‘It’s how we survive’: Wolf Alice on playing live and their hopes for getting back on stage

Published

3 years ago

July 23, 2021

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Virtual Glastonbury, a new album, and a slot at England’s first full festival in nearly two years – it’s been a busy few weeks for Wolf Alice.

Before heading to Suffolk to play Latitude Festival in front of 40,000 fans, the band of the moment spoke to Sky News and reflected on the recent months and the impact of the pandemic on their lives.

“It’s been very difficult not playing for the last 18 months – it’s such a huge part of our job and a huge part of our income stream and business. It’s how we survive,” guitarist Joff Oddie said.

“And it’s what we’ve done for the last eight years of our adult life, so it’s a huge, huge deficit of all kinds of things.”

Bassist Theo Ellis said that despite playing Glastonbury’s virtual Live At Worthy Farm, it was gigs that the group missed.

“We grew up playing gigs, we love playing gigs, it’s what we are 75% in this for, because we do so much of it, or we used to. So, yeah, it’s been weird and we’re looking forward to doing a proper one. And I’m also very scared.”

Talking about hitting the stage at Latitude this weekend, Ellis added: “We’re looking forward to going to a festival first and foremost, and being with people, because it’s going to be momentous, just because it’s happening.

“And I think we’ve got bits and moments in the set that we’ve kind of had a lot of time to spend playing, that we really hope will kind of connect with people the way that we’ve crafted it a little bit to – and then backstage bars, or the one backstage bar there is.”

Their latest release, Blue Weekend, hit streaming services and record shops last month, and reached number one in the album charts.

Drummer Joel Amey says the response to the album has blown them away, adding: “I feel very, very grateful to have that kind of reaction to something that you put so much of yourself into.”

On the timing of the album and being able to perform it live, singer Ellie Rowsell said it was “taking… quite a long time” for them to record.

“I think I felt really grateful for all the bands and other artists that put out music, regardless of not being able to do any shows just because it was something to look forward to and it was really important and I felt grateful for them.

“So I didn’t want to delay things, but we were kind of lucky because it was taking us quite long anyway. Our timeline kind of worked out.”

Although the band did not know when they spoke to Sky News, earlier in the week, the album was nominated for the highly-coveted Mercury Prize – their third nomination in as many albums.

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Ellis says their win in 2018 seems to bypass them, adding that they were “surprised” it happened.

“I think fame would really overwhelm the four of us. We’re not ready for that.”

But it cannot be denied that they have star quality, spending the summer of that year touring with the likes of Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age and even supporting Liam Gallagher at his massive Finsbury Park gig.

However, touring the world now has become increasingly difficult – with Brexit adding red-tape and financial hurdles to artists’ headaches.

The new rules are largely untested, with no artists touring since the signing of a Brexit deal late last year, but Rowsell says it will be “devastating” for smaller acts.

“We’ve been lucky, we’ve toured Europe a little bit, in the times when it was a little bit more straightforward, still hard, but now it seems like almost unattainable in some ways,” she said.

Ellis added: “It’s the experience that goes with it, the festivals, those kind of things are a massive kind of financial injection for a lot of bands to help them survive the rest of the year.

“It’s been a system where people have been getting paid for festivals and then using that money to fund what they do for six months, seven months, eight months after that. I think if we hadn’t had the freedom to do that the way we did do, it would have affected us.

“It’s never beneficial to not get to go somewhere and play a gig in my opinion, if you’re a band or an artist or whatever.”

Going forward, the band want to “go and play one hundred million gigs”, because it’s what they love doing.

Ellis concluded: “If it happens without things going back and getting worse, it would be amazing to go out and do what we used to do, because it feels like it’s been a long time now.”

Wolf Alice’s third album Blue Weekend is available to buy or stream now.

Entertainment

Huw Edwards: Former BBC presenter given suspended sentence over indecent images of children

Published

1 hour ago

September 16, 2024

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Huw Edwards: Former BBC presenter given suspended sentence over indecent images of children

Huw Edwards has been given a six-month jail sentence suspended for two years for accessing indecent images of children as young as seven.

The former BBC presenter had pleaded guilty to three counts of “making” indecent images of children.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London heard how Edwards paid up to £1,500 to a paedophile who sent him 41 illegal images between December 2020 and August 2021, seven of which were of the most serious type.

Live updates from court as Huw Edwards is sentenced

Of those images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine.

Prosecutor Ian Hope told the court Edwards had been assessed as posing a “medium risk of causing serious harm to children”.

Sentencing him, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring told Edwards his “reputation is now in tatters”.

The disgraced broadcaster was sent the illegal images by convicted paedophile Alex Williams over WhatsApp.

Williams was charged in relation to his WhatsApp chat with Edwards and was convicted of seven offences following an investigation by South Wales Police – receiving a 12-month suspended sentence.

The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy, with Williams telling Edwards the child was “quite young looking” and that he had more images which were illegal.

The relevant images range from the most serious category, known as category A, to the least serious, known as category C.

They include seven category A images, 12 category B images, and 22 category C images.

