Last week, Danny Vaughn told MetalTalk about having renewed momentum after COVID setbacks and lineup changes, saying Tyketto feel stronger than ever. Now, with festival headline slots, new touring opportunities, and genuine excitement around the new album Closer To The Sun, Danny says that the excitement around this release is “more than in many, many years.”
I have seen Tyketto a lot over the years, but they were in sparkling form with April Wine and Uriah Heep in 2025. Danny has fond memories of the tour. “It was strange being the young band on the bill,” he smiles. “I’ll give you that. But no, it was such a good thing for us to do.
“What we didn’t expect and what was such a major plus was how many people showed up to see all three bands, whether they knew them or not. Maybe that’s that age group that goes, look, I’ve paid 40 quid. I’m seeing it all.
“We walked on to three-quarters full or full every night. Loads of people that I’ve met since then, and I saw a few the other night at Hastings, said I didn’t know who you were before last year, and I’m a fan now.”
“When you’re an opening act on a tour, that’s job done,” Danny Vaughn says. “Getting people to take notice in seven songs and leave an impression. It’s freeing at my age. I no longer go out there to destroy other bands. I hate that competition thing, and with somebody like Heep, there’s no point because they’re great.
“Bernie is an awesome singer. I watched him every night and was just so appreciative of how they do their thing. It kind of frees you from all that stress. We’ve got to be as good as we can be and leave it at that.”
As we joke about Danny’s gold jacket and I explain that he has to get many more to match Chris Jericho’s costume changes, we reflect on the enjoyment that Danny and Tyketto have in the live environment.
“While you were saying that, my mind just flashed to something. There were times in Waysted where there was so much friction going on between management and band members. There was always this us and them thing. The manager, in particular, loved to keep the new American guys feeling subordinate to the tried and tested rock stars. Okay, fair enough.
“But you would walk out on stage feeling unsupported. I’m out here on my own, and hopefully it’ll go okay. When I walk out with Tyketto, it always has been and continues now, and if maybe you’ve had a bad day, things are going wrong, or you’ve gotten a call from home that’s not pleasant, suddenly you feel very supported.
“It’s almost like a therapy encounter group. The five of us look at each other, oh, this is fun, and I love what you’re doing, you love what I’m doing, all of that. For me, of course, the best shows are not really about the band. They’re about what’s created between the band and the audience.
“The audience are active participants in good shows. So, it’s a bounce back thing, you know, and you kind of level each other up a little bit, as it goes on for really good shows.”
There are few car crash shows as far as Danny can remember. “I think as far as Tyketto is concerned, mostly we’ve been very, very fortunate. I can probably count on one hand the car crash shows, but usually they’re gear-related. Power goes out. I can’t remember, but there was one where the power went out like four times. Then you just can’t get going.
“One of my personal favourites was, I think it was the first night we opened for Nelson on the ’91 tour, and suddenly, we’re playing in front of 15,000 people. We had never done that before. I believe that night we opened with Wings. It was either Wings or it was Walk On Fire. It starts with the acoustic, and then the band comes crashing in on that big chord.
“I just remember Brooke hitting that chord and just watching his entire amp head just go up in smoke, like one chord. I had no guitar, and we were just playing. It just deflates the hell out of you. But you’ve got to limp on, you know.”
With Closer To The Sun’s release imminent, does Danny still get excited about release day and the circus that is around it? “Absolutely, and this time, more than in many, many years, which is not to take away from any of the previous albums.
“But as I said, there’s just something in the air right now. The We Rise video is now over 92,000 views [Over 103k now]. That hasn’t happened to us in a long time, in such a short space, like a month out. There are more people aside from the small pond that we all swim in musically.
“There are threads going out to further places, and it’s always exciting when you have a chance to grow a little bit, as I say, and expand into other territories. If things go the way they’re looking, Tyketto will play more gigs this year than we have in a long time.
“The big excitement really is, I’ve got all my ducks in a row. I’ve spoken to several journalists like yourself. I know where the record company stands. I know how I feel. So now I want to hear from the fans.
“That’s the big one, when that album comes out, and I start seeing little comments. Nothing is always fully positive. So, it’ll be interesting to see what some of the negs are. But overall, I just feel like we’ve made an album that, whilst not trying to be Don’t Come Easy, I feel distils something out of that album.
“If I had to tear it down to a simple idea, it would be that there’s a positivity to this record, which is intentional. We didn’t want to really reflect what’s going on in the world right now. There’s enough of that all around us. To really make an album that you could put on to decompress from all that, put it on in your car, drive, and you don’t have to take it off.”
With Tyketto heading out across the UK in late March, there should be plenty of opportunity to catch a band who are truly at their peak. For those who patronise Steelhouse Festival, Tyketto will be there in July, with Danny hopeful that there is less rain than last time.
“I’m sure Max blamed me for the weather last time,” he laughs. With that, we close our chat. Check out Closer To The Sun when it arrives on 20 March.
Our review will be out soon. Spolier aliert? Filled with quality melodic hard rock, Closer To The Sun is the band’s strongest album since Don’t Come Easy.
Tyketto release Closer To The Sun through Silver Lining Music on 20 March 2026. The album will be available on Deluxe Limited Edition 12″ Sunburst Vinyl, Limited Edition 12″ Red Vinyl, 12″ Black Vinyl, CD Digipak, Digital Download, Streaming and special D2C bundles.
Pre-orders are available from lnk.to/TykettoCloserToTheSun. For tour dates and tickets, visit Tyketto.com.
