From Getting Drunk to High School Crushes, UK Indie Band Blondes Reveal All About ‘Coming of Age’

UK indie act Blondes are enjoying a meteoric rise to fame with the release of their single “Coming of Age,” going global after featuring in a TikTok video. Billions of views later, along with a share from artists like Lizzo, the band have signed to V3 Records. We didn’t want to talk about the video though, we wanted to talk about the real coming of age stuff like the first time they got drunk or who their high school crush was… and the band were only too happy to oblige.

Thanks for your time, how is life treating you at the moment?

Will Potter: “Thanks for featuring us! On the whole, pretty good! We are obviously trying to adjust to these uncertain times at the moment. We’re very lucky that we’ve managed to get this video finished and record some new music while we’re unable to play any shows.”

Tell us about your new single “Coming of Age,” and how it felt to see it become such a hit?

Will: “It feels incredible and very surreal. The level of exposure we have got from the success of this song has far exceeded any previous expectations that we had for ourselves. Mainly because we haven’t played a gig in almost a year so initially there definitely was a degree of imposter syndrome when we got that first surge of new fans!”

What is one lasting memory from your childhood?

Tom Herbert: “One lasting memory from my childhood is when my football team Sunderland got to the final of the League Cup and went 1-0 up against Man City. We eventually got battered but there were limbs flying everywhere at halftime.”

Let’s talk about coming of age then. Do you remember the first time you fell in love?

Stroudy: “14.02.14”

Who was the first band/album that changed your life?

Tom: “This is the most basic boy indie answer but Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division. Every song on that album is perfect and it has so many insane basslines. Peter Hook is a literal God and everything he touches sounds bloody brilliant.”

Artwork of ‘Coming of Age’ by Blondes

Do you remember who your high school crush was? Whose poster did you have on your wall?

Will: “Megan Fox from the first Transformers film. I felt things I had never previously felt before.”

Tell us about the first time you got drunk?

Stroudy: “I was at a family friend’s party, and I think I ended up attempting to do handstands in their garden for some reason. I put my hands straight in some dog poo, which was fun.”

What about being grounded by your parents. Tell us about the first time and what it was for.

Tom: “I’m a massive Mummy’s boy and a big fat teacher’s pet so I’ve never been grounded. I’m the least rebellious person ever and am a big fan of hand cream, lip balm and safety!”

Ever got a tattoo or piercing and, if so, how did your parents react?

Alex Davison: “I was actually really scared to get my first tattoo, but my parents were really nice about it… I think with my dad he had long since decided I was old enough to decide what to do with my own appearance. With my mum, she had loads of tattoos and so she didn’t really have a leg to stand on.”

Which movie from your teenage years could you watch over and over again?

Alex: “I would’ve said The Dark Knight, but I’ve seen Scott Pilgrim vs. The World an embarrassing number of times so it’s gotta be that. When I was younger I watched Scott Pilgrim so many times that I would have rather my dad walked in on me watching porn.”

If you could take one possession from your childhood into adulthood, what would you pick and why?

Stroudy: “If it was socially acceptable to have as an adult, I would have one of those yellow and red cars that everyone used to ride because that would just be pretty sick razzing about town in one of them.”

So, the single is out, it’s been a huge success, what are your plans for the rest of 2021?

Alex: “We’re super excited for 2021! It’s been amazing to see the success of ‘Coming Of Age,’ and we’ve got a few more songs lined up before summer. More than anything we want to get out playing shows again!”

Thanks for your time, over to you for the final words…

All: “We’d just like to say thank you to everyone who has listened to any of our songs, bought a t-shirt, or made a video with our song. And especially to the people who have reached out to tell us that our music has inspired them in some way. We love doing what we do and it means the world that it resonates with other people so much. Watch this space, we’ve got a lot of exciting things planned!”