What’s better than headlining Reading and Leeds? It’s reverse headlining it, of course – the lovely Blondes kicked things off for the very first time on Friday in Leeds, but we at Reading had to wait all the way till Sunday morning to catch them. It was worth it, a dreamy start to the day, and we were lucky enough to steal vocalist Will and guitarist Alex away for a chat as they came off stage, to talk all things festivals, dissertations, and coming back to live music!
Everyone seems surprisingly alive for the last day of a festival, but nothing will stand in the way of Blondes having a good time and watching bands – not even being in a different city. “We were up at half five on Friday,” says Alex, “then we got to Leeds, did soundcheck, played, did a few interviews, then straight off [to Reading]. I’m a southerner, it feels more familiar, and if we’d played Friday night at Leeds it would have been the same day, so let’s get three different days… and see the end of Stormzy. Will passed out…” Bet it was worth it.
Who else have Blondes caught? Who are the big ones they’re catching today? “We saw our friends Police Car Collective! They were second on the BBC Introducing stage, and what was amazing was they were early on, smaller stage, but they came out and absolutely killed it. We saw Easy Life, Beabadoobee… Today’s big one is Wolf Alice, and are we still gonna be here for Sam Fender?” (If Blondes want to see Sam Fender today they may have to do another bus rush, because he’s in Leeds right now… sorry!)
More importantly than the rest of the lineup, though – how was Blondes’s set? “They were both great!” says Will, “but today seemed better – not to say Leeds wasn’t good, but cos that was our first, the second time feels more familiar. Cos we’ve done outdoor gigs, but not tent gigs, it’s a better vibe, but that’s the biggest thing. It took some adjusting at Leeds, but felt familiar today.”
“It was wicked opening the festival at Leeds!” Alex adds, “and then as you play, more and more people come over cos they’re like, oh, there’s actually a band playing.”
Reading might have even more of an appeal, too, because it’s Blondes’s familiar festi stomping ground – “we’ve been five times! Since we were like fifteen! Just got your GCSEs, go to Reading, that’s what you do. We just thought, we’re playing Friday and Sunday, nice day off in the middle, let’s do it properly. It’s Tom [bass]’s first EVER festival, and he’s playing! He was like, I don’t really like camping, I’m gonna have a shit time, and all of yesterday he was like. This is fucking amazing. He’s got a bit of a privileged first festival, though, with showers…”
So now they’re through smashing Reading and Leeds, they’ve completed their tour with Inhaler – what’s next? Last time we spoke, half of Blondes were deep in Masters degrees, but those are in the rear-view now. “Can you believe, Tom’s done his diss, but we got booked to play with Stereophonics and this and loads of shows, and he contacted his department like can I PLEASE have an extension, I’m actually a rock star now, and they were like… No you can’t! Both Will and Tom have had to balance that.”
It’s not been easy, as Alex tells us Blondes have been in the studio relentlessly – “we’d be there for like five or six hours, just running through the set. Cos we’ve had a lot of very unconventional success, over the internet and stuff, so now it’s time to go out and show people we can actually play music. We need to go and show people we’re actually a band!”
Go and see Blondes be a real band, and a really good one, at shows with Sports Team, Live at Leeds, further festival dates, and more – grab tickets here.
