Hard rock duo Royal Blood say that landing an opening slot for Guns N' Roses at Slane is amazing but that it's also "comedy gold" because the band never thought they'd get this far.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment on the eve of their gig at the Boyne-side venue on Saturday, the band's frontman Mike Kerr said: "We're two guys from small villages outside of Brighton. If you'd told me when I was in the middle of my Key Stage 3 in secondary school that I'd be opening up for one of the biggest rock 'n' roll bands of all time at Slane Castle, you might have caught my attention.
"We count ourselves lucky to even be invited to these things," Kerr added.
"It still amazes us but this one in particular is very special and it just sounds funny, doesn't it? I mean, telling your mates that you're opening up for Guns N' Roses. That's comedy gold, basically."
Royal Blood are playing Slane as part of a support bill that also includes Mark Lanegan and local act Otherkin, and they say they are very familiar with the iconic venue.
"The first thing we think of when you say 'Slane Castle' is the live DVD the Red Hot Chili Peppers did at the venue," said Royal Blood's powerhouse drummer Ben Thatcher.
"It was so iconic to us and, I guess, a lot of teenagers. When we were teenagers, everyone in our little gang were Red Hot Chili Peppers nerds. We all wanted to be them, but Slane is not somewhere we ever thought we'd play."
Royal Blood have met Guns N' Roses on their travels over the past three years. "We met Slash and Duff and Matt Sorum as well. He's not on this tour but he is a great drummer," said Thatcher.
"We met them at the [MTV] Europe Music Awards in Glasgow where, I think, Slash was playing with Ozzy. They had put a supergroup together."
Slane support is dream come true for Dublin act Otherkin.
Thatcher and Kerr, who released their hugely successful debut in 2014, unleash the follow-up, How Did We Get So Dark?, on June 16 and will also play a headline show at Dublin's 3Arena in November.
Alan Corr @corralan
