01Profile
A The Blinders Photo
The Blinders
Musicians — Manchester
03Interview
Name?
The Blinders.
M - I’m Matty and I play the drums.
C - I’m Charlie, the bass player.
T - My name's Thomas and I play the guitar and sing on vocals.
Where are you from?
From Doncaster, living and studying in Manchester.
How would you describe your style and how important is it?
T - Mark E Smith! It’s important to look good, but not f***ing try too hard.
M - Pretty scruffy.
C - Smart Casual… I read a great interview with Bobby Gillespie once and he said, “You’ve got to look better than your audience.”
If you can make a record with anyone from history?
M - James Brown. No seriously, imagine writing a record with James Brown!
T - George Martin, The Beatles producer.
C - For me, it’d be Nick Cave...
M - And he’s alive - so it might actually happen!
What’s the best show you’ve ever been to and why?
M - Mumford and Sons at Leeds festival, we don’t really like them but they were spectacular.
C - I saw Arcade Fire at a place called Manchester Central, the old train station, that was probably one of the best gigs I’ve ever been too.
What British music icons inspire your sound today?
T - John Lennon.
C - To be honest Alex Turner, being from South Yorkshire you try and get away from it, but I don’t think they get the credit they deserve.
M - you can’t escape him. 'Humbug' was like our holy grail, our bible.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
T - I was going to say (Leon) Trotsky, or Jim Morrison. Can you imagine having a beer with Jim Morrison?
C - Somebody like Christopher Hitchins, who you could get a bit deep with.
M - Yes, or Hunter S Thompson. Although you know he’d only turn up for the last ten mins of the hour!
Which British subculture means the most to you?
T - I first got infatuated with the Mods, when you go behind it and realise it just working class lads who are just into music and that.
M - Quadrophenia got me into all that, what a great film.
C - The punk scene I think is a bit… misunderstood, for me, Neil Young is the most punk person alive. It’s an attitude rather than a sound, or a look.
If you could share the bill with any British band in history?
C - The Clash for me.
M - Cream.
T - Arctic Monkeys man, we’re very quickly becoming a bit too familiar with our idols, there’s stuff on the horizon being pointed at us that we might be in talks with people we’d once see as idols, like Serge from Kasabian, The Libertines…
What music did you listen to growing up?
All - Arctic Monkeys again.
C - U2 were the first band I ever saw live, in the Radio 1 Live Lounge, youngest person there - I was 7. But the Arctic Monkeys connect to us.
T - Especially more now, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' came out in 2006, and now ten years later…
M - I remember listening to that album again when I was 18 and it all just made sense.
What is your earliest music memory?
T - My first ever music memory was The Animals, 'House Of the Rising Sun'.
M - The Police, their first album for me.
C - Mines probably Stereophonics.
What was the last piece of music you bought?
T - I recently bought the Rodriguez album ‘Cold Fact’.
M - Spotify premium for me.
C - That I physically bought was an American band called Woods, they did a live session at Jack White’s Third Man Records.
The Blinders will release their second album 'Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath' on 8th May 2020 via Modern Sky UK. Pre-order it at theblinders.tmstor.es.
02Playlist
04Playlist Notes
What was the first song you played on repeat?
M - ‘Message In A Bottle’ by The Police.
T - ‘Paranoid’ by Black Sabbath.
One record you would keep forever?
M - My 7” Madness 'House of Fun'. The first time we played it, we had in on the wrong speed and it was terrifying.
T - A record I would keep forever, which I don’t own but would love to, is George Harrisons 'All Things Must Pass'.
C - I think I’ll go for Zep 4 (Led Zeppelin IV).
A song from your favourite album?
M - ‘Fire and The Thud’, no matter what new music I get into, I always go back to 'Humbug'.
C - I really like ‘Girl In Amber’ from Nick Cave's new album Skeleton Tree.
T - I’d like to go for ‘War Pigs’ by Black Sabbath.
A song you wish you had written?
T - ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon.
