The band known for their single Wasting My Young Years have been doing anything but. They met at the University of Nottingham in 2009 and by 2012 London Grammar managed to not only graduate, but land themselves a record deal. They’re also now the proud owners of a platinum selling debut album. Clever stuff. Guitarist Dan Rothman talks about Hoodtown, No Tomorrow Festival and, of course, hair...
As a student from outside the city, how hard was it to integrate into the local music scene?
We were welcomed pretty much straight away. I remember going to Community Recording Studios (CRS) in St Ann’s with Trevor Rose a lot, and despite him not necessarily being about helping out university students, he was incredibly welcoming to us. He warmed to us very quickly and wanted us to see what they were doing – we did a couple of shows with them and everyone was very good to us.
Were there any venues in Nottingham that you particularly liked playing?
I think the last show we did in Nottingham before we stopped playing and got signed was at The Bodega. I'd always wanted to play there because I've seen a lot of bands there and love that venue. We played there for Sounddhism and it was great. It was our first proper venue, in terms of it not being just a pub or club thing, so it was a very exciting experience.
How many songs on the album were written in Nottingham?
A couple of them were. We're talking a long time ago, about three years now. Flickers was, and there were lots of early demos that were written there too, but they didn’t all see the light of day. One of them we created a video for and it was kind of the song that really got the attention of everybody. I remember sitting in Dot's room in Nottingham and practising this song over and over again, and then the next day practising for a show in London – that was the gig we got spotted at and things just started to take this mad turn. My life has been very different since then. It's kind of weird thinking about it... I don't really think that far back anymore.
A lot of people refer to Wasting My Young Years as being the start of the whirlwind. Were there other moments where you really felt things picked up?
There's always different points in your career where things change and move dramatically in certain ways. Originally, when we put Hey Now up on YouTube, it went viral and that was the first time we could sense something was happening. Wasting My Young Years was our second official release. It's funny though cos it had a second lease of life – it was originally a single in the UK and did better than we expected, but then this girl sang it on The Voice in France. After that it went completely crazy over there and ended up being a top five hit in France, Belgium and other places in Europe.
Things always happen when you least expect it. It's often when you're not trying to make an impact that an impact happens. Something like someone singing our song on a show in France is something that you could never predict. I'm not sure how I feel about it, it's tricky to say. It had already been on the radio in France for almost a month or two before that performance and it’s arguably a shame that it takes a show like that to really spread songs. I'm not complaining, I suppose it's just the way things are these days.
Strong has been nominated for Best Song Musically and Lyrically at the Ivor Novellos. What's your view on these kinds of ceremonies?
Sometimes it's a cool thing to hate an awards ceremony. I don't have an issue with being given an award. The Ivor Novellos in particular is an awards ceremony that a lot of artists are quite proud of being involved in because it's very selective and, whether it's good or bad, it makes you feel quite special. More importantly, they seem to nominate young and independent artists, less pop-based artists. When we went to The Brits – which was incredible – we felt quite out of place. Musically we felt like the most indie or alternative band there, which was crazy because we're relatively mainstream. At the Ivor Novellos we're up against the Palma Violets, and The Maccabees have won it previously. It's a good award ceremony that ultimately focuses on and encourages songwriting, which is brilliant.
Have any Nottingham artists influenced your sound?
Lots of bands and lots of music, any live music you see is great cos it's like fuel for writing, or making you want to be successful with what you write. I do love Jake Bugg's music but he wasn't a massive influence - he's very different from us. I remember going to see Liam Bailey and being very impressed by him. I don't really know what happened to him. A major record company probably fucked him over...
Polydor have just released him from contract and he’s been signed to Flying Buddha, so his debut album will be coming soon.
I'll look forward to that.
You're playing No Tomorrow Festival...
It should be great. I love coming to Nottingham, and Wollaton Park is a nice setting too. I know Sam Smith, he's lovely. I met the guys from Clean Bandit ages ago, they're doing so well it's unbelievable, and they make great music as well. Indiana is pretty cool, my girlfriend absolutely loves her latest track. Looks like a very young, cool lineup.
If there was no tomorrow and today was your last day on Earth, what would you do?
Oh wow. I would spend the day with my family, and listen to as much good music as I could. David Bowie and stuff that reminds me of my childhood.
Who spends the longest time doing their hair before a show?
It’s a toss-up between Hannah and me. Dot just wakes up and that is his hair, he never has to do anything. That's the truth.
London Grammar will be playing No Tomorrow Festival, Wollaton Park, Saturday 7 June, 1pm, £35.
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