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This week, we chatted to Matt and Joe - the founding members of Glossop band, The Late Pretenders. After performances at Outlaw and GlossFest, the four piece have been gaining recognition locally and further afield…

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We grilled the musical duo to find out more…

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Tell us about the band!

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Matt: “For me and Joe, the mission statement of the band feels almost as old as our friendship. However, it wasn’t until the summer of 2020 that we brought The Late Pretenders to life with the release of our first single, Famous Last Words.  After receiving a lot of love from the local community, our good friends Jonny and George reached out and voiced their interest in our music and their desire to join the band - from that moment on, we knew we had something and we got to work.”

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Joe: “In 2021 we played our first ever show at Outlaw Fest and since then, we’ve supported bands such as Gorilla Riot and Wull in Manchester, and at a string of shows in Sheffield - however, it’s going to be hard to top our first headline show.  In October 2022, we hosted our own show at The Globe and with over a hundred of our closest friends and family attending, it made for a memorable night and one that we won’t forget in a hurry!”

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How would you describe your sound?

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Matt: “Since our first release, we have continued to push ourselves creatively with the release of our latest singles, Late Night Sessions and You Don’t Inspire Me.  For years we’ve been trying to figure out how to describe our sound but recently we received a review from Jack Hardwick at Work In TV that said it combined “fuzzed up guitars with a liberal sprinkle of sonically satisfying synths and just all around great song-writing” - that works for us!”

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How does the town's culture and heritage reflect within the band?

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Joe: “I think that it’s always been clear to us that Glossop has a very special group of creatives, however, what is more exciting to see is how these creatives have worked to create a community over the past few years!”

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Matt: “I completely agree! For the past few years I’ve lived in Sheffield and I feel like everytime I come home, I see a new shop or a new venture on the highstreet and it’s a pleasure to see.”  

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Joe: “It would be hard to separate Glossop from our band, without it, we wouldn’t have met, we would have struggled to rehearse and we will always call it our home.  More specifically, The Globe is our spiritual home.  The Globe presents the backdrop for mine and Matt’s first conversations about the band, it’s where we came up with the name, it’s where we rehearse every week, and it’s where we played our first headline show!”

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Matt: “We couldn’t be more grateful for the support of everyone at The Globe - we love ya!”

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What would you like to see in Glossop that would help to bolster the town's cultural and creative community?

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Matt: “For us, the best thing that Glossop can do is keep pushing the large-scale community events such as GlossFest - events that invite everyone to come together and share an experience together.  “As events like this become more regular, it can only help bolster the community within Glossop and also encourage those in the surrounding areas to take note of what is special about our town.”

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Joe: “When we played this year, it was great to see how the community showed up to support the event and see so many friendly faces both in the crowd and working at the event.  It’s important to note that this event was made possible by Glossop Round Table and The Glossop Creative Trust - it’s their continued support that allows us to pursue these creative endeavours whilst also ensuring that they are accessible to all.”

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What are your favourite creative ventures in Glossop?

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Joe: “Well, it goes without saying The Globe has to be our favourite venue and I don’t think that would come as a surprise to anyone.  An affordable, vegan friendly pub whose staff and patrons are some of the best people you will ever meet.  We’ve been regulars for as long as we can remember and it’s probably a safe bet that if you were to visit any day of the week, there’s a good chance you’ll see one of us there.”

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Matt: “Thrive is another vegan friendly venture that was started just over a year ago by some two of my good friends, Sie and Dave!  It’s great to see them take on a new challenge and execute such an exciting project with great success!  Thrive looks to support and educate people about a holistic approach to health and wellbeing - I’d recommend everyone pops in to try one of their cold pressed smoothies or something from their specials menu.”

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Joe: “Deggy is one of my oldest mates and in recent years has chosen to pursue his creative endeavours full-time!  This is Deggy refers to the work produced in his new studio that has recently gained national coverage following his tribute to Viviene Westwood, a mural created in Glossop town centre that aims to give back to the community and bring a focus to the thriving art community within the town.”

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Find The Late Pretenders on Instagram or Facebook, or listen to their music now on Spotify.

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