lpliveusername Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Our friend Biel from LinkinPark:BR conducted an interview with Download Festival promoter Andy Copping about Linkin Park. He was kind enough to provide us with the original English version of the interview. Check it out! 1. What was your first impression of Linkin Park after seeing them live at Download 2004? I had seen Linkin Park a number of times before but they proved they were a worthy festival headliner in 2004 2. How and from whom came the idea to perform Hybrid Theory in its entirety at Download 2014? How was it approached with the band? I had been approached to book LINKIN PARK for Download 2014 towards the end of July 2013. I initially said that it was too soon for the band to come back to Download and that we needed an angle. I was told there would be a new album coming out, which they hoped would be out in April or May 2014, which would have only been a handful of weeks prior the festival. I was concerned that the band would be playing a lot of new material as part of their show that wouldn’t be to familiar with the audience and again I said to their manager we need something that would excite the fans. We discussed it in the office and our PR Head, Charley Bezer, suggested the idea of getting the band to do ‘Hybrid Theory’ in full. I didn’t think for a moment this would be accepted by the band but I pitched to the manager. I said if they did ‘Hybrid Theory’ as the main part of their set, it would remind people of what a great band Linkin Park are, showing everyone that this was the album that started a ‘movement’ & that it would be a good springboard to launch the new record, which was now being released in September 2014 – three months after Download. The manager was resistant at first but said he would speak to the band about it. After a couple of weeks, he came back to me and said the band had agreed and it was a YES! 3. Do you have any favorite Linkin Park performance at any edition of Download Festival? I thought they were particularly great in 2007 and I watched Chester the whole show, where he threw everything into it BUT 2014 was the best, as it was something so very special. 4. Is there any funny or memorable story with the band you'd like to share with us? My most memorable story about the band was when they were playing at the London o2 Arena sometime after they had played at Download 2014. I was backstage talking to the manager, when Chester ran up hugged me and shook my hand. He said, “I didn’t get a chance to say this to you at Download but I want to thank you for convincing us to play ‘Hybrid Theory’ – it totally energised us as a band and made us realise what we were in it for. Thank you so much!” – I will never forget this moment. 5. You've seen and booked numerous concerts throughout your career. Was there anything that made Linkin Park stood out from other bands? Linkin Park were in a league of their own. They had been born out of the nu-metal scene and were one of the main front runners of that movement but they became so much more than that. They became a stadium level and festival headliner across the world in their own right. They had worked hard to get to where they had got. 6. Linkin Park received backlash from critics and fans for their 2017 album One More Light, which is deemed as a pop record. Yet, they performed at numerous mainly metal festivals such as Download, Maximus and Hellfest during this album's touring cycle. While the tour was generally successful, the public wasn't very receptible of the new material at some of them. What are your thoughts on this subject and what was your perception of the crowds during Linkin Park's sets at Download Paris and Download Madrid? Every band goes through ups and downs in their careers – mostly due to albums that are not as well received as others. It happens and is nothing new. Linkin Park have a huge body of work to draw from, so live they would always deliver. The fact that ‘One More Light’ was perceived as a pop record by some, is immaterial. It was still Linkin Park and they always would be. 7. In a recent interview you revealed Linkin Park was originally supposed to headline Download Melbourne in 2018. Was the band booked for any other festivals or editions of Download in other countries in 2018? There were conversations going on and we were close to making it happen. This also included Download UK. I remember being at the airport in London getting ready to fly to New York and I was speaking to the bands’ agent about the deal. I told him I had a flight to catch and that I would call him when I landed. Once I arrived in New York, the news broke that Chester was gone. I, like everyone, was in shock. I called the agent, who had only just got the news – it was and still is hard to comprehend. 8. Every year there's a broadcast of the highlights from Download. How are the songs picked for the broadcast? Do the bands have any say in the selection process? All the bands are very heavily involved in the selection process – it is ultimately their choice of what tracks get broadcast. We are on hand to advise them and try to steer them in the right direction of what would look best for the programming but they have the final say and sign off. 9. With the band currently on hiatus, the fan base has been craving for new Linkin Park material. Can we expect any unreleased Linkin Park footage from Download on YouTube in the future? One of the most hyped up shows among fans is their Download 2014 performance. We have been speaking to the record label and management about the 2014 footage, as we have the bands’ full set from that year. We are hoping that at some stage the bulk of, if not all of the footage will be released. It would be amazing. It was the one and only time the band had played ‘Hybrid Theory’ in full. Visit LinkinPark:BR for the Portuguese translation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biel Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 you welcome! 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rasputin 93 Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Great to finally know what led to the actual booking condition for them to perform HT in full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 I would love for them to get permission to release the full Download 2014 show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpplus Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Good interview Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Hi Good interview Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NimaLP Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 This was a great interview. I love it when fan sites do interviews because they ask questions about stuff that fans really want to know about. I hope we get the entire 2014 footage one day. That show was on fire. One of the most epic performances in the band's history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rasputin 93 Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Still weird that this performance isn't included in HT20. I get that it's only about stuff from the actual era, though. Hopefully, they'll release it later this year to still tie in with the celebration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YRQRM0 Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Rasputin 93 said: Still weird that this performance isn't included in HT20. I get that it's only about stuff from the actual era, though. Hopefully, they'll release it later this year to still tie in with the celebration. I think the biggest bummer is just that One Step Closer with the modern outro isn't on there at all. Including this would have taken care of that. I know it's basically just a repeat of the bridge but it adds so much imo. The extended intros are nice as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hahninator Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 I always thought the Download 2014 show would be a good thing to release for #THP20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somebodyangry Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 (edited) 41 minutes ago, hahninator said: I always thought the Download 2014 show would be a good thing to release for #THP20. That makes sense since it’s related to that era, releasing for HT20 a show that took place 14 years after the release of the album would feel weird IMO. Waiting for 2034!! Yeah Edited September 8, 2020 by PurpleFlinstoneVitamins92 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpplus Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 2 hours ago, hahninator said: I always thought the Download 2014 show would be a good thing to release for #THP20. actually I'm glad they didn't release that. because now we have 3 (or 4?!) show from that era. I mean 2000-2002 professionally mixed shows is exactly what I wanted. But I really hope to see this show one day. maybe the 50 years anniversary of HT?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sublimeric Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Super encouraging to see that people have not forgotten (no pun intended) about the "Hybrid Theory" set from Download. I think I have listened to that set more than anything else LP have ever released, in 20 years as a fan. Fingers crossed the full video is released! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.