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Rupert Hill

Pi in the sky

As they prepare to play Night and DayÌýas part of Designer Magazine’s In The City preview, we talked to him about not being yet another soap pop star, music versus acting and how playing sends him a bit mad!

Where did the band name come from?

"We had a tune called Shepherds Pi. It was a joke in the song, just taking the mickey. Someone suggested that we use it as our name and it just stuck. We never planned on keeping it, but we thought if you try and get one that’s ‘The something’, it’s difficult to think of one that doesn’t make you sound all cocky. We liked the idea that ours is a bit silly so it shows that we’re not taking ourselves too seriously."

You were picked out of 6000 entrants to compete in the final 10 of the O2 Undiscovered competition recently. How did that feel?

Shepherds Pi

"It was amazing. Sam, our bass player, put us up for it, I didn’t even know about it. He just turned up one day and said, look, we’re in the top ten of this competition. The best thing is that no-one knew before the final that I was in the band, so me being in Coronation Street had nothing to do with it.

"That was exactly what we needed. In this game, I know that my job could affect things, so to have made it to the final without anyone knowing is great."

Do you worry about being seen as the cliché of another soap star going into music?

Rupert playing live

"I do worry, but the thing is that at the moment, I’m not a soap star going into music, I’m an actor who plays music. If people like the songs, they like them. I don’t believe anyone is going to offer us anything based on the fact that I’m in this programme.

"We take pride in our material being strong and when we play gigs, the response that we get isn’t discussing that I’m an actor, they’ll be saying ‘that was cool’ or ‘I like this song’."

Which do you prefer: music or acting?

"I like them both equally. Coronation Street is my job, it’s what I do for a living. I have to work on other people’s terms, being here or there at certain times. With the band, it’s much more on my terms, rehearsing a couple of times a week and playing a couple of times a month. It’s just great fun. But they’re both different styles of performance and I enjoy both of them.

"The thing is I’m on contract at Coronation Street until next June, so nothing can happen musically now anyway. But I don’t even think about it. One of the things the judges said at the Undiscovered thing was that we needed more experience. So we’re just taking it one step at a time. None of us are considering a record deal, we’re just trying to get our material together and find out what we are."

Do you see being on stage as another type of acting, like when you’re playing Jamie?

"No, I’m definitely being myself. I don’t know what it is, but I kind of lose myself when we’re playing. We play for about 35 minutes and it goes so quickly. Everything that happens is difficult to remember. I’m totally energised. When I get a good response from the crowd, it drives me a bit mad. I switch off for a bit, like I’m auto-pilot, and I really enjoy it. It’s like a heightened version of myself."

Your music isn’t easy to categorise. Is that something you set out to try and do?

Shepherds Pi in action

"Not at all, that’s just something that happened. We found our identity through ambiguity. We don’t sound like anyone, but we do have a sound. It’s great, but it was a fluke.

"Sam and I both write and we have different influences. We’re both very much into the Beatles and bands like Oasis and the Libertines were a big influence. I love Bob Dylan and Sam loves Tupac, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre, so there’s a lot of things going in there."

You’re playing Night and Day. Are you looking forward to it?

"Yeah, but it’s quite funny, because I’m actually on a night shoot that night, so I’ll finish there at about half ten and then I’ll have to rush down to Coronation Street to be on stage for quarter to 11. But I can’t wait for it; it’s going to be great."