We played at Liberty Festival again in 2006, and it has to be said this was something of an honour for us, as we were the only act to be asked back from the previous year’s line-up. Guess we are doing something right.
The way I see it, this carries a lot of responsibility in that we were representing the mad world on that day – live, direct, and in yer face, in Trafalgar Square in front of about 10,000 people. And take my word for it, we ARE taking it seriously.
We put together an absolute killer band made up from members of Deadbeat International and YOU, which suits me right down to the ground as I play guitar for both of them!
In true CR style we added a cast of thousands, complete with drummers, dancers, armies, aliens, and an imaginary choir. There was also a specially commissioned animation, and a few other surprises thrown into the mix, on the day of the gig.
The whole show was to be filmed and recorded with a view to releasing a live album/DVD on our own label, CR Records. Now think about that for a moment. That’s how far we have come in, well, really no time at all.
All this and the music severely rocks. Trust me, I know about these things. I was asked recently by one of the organisers what the show was about, what is it called, etc. This is a question you wouldn’t normally get in Rock circles – you just show up, rock the house – then spend the rest of the night doing whatever rocks your boat.
So, kinda being put on the spot like that I told him it was a space opera called ‘Dark Matter’. And there you have it: it wasn’t then but it is now, and we are now the proud owners of a space opera called DARK MATTER. Dontcha just love it when the work starts doing itself!
And it does fit the bill. The lyrics deal with alien abduction, mind control, and what have you, and that is about as neat as tidy a metaphor as you are likely to get for breaking down. Nuff said.
We tried to raise our game with this one. Our objective was to create something so outstandingly brilliant and stunning that it can stand up anywhere – in the Mad world, in the (un)real world, in the underground, the overground, the mainstream, anywhere. (Hey, if you think small, you get small).
To my mind, if we don’t start reaching a wider audience, we’ll be preaching to the converted till the cows come home, and not one iota of change will come of it. And before any of you purists get on yer high horses about selling out, know this:
We ain’t selling anything. The message is clear: Write us off at your peril. We believe we have the skills, the talent, the imagination, the vision and the suss to achieve this, otherwise why bother?
Anything else is just pissing in the wind and we are just way too smart for that.
PETE MACDONALD

WHAT WAS SAID ABOUT OUR PERFORMANCE ON THE DAY
“One piece which made quite an impression on the day was "Dark Matter", an innovative multi-media music theatre performance, by Creative Routes, under the performance name Deadbeat International and You.”
BBC OUCH
“The best performance at the event!” Attitude is Everything
“You made the day!”
“The stage was not big enough for Creative Routes.”