Groove Armada reflect on the ‘mad’ world of clubbing stardom after DJ Avicii’s death

DANCE giants Groove Armada have opened up about the ‘lonely road’ of clubbing stardom following the tragic death of fellow DJ Avicii.

I See You Baby duo Tom Findlay, 46, and Andy Cato, 45, are celebrating their 21st anniversary with a UK tour.

It means Andy will have to take a breather from his farm in Toulouse, southern France, while Tom gets a break from his career as a psychotherapist.

In an exclusive interview with Guilty Pleasures, Andy said: ‘It’s quite an odd life that we lead. I’ve been trying to launch an agricultural revolution in France and Tom is training to be a psychotherapist.

‘I have a total lack of balance since taking the farm on and it’s absolutely full-on. It’s a 300-acre holding in the countryside and I’ve been trying to answer what is a very urgent question: how do you grow food without using chemicals and without destroying the soil?

‘Then we’ve been DJ-ing every other weekend. It’s mad, as one minute I can be on a flight to Ibiza to play at Ushuaia or DC10 before jumping on a plane home.’

Earlier this year, Swedish DJ Tim Bergling — who performed under the stage name Avicii — took his own life, aged 28, after a battle with boozing.

Andy, who now has two young children and last toured with Groove Armada in 2011, admits that both he and Tom could have gone off the rails had they not had each other.

‘We have definitely been there, seen it and done it,’ he explained. ‘There are times when you are in a cycle where you are not sleeping and you are partying a lot, and you basically go slightly mad and lose the ability to make the right decision.

‘Once you are in that loop, it’s tough and we’ve done stupid stuff. However, I think at the heart of it, me and Tom are best mates. It’s been a mad adventure for us.

‘We couldn’t have done what we have done by ourselves and a lot of magic has come through shared experiences.

‘It can be a lonely road but you can’t really explain it and you can see how it becomes too much for some people.’

Having played for the likes of Elton John and Prince over the years, Andy admits the key to their success has been the music.

He laughed: ‘If you were into Groove Armada because of what me and Tom look like, we would have a very, very small fan base!

‘The days of trying to be two studs up on stage are long, long gone. Then again I am not sure if they ever existed in the first place!’

Author: Metro News