Backstage with Deadletter: Album updates, untouched territories and obscure riders

When I arrive in Mad Cool’s backstage area to catch up with Deadletter, frontman Zac Lawrence and bassist George Ullyott are having a cigarette outside. They both look suspiciously tanned considering they’ve only just arrived in Madrid (even a UV index of ten can only work so quickly), but they inform me that they’ve just spent a few days with drummer Alfie Husband’s family elsewhere in the country — a well deserved break during a summer of festivals. “I’m looking forward to spending the rest of the summer inside,” Ullyott says. That won’t happen today, though — the Yorkshire-born band are about to play a set for what will turn out to be a thousand hardcore Spanish fans, who’ll lose their mind when Lawrence decides to hop over the barrier and perform from the centre of the crowd.

When I spoke to Deadletter for our Fight Back issue earlier this year, the band had just started working on their second album. Naturally, that’s where we check back in. 

Scarlett Coughlan: So, where have you gotten on the album front since we last spoke?

Zac Lawrence: Well, the songs are there and they’re about to become something more than voice memos…

George Ullyott: We’re going to get busy finishing it off throughout the summer.

SC: Are you doing much else this summer? 

ZL: We’ve got a lot on, actually.

GU: Yeah, I’m looking forward to Lowlands and Huntenpop in August, and going to Norway, Sweden and Poland. I’ve never been there before. Oh, and Iceland.

ZL: And Slovakia tomorrow.

GU: Yeah, lots of untouched territories, which is nice. 

SC: Have you played at Mad Cool before?

ZL: No, we’ve not. To be honest, we’ve not even gone out and had a look at the site yet. It looks very devoid of shade. But we’re on at nine and I think sunset’s due at about quarter to ten, so it should darken as we’re playing. 

SC: What do you think the pros and cons of playing at international festivals are?

 ZL: I think most of the cons are just logistical, which is quite dull. Like, for instance, we can’t take our own amps and drum kit.

GU: Dealing with airport security. But there’s a lot of pros — I mean, the food’s better. You get treated better. It’s generally hot as a blanket rule. 

SC: What was on your rider today?

GU: Red Bull, some Club-Mate, Mahou 0.0 Tostada, nuts, raw broccoli. It’s quite dull, really. We don’t party.

SC: What’s the raw broccoli about?

GU: We like to have one in the room, just in case.

ZL: You never know…

SC: Who are you going to stick around to see after your set?

ZL: I’d love to watch a bit of Iggy Pop. 

SC: It’s also been five years since you released your first single. What do you think the best song you’ve ever written is?

GU: This is such an annoying answer because no one’s going to be able to hear it, but it’s what we’ve recently written. I think, as an artist, if you love something you did in the past and you’re trying to recreate that, you’re probably not thinking about it in the right way. 

ZL: I agree. But if I’ve got to choose one that’s already out, it’s ‘Hysterical Strength’. I absolutely love it musically — the way it ebbs and flows. I still appreciate that number. We don’t play it live that much, but it’s one of those where it’s just stuck with me.

SC: Anything else you want to add?

ZL: Free Palestine.