‘Our audience deeply knows what they want from us’

For more than three decades, Tindersticks have been a strange case of a "cult band": they had a major label record deal. They used orchestras. They entered the studio with actress Isabella Rossellini when she was a successful Lancôme model. They were popular in American college circuits. They even had a top-20 hit back home, although they were, from day one, bigger in continental Europe than in England. And in Greece, they were worshipped non-stop, like few other acts.

How does a band from rainy Nottingham become so adored in sunny Athens? "Just don't call us dark & gloomy", asks Stuart Staples.

In a past interview, back in 1997, I remember David Boulter (founding organist) saying that "when life is beautiful, we just enjoy it. But when things get dark and gloomy, then we seek refuge in writing songs". Is this something that can still be valid after all these...