During his four decades at the BBC, Edwards was among the broadcasting teams covering historic events including the late Queen’s funeral in 2022 and the coronation of the King in May 2023.

Edwards also announced the late Queen’s death on the BBC in September 2022.

Last week, BBC chairman Samir Shah admitted the 63-year-old had “damaged” the reputation of the corporation.

The BBC is attempting to recover an estimated £200,000 in pay from Edwards, who continued to be paid a salary for around five months after the corporation discovered he had been arrested in November 2023.

Edwards resigned from the BBC in April citing medical advice.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, “making” an indecent image has been broadly interpreted by the courts.

It can range from opening an attachment to an email containing an image, to accessing pornographic websites in which indecent photographs of children appear by way of an automatic “pop-up” mechanism.

In the case of Edwards, he received the illegal images as part of a WhatsApp conversation.

Edwards’ barrister Philip Evans KC said his client had not “created” the images “in the traditional sense of the word”.

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Entertainment

Baby Reindeer stars among big winners at Emmys – as Shogun makes history

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7 hours ago

September 16, 2024

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Baby Reindeer stars among big winners at Emmys - as Shogun makes history

Hit British series Baby Reindeer was among the big winners at this year’s Emmy Awards – as Shogun made history and there were also big wins for The Bear and Hacks.

Richard Gadd, who created and starred in the popular but controversial drama Baby Reindeer, collected awards for writing and starring in the limited series category, while co-star Jessica Gunning was named best supporting actress.

Japanese historical drama Shogun became the first non-English language show to be named best drama, and also set a record for the most single-season Emmy wins – taking home four prizes on the night to make it 18 in total, following previous gongs at the creative arts event handed out earlier this month.

The Bear picked up four awards in the comedy categories, including wins for stars Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Liza Colon-Zayas, while Hacks took the overall win for best comedy series.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Debicki also won her first Emmy for her portrayal of Diana, Princess of Wales, in fictionalised royal drama The Crown.

On stage, Gadd, 35, said it was “stuff of dreams” as he accepted awards for outstanding limited or anthology series, best writing, and lead actor for Baby Reindeer, which is said to be inspired by his real-life experiences.

In pictures: Red carpet style at the Emmys

The show sees his character Donny Dunn stalked by a woman called Martha. After becoming a viral hit earlier this year, the programme made international headlines after a woman claiming to be the inspiration behind Martha filed a lawsuit against Netflix, alleging the story is inaccurate.

In his acceptance speech for the writing award, Gadd said: “Ten years ago, I was down and out. I never ever thought I’d get my life together… then here I am, just over a decade later, picking up one of the biggest writing awards in television.

“I don’t mean that to sound arrogant. I mean it as encouragement for anyone who’s going through a difficult time right now to persevere… if you’re struggling, keep going – keep going and I promise you things will be okay.”

Accepting her supporting actress prize, Gunning said she was “incredibly proud” to be part of the show. “Thank you for trusting me to be your Martha,” she said to Gadd. “I will never, ever forget her or you or this.”

This year’s Emmys ceremony, held at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, was also a huge success for Shogun. The show launched in February and is based on James Clavell’s best-selling novel, set during the 1600s.

Stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai became the first Japanese actors to win Emmys in the dramatic acting categories.

Sanada, who received a standing ovation, told the audience he was “beyond honoured”, and added: “Shogun taught me that when people work together, we can make miracles. We can create a better future together.”

A tearful Sawai, a first-time nominee, said: “I was crying before my name was announced. I’m a mess today. This to all the women who expect nothing and continue to be an example for everyone.”

Baby Reindeer and Shogun were not the only shows to receive multiple prizes, with hit series The Bear also a big winner.

In their opening monologue, father-son hosting duo Eugene and Dan Levy joked that the show, which depicts the stresses of life working in a professional kitchen and stars Jeremy Allen White as a chef running the family business after the death of his brother – would be better off categorised as a drama.

Allen White described himself as “so, so, so lucky” after picking up the Emmy for lead actor in a comedy series for his role as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto.

“This show has changed my life, it has instilled a faith that change is possible, that change is possible if you are able to reach out, you are really truly not actually alone,” he said in his acceptance speech.

His co-stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Liza Colon-Zayas also picked up the awards for best supporting actor and actress in a comedy.

This is the second Emmys ceremony this year, after the September 2023 event was postponed to January 2024 due to the US writers’ and actors’ strikes.

The Bear was also among the big winners then, along with Succession and Beef.

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Entertainment

Emmys red carpet fashion 2024: All the best looks from the stars and nominees

Published

7 hours ago

September 16, 2024

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Emmys red carpet fashion 2024: All the best looks from the stars and nominees

Nominees and celebrity guests hit the red carpet in style ahead of this year’s Emmy Awards.

British shows The Crown, with 18 nominations, and Baby Reindeer, with 11, were among this year’s biggest contenders, rubbing shoulders with The Bear, Shogun, Only Murders In The Building, and True Detective: Night Country.

This is the second Emmy Awards ceremony of the year, after the 2023 event was delayed to January because of the Hollywood writers’ strike.

Here are some of the looks from the red carpet.