Sopranos songwriter says 'I've never seen the show'

The Sopranos is the gripping tale of a New Jersey mafia family which went on to become one of the most watched TV series of all time.

But how many of its viewers know that the show's instantly recognisable theme tune was actually penned by a man from the south Wales valleys?

And as the US hit celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, he has a startling confession to make.

Larry Love says he has never seen one of its 86 episodes.

"No, I've been too scared too watch it to be honest," said Love, frontman with Alabama 3, whose 1997 track Woke Up This Morning became the instantly recognisable song which cued up the everyday story of New Jersey gangsterism.

"Not because of anything in the show itself, more due to the fact I hate listening to my own records.

"I'm too much of a perfectionist and always end up thinking, 'Oh, I should have done that part differently'."

But how did a musician from Merthyr Tydfil end up involved with Tony Soprano and his heat-packing cohorts?

"We'd originally done Woke Up as a 10-minute acid house track with all these blues samples on it," said Love, whose real name is Rob Spragg.

"Then I just started singing over the top and it sort of coalesced into a song from there.

"Our record company decided to release it as a single but it didn't really do much - I think it only got to number 60 in the charts or something."

However, the tune, which was inspired by a true-life case of a domestic abuse victim who killed her husband, somehow made it to the ears of Sopranos writer David Chase.

"He was driving along the New Jersey turnpike when it came on his car radio," said Love.

"He thought the lyrics - "Woke up this morning, got yourself a gun / Mamma always said you'd be the chosen one" - were perfect for the dynamic between Tony Soprano and his mother.

"Funny thing is David originally thought we were a bunch of black kids from the Bronx, as opposed to some Welsh fella pretending to be American.

"And when he found out the truth he loved it, saying that it was so daft it somehow made perfect sense," laughed Love.

Initially offered $500 for the track, subsequent royalties from its use have allowed the Brixton-based singer and his bandmates to keep going.

"I'll admit that we took a bit of a gamble going up with the whole 'Country and Western-meets-techno' vibe, especially during the age of Britpop," he said.

"But it worked and we're still here and of that I'm very proud."

Now 59, Love is looking forward performing live around the UK later this year and will be releasing a "twisted, moody remix" of Woke Up This Morning to coincide with the dates.

"A lot of the old American bluesmen I grew up listening to didn't start their careers until they were already a ripe old age, so I'm not going to let nearly turning 60 bother me," he added.

"I'm a rock and roller at the end of the day, not playing prop forward for Wales."