Massive queues were seen outside the Purple Turtle as Only The Poets celebrated the launch of their debut album.
There were Incredible scenes down at the Purple Turtle on the 31st of January, with queues snaking all the way down Gun Street! It was full of excited Only The Poets fans hoping to see their heroes play, or to at least get an album signed. This included utterly dedicated groups, and individuals, who had come from all over Europe, particularly Germany and Holland, where the band are equally adored.
We were also there for a Battle of The Bands. Frontman Tommy Longhurst came on stage early, their quest to find an unsigned band had received over 1,000 entries. All had entered hoping to be the support act at Only The Poets historic £1 O2 Academy Brixton gig, happening a few days later on February the 2nd. These were whittled down to a shortlist of fifty. The fifty acts appeared on an Only The Poets Spotify playlist, including Reading Indie Life favourites Nothing Rhymes With Orange, The Certs and Baby Said.
Those fifty had then been cut down to five acts, all invited to play live at the Purple Turtle, where Only The Poets live music journey had begun around eight years earlier. It was an incredible opportunity, and a remarkable way of supporting grass roots music, something very important to the band. In between the bands playing Only The Poets were meeting fans and signing albums, an incredible atmosphere that those present will long remember.
Feral Family
First up to perform were Feral Family from Bridlington, East Yorkshire. They are Jamie Lowe (vocals/bass), Oscar Woods (guitar), and Aidan Riby (drums). Jamie was instantly winning points with us by turning up in a Joy Division t-shirt. An excellent new EP drops on February the 6th, … So Far Behind. They have been releasing tracks since 2018, initially as a four piece band, and the years of experience together shows in a tight and well honed performance.
We were in Bridlington a couple of years back and it was great to visit, these British seaside locations are stranger places to live in though. Overrun in the Summer, neglected in the Winter. There is a touch of bleakness in the music that reflects that sense of Winter decay.
The trio sound great and rock hard amid a slightly new-wave sheen . The last few tracks are particularly furious and drummer Aidan is a high quality machine. The gauntlet was laid down for the following acts.
Baby Said
We were thrilled when we found out Baby Said had made the shortlist, a truly fantastic band with a locker full of great rock songs. They also had a slight edge in that they had appeared at the Purple Turtle before.
They absolutely smashed it as always. This was the third time we had seen them and they just get tighter as a unit each time. The Turtle went absolutely nuts for them. The Only The Poets fans standing near to us were all blown away. They were going to take some beating.
It was too short a set, but we still got favourites like ‘123’ and ‘Hate Me.’
Seren
Seren is a singer-songwriter from Stroud in Gloucestershire. It was a really soulful, honest set. There is an EP that was put out in November 2025, Where The Heart Is, that is well worth a listen.
Seren has seemed very surprised by being selected by Only The Poets, but she should not be. There is an excellent talent at work here and she has assembled a very good band around her.
Belle Dame
Belle Dame are a five-piece band currently based in Bristol. They describe themselves as progressive indie and were formed in Southampton in 2021. They are another really good entry and they bring huge amounts of energy to the performance.
They put out a decent debut album, LA Wonder, in 2023. The two most recent singles, ‘Tennessee’ and ‘Calico’ suggest a band rapidly taking big strides forward.
They cite a wide range of influences including The Strokes and Interpol, but listening to them live it feels like they fit very neatly into the great lineage of melodic British indie bands like The Kooks and The Wombats.
Semwanga and the Funktions
We hugely enjoyed the final of the five acts. Semwanga and the Funktions brought a high energy indie-funk to the Purple Turtle. Dom Semwanga is a charismatic front man switching from indie singing to hip-hop bars, to hints of latin, R and B and grime. Fans of Master Peace will definitely be at home here.
They have a couple of EPs out but I don’t think these fully do justice to the strength of their live sound. This is an act to follow and watch go from strength to strength.
The band’s bassist even got a spot of education in. “Anyone from Milton Keynes? Milton Keynes has more roundabouts than anywhere else in the UK.” Dom Semwanga adds, “Which neatly takes us into the next song ‘Driving In Circles.’”
Only The Poets
Wow. What a day. We had been treated to five high quality musical acts, any of which would have been a deserved winner and provide a fine show at Brixton.
It had been very busy, with a great atmosphere, but at this point the Turtle’s main bar room was rammed to capacity and the atmosphere turned electric with anticipation. Whilst Tommy Longhurst talked about wanting to spend this special day back in Reading with a home crowd, it felt incredibly like locals were outnumbered by continentals. The fan base is amazing though, all day felt welcoming and cheerful, all positive energy for the contenders for the Battle of The Bands and for Only The Poets.
The energy level went through the roof when the band start playing. This was not a full set, a shorter seven song celebration of the debut album taking place in the venue where the journey began. A wonderfully full-circle moment that you can see meant everything to those on stage.
The new songs sounded fantastic live but there were room for a couple of old favourites. 2023 single ‘Jump!’ got the whole room pogo-ing in time.
There really was only one way to finish this beautifully intimate performance. ‘Emotional’ first appeared on a set of demos released in 2021 but the venue all the action in the song takes place in is Reading’s very own Purple Turtle.
As the band dashed off, already running late for their next stop at Reading University’s 3Sixty, all that was left for us to do was cast our votes. The winners were not announced until later on at 3Sixty, but in the end they decided to take the top two and have a couple of support acts. Congratulations to Seren and Belle Dame who both got the opportunity to perform at the 5,000 capacity venue.
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