Martin Compston and Tony Curran recall their teens for new BBC drama Mayflies-Paul Simper-Entertainment – Metro

Martin Compston stars alongside Tony Curran in Mayflies (Picture: BBC)

Line Of Duty star Martin Compston, 38, and Your Honour actor Tony Curran, 53, on the bands that changed everything for them, school assembly protests over football and films that give them goosebumps.

On music…

Martin: Andrew O’Hagan’s novel Mayflies is based on his experiences and his pals’ passions, films and music.

Me and my pals missed Britpop, Oasis and Blur. Music was s*** when we were growing up – it was f***ing Hear’Say and Pop Idol. And then, all of a sudden, Arctic Monkeys come out and it just changed everything.

Tony: The first band that comes into my head from my teenage years is The Jam. I f***ing loved The Jam.

I bumped into Paul Weller in London, literally bumped into him as I was coming out of somewhere on Old Compton Street. I was going to see him in Finsbury Park that night. He had two boxes.

The guy dresses like a legend so he had these two shoeboxes. I went, ‘Sorry mate.’ He was like, ‘It’s all right, mate. It’s all right.’ I couldn’t speak. I was like, ‘It’s your man!’

Martin: Bizarrely, Arctic Monkeys tie in with Mayflies. The Big Issue wanted me to preview their new album so I was out with them in a field in Budapest when the offer for this part came through at 2am.

Martin went out in a field with the Arctic Monkeys in Budapest (Picture: Getty)

I was like, ‘Am I tripping?’ I called Tony in LA. I said, ‘Is this really happening?’ He said, ‘Yeah, wee man, it’s real. Read the scripts.’ I was like, ‘I’ll call you tomorrow when I’m sober.’ A week later I was on set with Tony.

On movies…

Martin: I was an Indiana Jones fanatic.I remember my mum at a party saying, ‘He refused to answer to any other name but Indy for a year.’ I thought she was talking pish and she’d embellished the story a bit. I said, ‘Come on, Mum.’ So she went up and got this photograph and it’s me standing, this tiny wee guy with my fedora on and leather jacket and whip.

Martin Compston with Tracy Ifeachor in Mayflies (Picture: BBC)

Tony: I’ve always been a huge Jimmy Cagney fan. There’s a film, Angels With Dirty Faces, where he’s walking to the electric chair. He’s told the priest that he’s not going to squeal but then he loses it.

I get goosebumps talking about it. Later the priest informs the kids, ‘He squealed.’ He wasn’t the heroic figure they thought. That always touched me.

Martin: The big quote from a film that meant a lot to me as a kid was from Stand By Me. It’s that final line where Richard Dreyfuss types, ‘I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?’

On football…

Martin: At one primary school assembly, me and my pals sang ‘Sack the board!’ when Celtic were going bust and we didn’t have a stadium.

All the teachers were trying to get us to sit down. We were having our own little protest, as if the Celtic board was going to hear us in Greenock.

Tony: I’m also a Celtic fan. I remember the 1988 Scottish Cup final. We were getting beaten 1-0 by Dundee United and the dream of the double was over. Five minutes later we’d won it.

I was thrown about in this heap. I was there with my friend from New York, Sean Conaghan, who is a bit like Jimmy, Martin’s character in Mayflies, and it’s like Jimmy and Tully’s relationship. That was one of the moments whenI fell in love with Celtic.

Martin: I was a teenager for the 2000 Celtic v Rangers 6-2 when Martin O’Neill came in as manager. Henrik Larsson scored the most beautiful goal I’ve ever seen live. I was there with my brother. In the west of Scotland we don’t show any emotion to each other except when you’re at the football. There moments of pure gold.

Mayflies starts on BBC One on Wednesday, December 28

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