London Grammar on their Glastonbury clash with SZA and The National
- Published
London Grammar are one of Glastonbury's Sunday night headliners, bringing their cinematic, moody electro-pop music to the festival's beloved Park Stage.
The set comes months before the release of their fourth album, The Greatest Love, in September, with fans looking forward to the prospect of hearing their first new material since 2021.
Formed in the dorm rooms of Nottingham University by singer Hannah Reid and guitarist Dan Rothman, they've gone on to sell more than three million records, including their double-platinum debut album If You Wait.
They've topped the bill at Glastonbury before, headlining the smaller Woodsies tent in 2014, but this will be their first time playing outdoors.
But Reid, who gave birth to her first son six months ago, has wisely avoided stepping foot on Worthy Farm so far.
"I've been in a bubble in my hotel room," she says. "All that pollen plays havoc with your throat."
From the safety of her bubble, the singer told us what to expect from London Grammar's set, why she has to block out crying fans, and what it's like to be scheduled against two of her favourite bands.
The band also played at Radio 1's Big Weekend last month
You’re one of the last bands to play this weekend. Will you turn up early and see the sights?
Oh no. If I was on site all weekend, I'd probably end up running away!
How come?
The atmosphere would be too much. You wouldn't sleep, so you’ve got to protect yourself if you’ve got a show… unless you’re crazy.
This is this your first time on one of the outdoor stages. How are you feeling?
Do you want the official answer or the truth?
Let’s have both!
The interview answer is, “I'm feeling pumped. I'm so excited. This is a new era of London Grammar.” And the real answer is I’m severely terrified. It’s like 10 per cent excited, 90 per cent terrified at the moment.
Why the nerves?
It just means so much to us, as a band. It's not just a regular festival set. For some reason, we see this as one of the most important shows in our career. We've rehearsed so much and I’ve worked on my voice so that we’re the best we can possibly be.
There's such a beauty to your music, even when it's melancholy. Do you ever look out from the stage and see people making out?
Not really. I get a lot of tears in the front row, though.
How does that affect your performance? Do you absorb their emotion?
I think I do. And I think that used to contribute to my nerves. They're very emotional songs for me, obviously, and when people get emotional too, I've definitely cried on stage. And it kind of made for a good show, once or twice, but you can’t do it every night.
So now, if there's someone who’s clearly going through a breakup, I'll have to look away.
Your recent single, House, is all about drawing boundaries for yourself. What were you going through when you wrote that?
I mean, some stuff I can't tell you about! But there’s a lyric, “I cannot be invisible”, and it’s saying that you need to be your authentic self, no matter what the consequences of that are.
I mean, unless you're just like going around being a massive [expletive]. You obviously shouldn't be that. But it's about not fitting in with other people's versions of you.
You've spoken previously about the sexism you've witnessed and experienced in the music industry – but looking at the gender balance at this year’s Glastonbury do you think things are finally improving, however slowly?
I think so. Maybe I'd have to speak to younger artists who are coming up now - because I think that, when you are a woman in your 30s, you get to a place where you've dealt with it. It's more like water off a duck's back, if you know what I mean.
But I do feel that there has been a massive shift and I think it's incredible. The Glastonbury line-up is incredible, the highest grossing tour currently is Taylor Swift. I feel like female artists are being celebrated more.
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Your new album is coming out just three years after Californian Soil. Do you realise that’s the shortest ever gap between London Grammar albums?
I know! Somebody else said that to me the other day and it's funny - because we've had a lot going on but we've managed to get into this really amazing rhythm. Just a really prolific patch of time.
Are some of these songs held over from Californian Soil, or is it all brand new?
Nothing is held over from Californian Soil - but there are a couple of songs that have been around in the ether for years and years and years, and we could just never get them right.
You And I is one of them, and Into Gold is another one. Sometimes one of us will be going through our laptop and we'll find an old demo and think, ‘What the hell is this? It's really good.’
So with those two songs, they are actually very old - just rewritten and reproduced. I guess we just couldn't give them what they needed at the time.
The curfew on the Park Stage is quite early – so will you dash off to watch the end of SZA or The National’s sets?
So, The National and SZA are two of my favourite acts ever but I have a child now, so I might have to just go home and take care of him.
But yeah, it’s funny for me, those two clashes. I'm going to be trying to focus on our own show, while seeing if I can like hear SZA and The National floating over on the breeze.
You can just stop your show and sing along.
Exactly. England is my favourite National song, so I could just harmonise along with them.
