Hotly tipped as ‘ones to watch’, Welly – consisting of band leader Welly, originally from Southampton, and his schoolmates – have been all over the UK this summer, playing and wowing crowds at festivals like Latitude, Leeds, and Reading. Their recent single, ‘Cul-De-Sac’, supports this buzz and provides the yin (songwriting) to the band’s yang (live shows). Damian Robinson caught up with Welly to find out what we can expect when they head to Middlesbrough.
I saw your set at Leeds and I thought it was excellent. Was that a typical Welly show?
Thanks! I thought we were slightly off that day, actually, due to some technical complications. But that’s good to hear. I think it was a typical show, yeah. We try to mix live songs with serious intent while not taking ourselves too seriously.
You’ve got some great songs. ‘Shopping’, for example, really sounded good live…
When we play, we try to make it a bit of a pantomime. I write the songs, so we’re a bit like Scooby-Doo in the sense that we use the Welly name but all add our own pieces to it – especially when we play live. We all contribute different elements, not just musically, but as part of the overall experience.
You’ve announced your National Service Tour Part 2: The North, which will see you play in Middlesbrough and Carlisle, among other places. Will that be a similar show to Leeds?
Up to a point, but the theme for this tour is more like a school disco. We’ll play, have fun, and probably have bunting and things up, just trying to create a good time. It’ll be like a Saturday morning TV show – something along the lines of if Dick and Dom were drunk.
And in terms of studio work and singles, where are you at the moment?
‘Cul-De-Sac’ was released recently, along with the video, and we’ve got an album recorded and ready to go. We just need to work out how and when it’s coming out, and then what will follow. We’re pretty relaxed about it; we’ve got some good songs, so we’re confident that good things will come.
The video for ‘Cul-De-Sac’ is certainly fun-filled…
Yeah, people seem to be enjoying it. We recorded it in the town where they filmed Hot Fuzz, and at one point, I downed a bottle of white lightning, so it all sort of melts together in a strange way. It was a great time recording that.
Welly play at Play Brew in Middlesbrough on Saturday 23rd November. Tickets, priced at £5.00 in advance, are available from skiddle.com.
