The first of our exclusive interviews from Truck Festival is here and it is a big one! The Lottery Winners have a reputation for being one of the most hard-working bands on the scene right now, as well as being one of the most fun. They have two number one albums under their belt and a summer full of high-profile festival slots.
We sat down with frontman Thom Rylance and bassist and singer Katie Lloyd a few hours before their appearance on the Saturday of Truck Festival.
Reading Indie Life: You did your big hometown stadium gig in Leigh a few weeks ago with 12,000 fans attending. Having had time to reflect, how do you feel it went?
Thom: I don’t think I’m ever going to emotionally recover from that night, to be honest. It was a lot, wasn’t it? I went through every single emotion on that stage from being just eternally grateful that so many people wanted to come and see us do what we did, to being relieved that everything was going right. You know, I cried, I laughed, I had the best time ever with my mates. I got to look around and look at Kate here and just think how cool she is and how proud I am of her. It was just the best night ever, wasn’t it?
Katie: We can always have that as well, that memory that we did it.
Thom: We did it.
Katie: We planned it and we did it and it didn’t go wrong.
Thom: And it was one of those things that you suggest, and everyone goes, “You’re crazy.”
Katie: Everyone said no and we’re like, no, we’re doing it.
Thom: And we just did it and then, just did it good as well.
RIL: You must be quite proud about supporting Leigh, giving back to the community after the support they have given you.
Thom: There was so much that helped the economy of Leigh. If you think about it every hotel was booked up, every taxi driver was busy, every takeaway was full, every pub beer garden was full during the day, because we put that show on. It opened up the day before – they used our stage to put on Billy Ocean, which was great. You know, Marti Pellow and Billy Ocean came and for our little town that’s a really big deal.
Katie: We’re proud of where we come from, so it was so nice to do it there.
Thom: Yeah, it really was.
Katie: It always had to be there.
Thom: Yeah, you’re welcome, Leigh. We did that.
RIL: Lottery winners love a collaboration. Robbie Williams loves a collaboration. Might we get a collaboration at some point?
Thom: We might.
Katie: Maybe.
Thom: Yeah, and we’re working on it. We’ve written quite a few things together and we’ve just got to pick the best right one.
RIL: You guys do a lot more collaborations than your average band does. What is the attraction about collaborating with other artists?
Thom: Well, we invented it (laughter).
Katie: No one was doing it in indie.
Thom: It wasn’t a thing in indie, it was a thing in pop and a thing in hip hop and no indie bands were really doing it. And we were like, why? Because it’s great. You get to work with these people, and they bring ideas and it’s all really inspiring. And it was interesting for me as a writer to… to write and think, I want to write a song that I think Boy George could sing on, but that works for Lottery Winners. And it was kind of challenging as well. So yeah, I think it’s a great thing to do (These comments were made before Boy George released his controversial new track about Israel).
RIL: Is there anybody still on the wish list that you’d like to tick off?
Thom: Oh, so many. So many… I’d love to do Suggs out of Madness. I’d love to do a tune with him. Sharleen Spiteri (Texas). I kind of want to go to my heroes. I’m like, yeah Robbie, obviously. I’d love to do something with Dave Grohl.
Katie: Yeah.
Thom: Yeah. He used to be the nicest man in rock, didn’t he? I am now.
Katie: Are you?
Thom: Yeah, he used to be, but then he had that illegitimate child (Laughter). I’m never getting that collaboration now, am I?
RIL: Is there any annoyance with the Reverend (Jon McClure from Reverend and The Makers) for getting the Robbie collaboration out before you?
Thom: I mean, I did introduce them. But no, not at all. No. Like I’m so glad that they did that. And Rob and Jon and me, we’re all really good friends and we all hang out together actually. So, it’s really nice. Yeah.
RIL: Katie, has there ever been a time on stage where you thought Thom’s just gone too far this time?
Katie: Probably every time we’re on stage, but I love that. I love the chaos of our gigs because Thom is just Tom. It’s great. There’s never a dull moment on stage and I love it.
