Nine Days, 25 Years
Nine Days, the band that gifted us the massive hit ‘Absolutely (Story Of A Girl)’ are heading downunder for the first time in November. The band will be touring here in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the release of that song that carved them a place in music history and ‘The Madding Crowd’ album as well as the band’s ongoing legacy. We got the opportunity to catch up with Nine Days frontman John Hampson and we covered everything from that iconic album to Vegemite sandwiches.
Firstly, the country has gone a bit crazy with the announcement that NINE DAYS is finally heading to Australia in November for a headline tour, have you had a big reaction from your Aussie fans now that you are on your way?
We’ve gotten quite a bit of great feedback and I definitely noticed an uptick in “engagements” on our social media. Keep it coming! I encourage suggestions for songs and would love to meet as many people as possible really looking forward to the shows!
What has made now the right time to head downunder for the very first time?
A combination of circumstances. While we have never stopped making music and playing shows, there has been a resurgence and interest in our music, and Australia has literally been on the bucket list for 25 years. We switched booking agents back in December and it was one of the first conversations we had. This has been a long time coming!
“it’s just a song that has some magic pixie dust sprinkled on it”
What do you think made 'Absolutely (Story Of A Girl)' resonate with listeners so much originally when it was released?
At the risk of sounding pretentious, it’s just a song that has some magic pixie dust sprinkled on it. I think this song would’ve been successful no matter when it was released. The song itself came together incredibly quickly, but there was a lot of attention paid to the sonic presentation of the song. The guitar sounds, the drum sounds and the vocal performances, the mix. We wanted to make sure we got it right, and I guess we did.
Is there a particular line or part of the song stands out for you?
I grew up on Long Island, New York. Billy Joel is perhaps the biggest and most famous artist who ever come from Long Island, so of course I grew up listening to his music. The line, “your clothes never wear as well the next day and your hair never falls in quite the same way” stands out for me because when I wrote it I immediately thought to myself that it was the most Billy Joel line I had ever written. That’s a high standard!
“The rest of the song followed in about 30 minutes. ”
What does the song mean to you?
I’ve told the story more times than I can count, but the song was a moment of pure and sincere inspiration. It was not calculated at all. Which might be hard to believe. I was in an argument with my then girlfriend, now my wife, and she walked away to the other side of the room. I was grinding my teeth and thinking about how much she drove me crazy. Then, as I was literally thinking that, she smiled at something one of her girlfriend said and ‘I absolutely love her when she smiles’ popped into my head. The rest of the song followed in about 30 minutes.
Why do you think it think it's still a staple on national radio now, 25 years later?
It’s a magical moment in songwriting where all of the boxes for an earworm got checked without me even trying. The stops and starts, the little pause before the last chorus, the sentiment of the song, and the sonic Excitement of the band playing it. It’s a damn good song! If I do say so myself…😎
“These are real, raw and human performances.”
'Absolutely (Story Of A Girl)' featured on your iconic and still adored album 'The Maddening Crowd', what about this body of work makes it so special it has managed to stand the test of time and transcend generations?
I think the album still stands up today because we are actually a real band. We spent years making our own records and playing literally hundreds of shows before we made ‘The Madding Crowd’ album. We tracked everything live as a band to get the core performances. Not to knock anyone else, but this is not an album made on ProTools where every instrument is fixed to be perfect. These are real, raw and human performances. We overdubbed vocals and ear candy, but what you hear is a real band playing together. Nick Didia, our producer and engineer, was a huge part of making that record sound like a band. Coincidentally, he moved to Australia About 10 or 15 years ago and we can’t wait to see him again!
What are your memories of making the album?
We are all from Long Island New York, but we made the album in Atlanta for about two months in June and July of 1999. I just remember long days in the studio but loving every second of it. I remember having the choice of so many wonderful vintage instruments and amplifiers to use. I remember playing wiffleball in the parking lot during lunch breaks, I remember the KISS pinball machine in the break room, I remember the wonderful catered lunches. But most of all I just remember sitting behind that console and listening to playback and feeling immensely proud of what we were doing.
Does anything standout to you now in retrospect as to why that album was such a force and so special to people?
Two things – “absolutely(story of a girl)” just racing up the charts and getting played ad nauseam on the radio, and the band being able to perform the album and do it justice. as I mentioned, the album is raw and a real band, so we were able to do justice to it when we were on the stage. We have always been proud of that.
“we are going to curate a playlist specifically for the Australia tour ”
Will you be playing the LP in its entirety when you tour in November or will it be an eclectic mix of NINE DAYS tracks that span the band's back catalogue?
We will play a good chunk of The Madding Crowd album, but we are definitely going to celebrate the entire history of the band – especially since this is our first time getting to Australia. We have a lot of great songs on other records and we will be playing a good mix of stuff. we are going to curate a playlist specifically for the Australia tour so people will know what to expect.
What else can fans look forward to from a NINE DAYS live show?
Personality? We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We get to play music and we’ve been doing it for a long long time. My favourite artists are the ones that aren’t afraid to engage with the audience on a real personal level. Although I do love Oasis!
“I really hope this is just the first trip of many, so if there are any festivals out there looking for us just let us know!”
Is there any chance the band may stay in the country for our festival season and we could see NINE DAYS performing at some of our big summer events?
Oh, we would love that!!! I really hope this is just the first trip of many, so if there are any festivals out there looking for us just let us know!
Seeing as this will be your first visit to Australia, what touristy things are you hoping to do while in the country?
I don’t expect to have a lot of free time on this particular trip, but a short list would be the Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach, seeing the wildlife, visiting as many cafés as possible because I am an espresso junkie, and meeting as many fans as possible.
“I got to do an acoustic performance with Colin Hay years ago and he’s fantastic. So for the sake of Men at Work, maybe a Vegemite sandwich?”
Any of our culinary delicacies you especially want to try? Vegemite, Tim Tams or a Lamington?
I am not a “foodie “, so I’m not all that daring when it comes to trying new things. However, the Tim Tams sound delicious! I don’t know if this is a cringe thing to say, but when MTV first came out, I was a kid and watched it incessantly. Men at Work was all over MTV and I loved them and still do. I got to do an acoustic performance with Colin Hay years ago and he’s fantastic. So for the sake of Men at Work, maybe a Vegemite sandwich?
2024/25 has seen a resurgence in popularity for NINE DAYS, so can does this mean we may be blessed with some new music in the future?
I never stop writing and recording new music. Getting the band into the studio is a little more challenging these days, but I am really hoping and pushing for new music and 2026.
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout out but never gets one? And what is it they do that keeps your world turning?
I give a shout out to Nick Dimichino, our bass player, at every show. People don’t realize how incredibly good he is. There isn’t a single cover band out there playing ‘Story of a Girl’ that gets the bass part right. Trust me.
Do you have a message for the Australian NINE DAYS fans and supporters?
Whether there are 10 of you or 10,000 of you, or somewhere in between, thank you in advance for coming to the shows! Please come say hello! Please make song requests! We are beyond excited to finally get to Australia, so just a big giant thank you.
Tickets available via www.mrglive.com
Nine Days Tour Dates
Thursday 13 November Croxton Bandroom MELBOURNE
Friday 14 November Caringbah Hotel SYDNEY
Saturday 15 November The Back Room BRISBANE
Interview by Michelle Symes
July 2025
