’s coming out on a label that, according to Paul (who is also guitarist, piano-player, saxophonist and trumpet player) is in touch with “new ideas and new ways of doing things”.

A lot has happened since they emerged from sleepy Ventnor, back in 2001. From being practically unknown on this side of the Solent, they are a household sound. Okay, not a household name, perhaps, but certainly a sound. Why? Well their rural, vaguely psychedelic, indie-rock is endearingly quirky, hook-laden and catchy. But the reason you know them, without realising it, is they are also an ad-man’s dream.

Their cover of Os Mutantes’ A Minha Menina advertised both Citroen cars and Magners cider. Song Chicken Payback, meanwhile, was used in a commercial for Sure deodorant while Wash in the Rain featured in a Sainsbury’s ad.

But fans could have been forgiven for wondering where they had got to in recent years.

It is a full three years since their previous record, Octopus. But they insist the time has been well-spent – making music and singing songs in their own time.

And there have still been the gigs – including appearances alongside Madness, Pink Floyd, The Incredible String Band, and a tour with Paul Weller.

Oh, and they have moved house – Aaron leaving the home he had shared with Paul for seven years. And even though he only went a few doors down the road, they say it has made a difference – taking a lot of the pressure out of band life.

“The flame got brighter,” says Aaron, who has taken to writing songs in his kitchen with double bass player Tim Parkin.

“We used to get stressed making sure everyone was together at the same time,” says Paul.

“Sometimes we’d not record because someone didn’t turn up. Now if you want to be involved, get involved…”

The Bees may have taken their time to get this far, but things are heating up once again, with the lads eager to get out, headline their own shows, and share their new material.

“The last two albums were exercises in creative writing,” Paul says. “These songs are all much more emotionally direct.”

They include first single I Really Need Love – a typically Bees-like irresistibly approachable hit in the making. It is the result, says Aaron, of an attempt to write a “universal song, something everyone could grab hold of.”

“For us the only answer is ‘yes’,” says Paul, riffing on the album’s title.

“There’s really nothing bad that’s happened to us – how could it have when we’ve ended up in this great place?”

* The Bees play the Oxford O2 Academy on December 15 Tickets cost £12.50 from ticketweb.co.uk