THREE MINUTES WITH... The Lovely Eggs

THE LOVELY EGGS are a Lancashire lo-fi punk band with a unique sound, approach to life and live performance. Lead singer and guitarist Holly Ross caught up with NOWT before their upcoming Ritz show.

N: How did you end up playing your first gig in New York City?

We didn't wanna be a local band. Sometimes if you play your first gig in your home town, you get pigeonholed into being a local band. We thought 'why'd you have to play your first gig in your home town?' We wanted it to be our rules rather than the rules of the industry. We wanna travel and make friends - that's the bands agenda.

N: How do you come up with album and track titles like "This is Eggland" or "If You Were Fruit”?

This is Eggland come from - basically a secret show. We didn't tell people where it was, or anything about it. At the backdrop we spent out in big massive foil balloons - this is Eggland. Taking the piss out of Shane Meadows, basically. Then we just thought that'd be a fucking great name for the new album.

If you Were Fruit is about a friend of ours who died - this song we wrote was about how we wanted to be a protective layer over his life, but we couldn't be. When we were in New York we saw a lemon on someone's doorstep. It just said "eat shit" on it. We thought it was really random, so we took a picture of the lemon. When coming to do the title, we had the picture.

Things come together in The Lovely Eggs world in a sort of magical way, you think it couldn't be any other way.

N: What's the best thing about touring with your husband?

The best thing is that we both have to get up with our kid, cause we tour with our four year old little boy. Lots of people get lonely on tour and it puts a real strain on relationships. But we all travel as a family; me, david, our four year old boy and our friend who babysits and our sound man all in a shitty white van. It's just family life.

There's no boundary between the band and our life. We never thought we can't take our kid with us. A lot of people play by formula, but we've never been interested in that. Never signed a record deal, never signed a publishing deal, haven't got a manager, don't have a booking agent. We don't think you need to do all the things that have gone before.

Don't get me wrong, we have enjoyed a few sherbets in the past, being in a band together. But you think, oh God, it's too rock n roll to take a baby on tour. Doesn't fucking have to be - you can just not do all that shit. We had two options - ie, not drink as much and fucking calm it down. Or we stopped doing it.

That wasn't an option really, 'cause then you have to get jobs. We've had so many shit jobs, that is the harsh reality. Life bites, it bites hard - we don't to go back to that. If you can survive money wise being in a band, it's the best thing ever.

N: When are you most creative?

When I'm pissed. I have to have a few drinks, quite late at night. Just when I'm hanging about Lancaster, watching people. There's nothing so funny as folk; you watch these rituals like even someone eating a butty sat on a bench, one day you see the funny side of it.

Some people have said we're a comedy, or they find humour in our music. Yet I find it the opposite - I find life so depressing you've got to see it through different eyes, you've got to see how ridiculous it is.

N: What's the last thing that made you smile?

Last night; on social media one of my mates put he was writing an email whilst watching a documentary on Hitler and in the subject line he wrote: Hitler. Other people's misfortune!

What's your favourite venue to play in/around Manchester?

We love Manchester; Gorilla Deaf Institute and Soup Kitchen are all amazing - the White Hotel is good too - feels a bit dangerous.

N: Why should people check out the lovely eggs upcoming Ritz show with The Membranes?

It's gonna be a good do. It's a brilliant bill, it's a mixed bill. The last one at Band on the Wall was pretty good fun - expect more of the same!

N: What’s the best way to have eggs?

We regret calling our band this - really, I don't give a fuck about eggs! The best way to have eggs is sunny side up - no- over easy!

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