Lovejoy on support from their fans, plans for new music, and growing Tamagotchi collection

NME

Behind the scenes of this year’s Reading & Leeds, Lovejoy spoke to NME about the loyalty of their fanbase, frontman Wilbur Soot’s growing Tamagotchi obsession, and recent response from their US shows.

Transcript

00:00 (audience cheering)

00:03 - Hi, I'm Liberty, I'm here with NME

00:07 at Reading and Leeds 2023.

00:09 I'm sat with Lovejoy.

00:11 How are you guys doing?

00:12 - Good, how are you?

00:13 - I'm doing very well, thank you.

00:15 - Hello.

00:16 - Hello, thank you for having us.

00:18 - He can't speak.

00:22 Since the incident, he can't talk.

00:23 - How are you guys finding the festival so far?

00:28 - It's a lot of fun.

00:29 Yeah, it's great.

00:30 This is my first time, actually, at a festival,

00:32 to be honest with you.

00:33 It's my first time here as a guest, as well as performing.

00:36 And yeah, it's really fun, it's really good.

00:39 - I mean, you got to Reading on Saturday, right?

00:42 Who have you managed to see so far?

00:43 Have you managed to fit many gigs in?

00:45 - Was it, what, sorry, was that?

00:46 I couldn't really hear you.

00:47 - Sorry, have you managed to fit many gigs in

00:49 since you got here?

00:50 - I saw Sleep Token.

00:53 Sleep Token are incredible.

00:54 Nothing But Thieves, they were also incredible.

00:57 Soft Play.

00:58 They were great.

00:59 Didn't see anyone on the Friday.

01:03 My mind's gone blank.

01:06 - Yeah, we're like.

01:08 - I saw James Marry yesterday, he was very good.

01:10 - Nice, and what's the highlight been for you so far?

01:13 What's the highlight been for you so far?

01:16 - For me, personally, seeing James Marry,

01:19 'cause he's our friend, he's awesome.

01:21 And Sleep Token, 'cause I've always wanted to see 'em.

01:22 They were so good.

01:24 - Sleep Token killed it yesterday.

01:26 They were amazing, weren't they?

01:28 First time seeing them?

01:29 - Their drama is mental.

01:32 That snare sound is crazy, I love it.

01:34 - How are you feeling about the set today?

01:38 - Excited, really excited.

01:39 I don't know what to expect, if I'm honest with you.

01:42 But yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

01:44 Yeah.

01:47 (laughing)

01:50 - So have you learned anything from your set at Leeds?

01:53 What was the response like there for you?

01:55 How was that one?

01:56 - Yeah, it was really good.

01:57 I feel like for this one,

02:00 we've packed the set list a bit more towards the middle

02:04 than we did last time, so it's gonna be exciting

02:06 to see how people react to that.

02:08 But yeah, pretty much same kind of vibe.

02:11 We want lots of people shouting, lots of people dancing.

02:13 We had our first proper mosh pit in Leeds.

02:16 That was fun.

02:17 - I feel like Reading and Leeds

02:21 is where the mosh pits happen.

02:23 Like, I've seen some mosh pits of some bands

02:26 that you wouldn't think would warrant it,

02:27 but they managed to make it work.

02:29 What's it like getting that kind of response

02:31 from the crowd, getting that energy back from them?

02:33 - Fun, it's really fun.

02:34 It feels like I'm invited to a big party

02:36 and everyone's doing a dance.

02:38 (laughing)

02:41 - So tell me about your recent EP.

02:43 So it's been a couple of months since that came out.

02:44 Or what's the response been like for you?

02:46 How are you getting the feedback from the fans?

02:48 - Incredible, beyond what we could ever imagine.

02:53 It's like,

02:54 (laughing)

02:56 our first two EPs were

02:59 distributed entirely by us

03:02 and we've had the pleasure of having a team behind us

03:05 for this next one.

03:06 And it's been really fun.

03:08 It's been a great learning environment

03:10 and I'm really happy with how it's done.

03:11 And I'm really happy with the product.

03:13 - How are the new songs coming along in a live setting?

03:16 What's the response like?

03:17 - Yeah, they're taken about the same as the old ones.

03:19 People know all the words already

03:20 and they're all belting it back.

03:23 We always call ourselves zero hit wonders

03:25 'cause we don't have, there's not one song

03:27 that everyone chimes in for.

03:28 Everyone's always singing for all the songs,

03:30 which is flattering, humbling, it's crazy.

03:33 - 'Cause I feel like you guys have such a devoted fan base.

03:36 I mean, it's been two years since you formed

03:38 and you've had such a big cult following already.

03:41 What's it like for you to have that in a festival setting

03:43 and have it even on the road?

03:46 - It would be terrifying if we didn't have them.

03:48 I think having them really legitimizes our performance a bit

03:53 which is a blessing to have this early on in our career.

03:58 We had a couple shows where we had not very many

04:02 of our season ticket holders there.

04:06 And you could feel it, I felt lonely.

04:08 I missed them, I missed them when they weren't there.

04:10 And it's a blessing to have them.

04:12 - Yeah, I feel like they really carry you through.

04:14 They've got your back, I've seen your socials.

04:17 Those guys love you, they've been there from day one.

04:20 - Yeah, yeah, and we just wanna,

04:22 we wanna make something good enough

04:24 that they stick around, I guess, that's the goal.