M - Yeah, you can’t get any better than that.
C - ‘The Times They Are A Changin’ by Bob Dylan. That’s what got me into political music.
A song that defines the teenage you?
T - 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' by the Arctic Monkeys.
C - Or the 5th track on the album, ‘You Probably Couldn’t See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me’.
A song lyric that inspires you?
“Come mothers and fathers throughout the land,
And don't criticise what you can't understand,
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command,
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’.”
M - That verse, that stanza is amazing.
Is there a song you like that people wouldn’t expect?
M - I really like ‘7’ by Catfish and The Bottlemen.
T - I love ‘Black Skinhead’ by Kanye West, I often listen to that in my room with my headphones on so they can’t hear it.
C - And I’m a huge U2 fan. So…
Best love song of all time?
T - ‘Into My Arms’ by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
C - Or, ‘There Is A light That Never Goes Out’ by The Smiths, what a beautiful love song.
T - ‘Long, Long, Long’ George Harrison’s magnum opus from The Beatles White Album.
M - ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley.
Best song to turn up loud?
C - ‘Ace of Spades’ by Motorhead.
T - Hell yeah.
M - Nailed it.
Best song to bring people together?
M - ‘Proud Mary’ by Ike & Tina Turner.
C - I was going to say that, or The Beatles tune ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’.
T - (singing) “All we are saying is give peace a chance” by John Lennon.
Any new bands you can’t stop listening to right now?
T - Avalanche Party - Jordan the frontman, he’s a force of nature on stage. Idles as well, great album, love the tune ‘Mother’. And Cabbage, they’re doing what bands need to do right now.
M - We met Cabbage at a King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard gig at The Ritz, we originally went to see The Wytches but King Gizzard really captured our eyes. La Mode from Manchester, I really like their EP and Broken Hands too.
C - Strange Bones are excellent, one of the best new bands I’ve seen.
03Interview
Name?
The Blinders.
M - I’m Matty and I play the drums.
C - I’m Charlie, the bass player.
T - My name's Thomas and I play the guitar and sing on vocals.
Where are you from?
From Doncaster, living and studying in Manchester.
How would you describe your style and how important is it?
T - Mark E Smith! It’s important to look good, but not f***ing try too hard.
M - Pretty scruffy.
C - Smart Casual… I read a great interview with Bobby Gillespie once and he said, “You’ve got to look better than your audience.”
If you can make a record with anyone from history?
M - James Brown. No seriously, imagine writing a record with James Brown!
T - George Martin, The Beatles producer.
C - For me, it’d be Nick Cave...
M - And he’s alive - so it might actually happen!
What’s the best show you’ve ever been to and why?
M - Mumford and Sons at Leeds festival, we don’t really like them but they were spectacular.
C - I saw Arcade Fire at a place called Manchester Central, the old train station, that was probably one of the best gigs I’ve ever been too.
What British music icons inspire your sound today?
T - John Lennon.
C - To be honest Alex Turner, being from South Yorkshire you try and get away from it, but I don’t think they get the credit they deserve.
M - you can’t escape him. 'Humbug' was like our holy grail, our bible.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
T - I was going to say (Leon) Trotsky, or Jim Morrison. Can you imagine having a beer with Jim Morrison?
C - Somebody like Christopher Hitchins, who you could get a bit deep with.
M - Yes, or Hunter S Thompson. Although you know he’d only turn up for the last ten mins of the hour!
Which British subculture means the most to you?
T - I first got infatuated with the Mods, when you go behind it and realise it just working class lads who are just into music and that.
M - Quadrophenia got me into all that, what a great film.
C - The punk scene I think is a bit… misunderstood, for me, Neil Young is the most punk person alive. It’s an attitude rather than a sound, or a look.
If you could share the bill with any British band in history?
C - The Clash for me.
M - Cream.
T - Arctic Monkeys man, we’re very quickly becoming a bit too familiar with our idols, there’s stuff on the horizon being pointed at us that we might be in talks with people we’d once see as idols, like Serge from Kasabian, The Libertines…
What music did you listen to growing up?