RIL: We’ve seen a few of your gigs and it often felt there was an element of chaos circling around the edges. Then at the Kentish Town Forum gig earlier this year it felt very professional. Are you a proper grown-up band now?
Katie: We’re trying to be, but I think we’re kind of…
Thom: It was quite professional that. That was our warm-up for the stadium, so we were like really locked in. Yeah, best behaviour, trying to make sure that we did it all right. It was quite professional. (To Katie) No, we’re never going to be a proper band, are we?
Katie: We don’t want to be. That’s not us.
Thom: We just like messing about.
Katie: And sincerity.
RIL: Having heard Rob’s (Lottery Winner’s guitarist Rob Lally) spectacular rendition of ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca,’ why don’t you go let him sing more often?
Katie: We should. (To Thom) Don’t be tight.
Thom: I get jealous, don’t I?
Katie: He’s a jealousy boy.
Thom: I get jealous. Rob’s got such a great voice, you know. I’m the worst singer in the band, really.
Katie: Joe.
Thom: Well, apart from Joe, I’m the worst singer out of the three of us at the front, but I’m the most charismatic and handsome. (Laughter from Katie) It’s true.
RIL: Thom, you talk about your ADHD in songs and in interviews. If you could give one piece of advice to secondary school teachers for dealing with children with ADHD, what would it be?
Thom: I think that if there’s a child and the child doesn’t seem to fit into the school environment, then the teacher should know that it’s up to the environment to change and not the child. That’s my advice.
RIL: You were in the United States recently to do some songwriting and planning. Is there a time frame on the new album?
Thom: Yeah, we’re working on it right now and it’s kind of hard because we’ve had such a busy summer. We need to find these little pockets where we can actually work on it in our studio and in other studios too. But it’s very much in the works. We’ve just had a week in the studio where we’ve been planning it all out and looking at all the songs. And I mean, I’ve written a lot of songs this time, like way more than any other record. So, it’s been hard to cut them down to like 15 songs at the moment. (To Katie) It’s really difficult, isn’t it? But yeah, I mean, I feel like we’ve already written the best album we’ve ever done.
RIL: That pleased with it?
Thom: Yeah, really good, really good. Yeah.
RIL: Thom you’ve really got into photography. You seem drawn to doing street portraits. How did you get into it?
Thom: Well, I got into it because we were touring in all these amazing places and I wasn’t really seeing much of them. We were just kind of seeing the bus and then the hotel or the dressing room or whatever. And I wanted a reason to get out there and walk around. And so, I got myself a little camera and just totally fell in love with the whole thing. And I like street photography and like candid shots because I just like real life as it’s happening. And I feel if you capture something as it’s happening, it can really tell a story. And it’s kind of up to me to find those moments and frame them and capture them. And yeah, I just love it, man. I really do love it. It’s like it’s given me like a whole new life, and I get the same kind of buzz from taking a photo as I do from writing a song or playing on stage.
RIL: You have a really committed fan base. What are the best interactions you’ve had, or the most memorable moments, over the years?
Katie: I think they’re all lovely, like we’re so lucky to have the fan base that we do…
Thom: We get so many gifts and letters and messages, and it really means a lot when someone sends a letter and says how much your music has helped them through their life. And I think things like that are like, what really touched me. That to me is better than the number one album trophies or whatever. If we can actually make a difference to people. Yeah.
RIL: You are on the main Truck Stage today. Virtually every artist so far has complained about the heat at some point during their set. How are you guys going to cope?
Thom: Nudity. I’m just going to be fully nude. I’m just going to wear a sock like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, but I’ll just wear one of those invisible socks because I don’t need a big one. They have like football socks. I’ll wear a thimble (laughing).
Katie: I was going to say thimble.
RIL: Thank you for your time.
Luckily, there is some cloud cover and a breeze by the time The Lottery Winer’s take to the stage, so Thom is able to keep his clothes on. It is a typically entertaining set, and you can read about it here:
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