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Most Americans familiar with contemporary Christian music are well aware of the impact Delirious has made upon the modern worship movement. What many don't fully realize, however, is the impact the British band has made worldwide, especially in the United Kingdom. In this special interview with lead vocalist Martin Smith, lead guitarist Stuart Garrard, and bassist Jon Thatcher, the band members explain how they reach out to all people through their music and their concerts.

Left to right: Martin Smith (lead vocals, guitar), Jon Thatcher (bass), Stuart "Stu G" Garrard (lead guitars), Stew Smith (drums), Tim Jupp (keyboards)

Let's talk about your double disc compilation, Deeper: The d:finitive Worship Experience, which you released in the States in 2001, and how you feel about the band's career so far.

Jon: We're very proud of the journey we've been on. There's so much great content in that collection. It's a bit odd, though, that I'm 25, in a band, and already have a greatest hits album. We have so much further to go. It doesn't feel like we've even scratched the surface of where we want to go. We're not really sentimental guys, and we don't want to build idols to our past, but it's nice to just look back and thank God for what he's done.

Why did the U.S. market get a different version of your recent Audio Lessonover album under the name Touch?

Stu G: Audio Lessonover was aimed purely at the pop market in the U.K. We weren't getting a good response from the record label execs in the U.S., so we wanted to try and improve it. I think we've done that by remixing a number of the songs and adding the new title track called "Touch."

We were able to live with the original album for a while, but the extra work we put into it for the U.S. release gave us the chance to put a little more of the Delirious feel that previously wasn't there.

What musical influences and experiments did you take into the studio this time?

Martin: We tried for more of an all-out guitar rock record, with a Smashing Pumpkins influence. We've still got our own sound, though. We want to write great songs that have incredible sing-a-long melodies. There aren't many people doing that, and we're focused on writing songs that people will remember.

Stu G: We experimented a little with stripping things back in order to get a more "live" expression of the songs in the studio. That process didn't sound as epic or anthemic as the "old" Delirious sound — not so much like "History Maker," for example. It made the sound both very interesting and very intimate. I think it really works.

Should fans expect the record to be more worship focused or generally themed?

Martin: Well, there again, Audio Lessonover was originally aimed more at the mainstream market. We'd just been on tour with Bon Jovi and Matchbox Twenty in England, and had been playing a lot of those songs with a great reception from the audiences.

We never really like to pigeonhole our albums as "worship" or "non-worship" because we say "all is worship." I'd probably best describe Touch as worship music for mainstream radio. We had a great opportunity to see that in action during the stadium tours, and that was amazing — a bit of a dream come true. You can sing all these God songs and preach to the converted, but if you can sing those kinds of songs and they stand out on the merit of the music, people will connect to the lyrics whether they understand them fully or not.

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