EXCLUSIVE Q&A INTERVIEW: New Hope Club Talks About Their Favorite Memory From Writing Their Album and What They all Enjoy Most About Being a Band
Photo of New Hope Club. Photo Credit: Clare Gillen.
Blake Richardson, Reece Bibby, and George Smith are members of New Hope Club. The Manchester band went from playing in local pubs to gaining a dedicated fan base worldwide and selling out headlining concerts in cities like Los Angeles, New York, London, Seoul, and Tokyo. They have accumulated over 2 billion global streams and over 250 million YouTube views. They did a Q&A interview with Global Pop Trendsetters about their most recent album, touring, and other topics!
Read our Q&A now!
Global Pop Trendsetters: What first got you into music?
New Hope Club: We all grew up in families where music was on all the time, we were listening to all different kinds of music from so many different time periods. For me the moment it really hit me was when I was watching the “Concert For George Harrison” for the first time, I just fell in love even more and instantly picked up a guitar trying to learn the guitar solo from my sweet lord. I was up all night trying to figure out the parts with my dad and then I went into school the next day and had my first guitar lesson.
GPT: Two questions from Leandra @karmaclub from Twitter - How was the writing process for this album compared to the EPs and self titled album?
NHC: We had time to take a step back and really have a think about where we wanted to go, experiment and try new things until we found the sound that we truly wanted. We have been a lot more personal on this album, been very honest with ourselves and where we are at in our lives. It’s the most authentic set of songs we have ever released.
GPT: And which song off the album are you most excited to play live if you haven’t already?
NHC: There are so many songs on the album that I am super excited to play live, even if people don’t know them yet as they aren’t out it’s fun to get people dancing. On this USA tour we have been playing new ones we have been working and so far I think that my favourite to play every night is a song called “I Like Your Face.”
GPT: One question from Amanda @amandaxxpaige from Twitter: What’s your favorite memory or story from writing/working on this album?
NHC: I think that the moment we wrote the song “Getting Better” was probably my favourite part of making the album it really changed how we approached writing & not putting too much pressure on ourselves. We were able to experiment and do whatever we want and I think that feeling for us really shows in the song. Getting Better just flowed out of us and we wrote it in under 30 minutes which made us fall in love with it even more as we were in a moment where everything just felt right.
GPT: What inspired you to make the song “Getting Better?”
NHC: We were at a point where we had written what we already thought would be most of the new album so we really had no reason to not experiment and reach for something that we hadn’t already done. The lyrics I feel really put a stamp on how we were feeling at the time, we had so much creative freedom and we weren’t scared to push ourselves and see what would happen.
GPT: Was anyone else involved in writing, recording, or producing the song?
NHC: For this album we were very lucky to have Ross Golan on board, we learnt so much from him and he really helped push us out of our comfort zones and get us to try things that we wouldn’t do on our own. We found a rhythm early on during lockdown where we would be working on songs all day long, producing them up and then writing new ones at night, we had never really had to time to do this before so it felt like we could go back in on songs that we had loved and make them exactly how we wanted them to be.
GPT: One question from Analu @lukefeatme from Twitter: What were your inspirations in the process of writing this album?
NHC: There has been a lot of influences for this album ranging from a lot of older music through to more recent releases. We are obviously the biggest fans of The Beatles so I would say that they are always in the back of our minds when making music. However one thing that we have always wanted to maintain while making the whole album is to try and make it feel as timeless as possible that it could have been made in any era.
GPT: How could you describe your music?
NHC: I don’t really know what category of music it falls under as we have drawn inspiration from all over and built it into this sound. There are different moments in different songs where we felt a certain kind of way and if the listener can hear and relate how we were feeling at the exact moment in time when we wrote it then that feels amazing.
GPT: What music artist do you admire the most and why?
NHC: We look up to so many amazing people and artists. To be honest I’ve already said it but the Beatles are so great, the way they experimented and changed music forever has to be one of the most inspiring things and for them to write so many great tunes over such a short period of time. They are the best.
GPT: Two questions from Madison @madsanastasia from Twitter: Which song on the album took the longest to write?
NHC: To be honest pretty much all of the songs didn’t take that long to write however it was more on the production side that took a little longer to figure out. I’d say that Girl Who Does Both took the longest to get it where it is, we went through a few different versions of the song when we realized that we loved the lyrics so much that we wanted to almost strip it back and let those lyrics take the lead and build the harmonies up.
GPT: And how did it feel different releasing a full album rather than an EP?
NHC: As an artist you always dream about releasing an album. It’s something that I feel gives you the opportunity to really express your artistic side and for people to really hear what you’re about and the message that you want to put out into the world. We have worked so hard putting our heart and soul in this album and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it from start to finish.
GPT: What do you all enjoy most about being a band?
NHC: The best thing about being in New Hope Club is that I get to spend every day with my best mates, playing the music that we have worked so hard on and meeting all of our lovely fans from all over the world! It’s honestly so surreal and very thankful every day.
GPT: One question from Grace @brutaldaya from Twitter: What’s your favorite movie that you’ve seen recently?
NHC: Oooo favourite movie I’ve seen recently has to be Everything Everywhere All at Once. I went into the cinema not having a clue about what I was seeing as I hadn’t watch any of the trailers. I loved it so much I’m actually trying to figure out the next time I can go and watch it!
GPT: Do you have any artistic collaboration plans?
NHC: We have a few ideas for some people we would love to collaborate with but right now we want to release the tracks we have worked so hard on over the last 2 years then I’m sure somewhere soon down the line we will work on some tunes with some cool people!
GPT: What is an average day like for you?
NHC: Right now being on tour it’s pretty hectic! We wake up in a new city everyday which is so so crazy, bearing in mind we are all from small towns in England.
GPT: What would be a good theme song for your life?
NHC: Right now? Getting Better of course! It sums up our life at the time we wrote it and even now, so yeah I’d say Getting Better.
GPT: Two questions from Victoria @beautifultradd from Twitter: What city/venue would you guys love to perform in that you haven’t yet?
NHC: Oooo I mean the dream would be to one day play Wembley stadium in London! To play a show like that would be unreal and also so much fun!
GPT: And who’s your current favorite artists to listen to in your spare time?
NHC: Right now I’m loving listening to the new Rex Orange County album, I think his music is great and he always tends to try new things with his music and be a little experimental. I’m also loving a bit of Caroline Polachek right now!
GPT: One question from Raelynn @luvxrae from Twitter: What was the best piece of advice you’ve been given in your career?
NHC: Best piece of advise we have ever been given I would say is to be honest with ourselves, push ourselves and always want to improve there is no point in just settling, you can always do better!
The uplifting, "Getting Better" and "Girl Who Does Both," a cheeky take on the perfect girlfriend, out now!
Highlights:
Feature Film debut - Blake Richardson playing a young Paul McCartney in Midas Man, the upcoming biopic about Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
World Tour - begins June 12
Fashion - British men’s fashion designer Daniel Fletcher (finalist in Netflix’s “Next in Fashion” & GQ’s Breakthrough Designer of the year 2020) to create custom pieces for the U.S. tour
Debut Album - Album called “New Hope Club” (released in Feb. 2020), was a top five hit on the UK album charts.
Socials - 2.3 billion streams combined across all platforms / 8 million in social reach
Viral TikTok - “Know Me Too Well” over 1 billion streams & 750k sound uses propelled by k-pop’s The Stray Kids
Photo of New Hope Club. Photo Credit: Clare Gillen.