04:27 - And another thing that they love

04:29 that's why we're gonna have to touch upon,

04:31 the fans love the Tamagotchi.

04:34 I feel like I need to know the story behind that.

04:36 - I just really like, do you wanna see mine right now?

04:39 (laughing)

04:41 - Where'd he go?

04:44 (laughing)

04:45 What's happening?

04:47 - Here it comes.

04:51 - Is it always the hand?

04:52 - I can't get it out 'cause I'm in a pink bag right now.

04:59 There it is, I can't get it out of the bag.

05:00 This isn't very masculine of me.

05:02 (laughing)

05:03 I'm nothing if not a machismo man.

05:06 Here it is, here's my pink Tamagotchi.

05:09 - Amazing, do you take it everywhere you go?

05:13 Is it an essential?

05:14 - That's a new one, that's a new one.

05:15 My everyday carry Tamagotchi is at home right now.

05:19 It's a limited edition gold one.

05:22 I know, I know.

05:23 2,500 of 2,500 I'll have, you know.

05:27 - Amazing, see I can tell how much you care about it.

05:29 You came with your little matching carry case.

05:31 I feel like you're playing this down a little bit.

05:33 - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

05:33 Our fans actually give us Tamagotchis

05:36 and that's one of the ones we were given most recently.

05:39 I'm a big fan, I've always have been since I was a little kid.

05:42 The name, the surname I use online, Sutt,

05:46 comes from a Tamagotchi forum I was on when I was 10.

05:49 So.

05:49 - Amazing.

05:52 Are the rest of the guys into anything like that

05:54 or are you alone with this one?

05:56 - Are you into anything like that, Joe?

05:59 Am I into anything like Tamagotchis?

06:01 No.

06:02 He's a massive, massive football fan though,

06:07 aren't you Joe?

06:07 You are the resident football lad.

06:09 - Speaking for myself, Mark.

06:11 - But yeah, he's not interested in anything like that, no.

06:14 Joe's got his Switch.

06:18 He loves his Switch.

06:19 No I don't, I lost it.

06:22 Remember, the real incident.

06:26 I lost my Nintendo Switch.

06:30 I played about 300 hours of Zelda

06:33 and yeah, super sad times.

06:35 Ash, he can't talk since the instant map.

06:39 Ash likes Pokemon cards a lot.

06:41 He's a big Pokemon card guy.

06:43 Being a millennial, he's really into his Pokemon cards.

06:49 (laughing)

06:51 - See, I feel like everyone loved Pokemon cards

06:52 but no one knew how to actually play it.

06:55 Like, don't lie, do you actually know?

06:57 No.

06:58 It's just, it's cool to collect them, right?

06:59 - He just likes the pictures.

07:00 - How are you guys feeling about going on tour next month?

07:05 It's come around really quick.

07:06 - Excited, daunted, everything in between.

07:10 - What do you think it's gonna be like

07:14 having your fan base, having your own headline show,

07:16 your own venue versus somewhere like a festival

07:19 where you've got all the artists in the world here?

07:23 - I hope it'll be quite similar to our US one.

07:25 I've missed our UK audience a lot though.

07:28 Being in America for the past few months

07:30 has been a lot of fun and it's been a great experience

07:33 but I'm really excited to get back

07:34 and play places like Birmingham again

07:37 as opposed to New York City, Los Angeles, California,

07:40 San Francisco, Birmingham.

07:43 They all tie together.

07:46 - What was the response like in the US?

07:48 - They were great, yeah, it was really exciting.

07:50 It was, they're a very different crowd, the US crowd.

07:53 I'd say that the peaks are louder,

07:57 as in like the volume peaks are louder

07:59 and the volume drops are quieter than the UK.

08:01 They get louder but they also go very quiet

08:05 whenever you speak and it's like, oh my God, hello.

08:07 I'm here.

08:08 I don't know, maybe it's the British accent.

08:10 Makes me sound smarter than I am.

08:11 - Okay, so going forward,

08:14 already we've had three EPs from you guys.

08:17 Any plans for a new music?

08:18 Do you reckon you'll be thinking of a full album

08:21 anytime soon or are we enjoying little releases and touring?

08:24 - Yeah, we've been working on some stuff,

08:26 just like normal people things and stuff.

08:29 Just like whatever, you know.

08:30 Normal people things is like the stuff

08:33 that we do every single day

08:35 and we can't wait for more songs.

08:39 - Yes.

08:41 (audience chattering)

08:44 - We have stuff coming.

08:46 (laughing)

08:47 That's what we're trying to say.

08:48 - Tell us about the stuff.

08:49 - Oh, I don't know.

08:51 I don't know, they'll hit me.

08:52 They have a shock collar around my waist

08:55 and if I speak, I get zapped every time.

08:58 I wanna tell you but I can't.

09:00 They have the button.

09:01 - Okay, what can we expect from today's set then?

09:03 - Something shouty, dancey, sweaty, guitar-y, music.

09:10 - Nice.

09:11 - I mean, it's a Sunday, people are a little tired.

09:13 Can you bring your A game?

09:14 - Oh, we can, can they?

09:17 - Oh.

09:18 - The question.

09:19 (laughing)

09:20 - Cool, thank you so much guys.

09:22 Thanks for taking the time.

09:23 - Thank you very much.

09:24 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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