Flea and Anthony Kiedis were interviewed by The Sun newspaper about the UK dates for 2012 and the interview was published today along with a video. Here’s an extract:

I met the band in Paris, shortly before they hit the stage at the Bercy Arena on their current tour, to talk about their huge UK dates next year.

As well as Knebworth, they will play their first big outdoor gig in the north-east, at Sunderland FC’s Stadium Of Light.

Surf-dude Anthony knows his waves — and has considered taking on some of the north-east’s beaches.

He said: “Britain has good waves, it’s just really cold. Just north of Newcastle there’s a great wave spot, but you have to be a polar bear to take it on. Who knows?”

The UK is a big deal for the band and talking about the dates Flea, who is one of the best characters in music as well as one of the best musicians, said: “Hell yes man, I’m ready to do it. England is a place where it’s always been exciting for us to go.

“For any American band, you grow up loving all this English music. And to go over there, you feel like you have to honour all this.

“Like we’re going to do this Knebworth thing, like Zeppelin played it, you know what I mean.

“It’s just awesome. We’re going to do our best to play our hearts out, to let go of our brains and be animals, let the music flow and give every fibre of our being to the process. I just wanna explode. I’m going to brutalise Knebworth, like a wildebeest let out of a cage that hasn’t eaten in six months.”

The full transcript and colours scans of the article here: Red Hot Chili Peppers UK Tour 2012 The Sun