All - Arctic Monkeys again.
C - U2 were the first band I ever saw live, in the Radio 1 Live Lounge, youngest person there - I was 7. But the Arctic Monkeys connect to us.
T - Especially more now, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' came out in 2006, and now ten years later…
M - I remember listening to that album again when I was 18 and it all just made sense.
What is your earliest music memory?
T - My first ever music memory was The Animals, 'House Of the Rising Sun'.
M - The Police, their first album for me.
C - Mines probably Stereophonics.
What was the last piece of music you bought?
T - I recently bought the Rodriguez album ‘Cold Fact’.
M - Spotify premium for me.
C - That I physically bought was an American band called Woods, they did a live session at Jack White’s Third Man Records.
The Blinders will release their second album 'Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath' on 8th May 2020 via Modern Sky UK. Pre-order it at theblinders.tmstor.es.
04Playlist Notes
What was the first song you played on repeat?
M - ‘Message In A Bottle’ by The Police.
T - ‘Paranoid’ by Black Sabbath.
One record you would keep forever?
M - My 7” Madness 'House of Fun'. The first time we played it, we had in on the wrong speed and it was terrifying.
T - A record I would keep forever, which I don’t own but would love to, is George Harrisons 'All Things Must Pass'.
C - I think I’ll go for Zep 4 (Led Zeppelin IV).
A song from your favourite album?
M - ‘Fire and The Thud’, no matter what new music I get into, I always go back to 'Humbug'.
C - I really like ‘Girl In Amber’ from Nick Cave's new album Skeleton Tree.
T - I’d like to go for ‘War Pigs’ by Black Sabbath.
A song you wish you had written?
T - ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon.
M - Yeah, you can’t get any better than that.
C - ‘The Times They Are A Changin’ by Bob Dylan. That’s what got me into political music.
A song that defines the teenage you?
T - 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' by the Arctic Monkeys.
C - Or the 5th track on the album, ‘You Probably Couldn’t See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me’.
A song lyric that inspires you?
“Come mothers and fathers throughout the land,
And don't criticise what you can't understand,
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command,
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’.”
M - That verse, that stanza is amazing.
Is there a song you like that people wouldn’t expect?
M - I really like ‘7’ by Catfish and The Bottlemen.
T - I love ‘Black Skinhead’ by Kanye West, I often listen to that in my room with my headphones on so they can’t hear it.
C - And I’m a huge U2 fan. So…
Best love song of all time?
T - ‘Into My Arms’ by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
C - Or, ‘There Is A light That Never Goes Out’ by The Smiths, what a beautiful love song.
T - ‘Long, Long, Long’ George Harrison’s magnum opus from The Beatles White Album.
M - ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley.
Best song to turn up loud?
C - ‘Ace of Spades’ by Motorhead.
T - Hell yeah.
M - Nailed it.
Best song to bring people together?
M - ‘Proud Mary’ by Ike & Tina Turner.
C - I was going to say that, or The Beatles tune ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’.
T - (singing) “All we are saying is give peace a chance” by John Lennon.
Any new bands you can’t stop listening to right now?
T - Avalanche Party - Jordan the frontman, he’s a force of nature on stage. Idles as well, great album, love the tune ‘Mother’. And Cabbage, they’re doing what bands need to do right now.
M - We met Cabbage at a King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard gig at The Ritz, we originally went to see The Wytches but King Gizzard really captured our eyes. La Mode from Manchester, I really like their EP and Broken Hands too.
C - Strange Bones are excellent, one of the best new bands I’ve seen.
The Blinders | Columbia (2018)
The Blinders | Brave New World (2017)
The Blinders | Swine (2016)
The Blinders | Rat In A Cage (2019)
The Blinders | The Circle (2020)
X10
The Blinders live in-store at Fred Perry, Nottingham (2017)
X2
The Blinders live in-store at Fred Perry, Nottingham (2017)