Following in the footsteps of Kasabian’s Tom Meighan, a host of bands have recently been spotted sporting the new England Away shirt live on stage. Last week, at the Snowbombing festival in Mayrhofen, Austria, two great English bands showed their national pride by wearing the shirts in foreign climes. First of all The Cuban Brothers – who actually hail from London, despite their name! – wore the shirts whilst spreading some of their infectious sunshine music around the snowcapped Austrian hills, as you can see in the picture below:

After that, The Enemy’s Andy Hopkins wore the shirt during his band’s gig, with the anthemic indie-rockers going down a storm. After the gig, we spoke to Andy about wearing the shirt and his football skills, here’s what he had to say:

What was it like to wear the England Away shirt on stage?

“It was quality! I was thinking that it might not go down too well, wearing an England shirt in Austria, but it was sound. There’s a lot of English people here at the gig, so that probably helped! The shirt is absolutely brilliant, the best one we’ve had in years. It’s quality.”

Snowbombing seems a bit different to a lot of other festivals, what’s it like?

“The festival is absolutely mint, you’re walking around on snow instead of mud. The actual town hasn’t got any snow, it’s just up on the mountain. The gigs are indoors, and it’s an amazing place, really quality. The crowds are very different to what we’re used to, a lot of them are into DJing and there’s a lot of DJs on here, so it’s nice to play to a different audience. We won them over, so it was a really good gig.”

What are you going to do now that you’d played your gig?

“We’re just going to chill out for a bit I think. You can go see bands up on the slopes, you snowboard in, have a drink and watch the band. It’s crazy, but it’s the best festival. You go up a chairlift, snowboard in and watch a gig. What’s that all about? Absolute quality.

The band are from Coventry, are you fans of your home town team?

“I’m a fan, but when we first got in the band, we were concentrating on that so much that we didn’t get to see much football for a while. Recently, I have been getting down to watch City a bit more though. We nearly got in the play offs, so everyone in Coventry was getting excited, but there’s no chance of it happening now!”

Do you think it’s important to follow your local team?

“Yeah, I think so. There was a lot of people supporting the bigger clubs when I was growing up in Coventry, and I didn’t understand it. It’d just feel weird to be from somewhere and not support that team. My family have always supported Coventry, it was my uncle that got me into them first – so I’ve got him to thank. I maybe regret that every time I go down to watch them!”

Will you be able to watch England this summer?

“Yep, we’re going to be writing our third album then, so we’ll be having a few barbeques in the garden and getting the lads round I think.”

What would you do if you were scheduled to play a gig at the same time as a big Engalnd match?

“That’d be a nightmare! It’d be a weird one, I don’t think anyone would turn up for the gig would they? You’d just have to postpone it for a couple of hours I think. I remember we supported The Fratellis when we were just starting out, and they wouldn’t start a gig until they’d finished watching a game on a couple of occasions. They’d come on late, and get a few boos, but then they’d play a great show and everyone would be cheering them on. If you went on stage straight after a victory, that’d be an amazing atmosphere. I remember we played in Glasgow once right after an Old Firm game, my god that was mental! It was a bit of a scary gig to be honest!”

Why do you think The Enemy’s tunes are so popular with football fans?

“It’s the choruses I think. When Coventry fans play away, they sing ‘Awoah-woah woah, away from home’ which is quality. I noticed a lot of fans have starting singing The White Stripes at games, Seven Nation Army. What’s that all about?

Who’s the best footballer in the band?

“It is actually me, I’m not just saying that! Liam’s alright, he’s not that great in a game, but he’s good at tricks and things like that. If we’re hanging about before a soundcheck or something like that and we’ve got a ball to kick about he’s ok. Tom can’t really play though. I’m the only one that’s missed on Soccer AM though, so what do I know! I’m never going to live that down. I was gutted, especially when them two scored.”

Footballers are pretty good at acting like rock stars nowadays, but are they better at it than the bands?

“No! It’s got to be bands, footballers aren’t rock and roll. Which footballers are? They earn a lot of money, so they can flash the cash, but when you look at a band on tour for 30 nights, that’s a lot of nights out. I don’t think a lot of footballers could do that.”

Would you ever write a song for the England football team?

“I’d like to, I’d love that, but I don’t think Tom would. I don’t think anyone’s ever going to beat Three Lions though, that or New Order’s one. The worst ones are when people change old songs and try to fit England in – Come On Eileen changed into Come On England, that’s terrible! Stuff like that annoys me, you’ve got to watch out for that. You could release one and it’d ruin you!