We like to build bridges and not build walls.вЂќ вЂњWeвЂ™re very anti вЂletвЂ™s pick a sideвЂ™ kind of people. We care about people and we care about togetherness and community and things thatВ matter in real life. вЂњBut I think our approach is more friendly. вЂњIt can sometimes close doors, but because of our approach and maybe our nationality we get away with a lot more. вЂњYou know, it reminded me of maybe some of the struggles weвЂ™ve had at home in Northern Ireland, where everybodyвЂ™s on the edges and nobodyвЂ™s talking in the middle. I can see how things got very religious in America and people got polarised. Gareth said: вЂњIn some places, faith-based music closes doors. Rend Collective have played all over the world, including countries in Asia and South America, and are planning to gig in South Africa for the first time. They are very supportive when it comes to music.вЂќ вЂњAs well as ourselves, Snow Patrol went to the school too. вЂњThe joke of it all is that their drummer left the band and became our bass player, and then Two Door Cinema Club became famous when he left, so we all joke that he was the problem the whole time. I was a music teacher at the school they were all at. He said: вЂњWith the Two Door Cinema Club boys, weвЂ™re all there. The fact that there is so much musical talent emanating from north Down is not lost on Gareth either - he used to be a music teacher at Bangor Grammar School. вЂњWe donвЂ™t believe that the message we have is meant to be for just a certain type of person but for people at large.вЂќ It wonвЂ™t be in churches - and thereвЂ™s a reason for that.

вЂњThat is why a lot of time when weвЂ™re touring, weвЂ™ll be playing clubs, pubs, theatres. вЂњIf you are someone who wants to have a faith or is interested in the spiritual thing, thatвЂ™s who we write music for. вЂњI think itвЂ™s more that we believe that spirituality and the gospel transcends whether you go to church on a Sunday or not. вЂњThe priority of our music is, weвЂ™re not making music for people who are just Christians. вЂњIt has opened up lots of doors, not just in the Christian world but just in regular life as it is. вЂњ in a way that brings joy into peopleвЂ™s lives. вЂњSo, we would do hymns and church music - songs that people would sing at church - but we donвЂ™t do them in like a boring, old-school way but in a bit of a wild and entertaining way. Mix the two together and thatвЂ™s kind of what it looks like. Gareth said: вЂњThe way we describe it is, imagine an Irish pub on a Saturday night and then a church service with hymns on a Sunday morning. The bandвЂ™s history is a remarkable success story that has been building since 2007 and has seen Rend Collective become one of the worldвЂ™s biggest-selling Christian music bands. They play in Nuremberg tonight and then head to Switzerland before landing back in Northern Ireland for a homecoming show at the SSE Arena next Friday. Having gigged around the States, the band are currently in Germany on the European leg of their tour. вЂњThe Ulster fry goes on the road with us, thatвЂ™s exactly what it does.вЂќ

вЂњYou can take the boy out of Ulster, but you canвЂ™t take the Ulster out of the boy. вЂњWould you believe we just make our own soda farls? My wife makes them and weвЂ™ll cook them and fry them up.

вЂњItвЂ™s unbelievable when you think that our island is supplying one of the biggest countries in the world with butter, even though they have more cows than we have people, you know? вЂњBut Kerrygold has made it over and is now one of the biggest butter sellers in America, would you believe? вЂњThe butter over here is white because they feed the cows with corn, so they have white butter thatвЂ™s tasteless. вЂњIf thereвЂ™s one thing that we have on our rider that we wonвЂ™t compromise on, itвЂ™s butter,вЂќ he said. They also joked there is one backstage necessity they canвЂ™t go without - Irish-made butter.Д«angor-born band leader Gareth Gilkeson told Sunday Life it was a must-have request, known in the music industry as a вЂriderвЂ™, on their recent two-month stint in the US. Local Christian group Rend Collective have told how they insist on an Ulster Fry on tour.

Rend collective