Welly Interview — They’re Big In The Suburbs

Welly are a quintessentially English band, drawing inspiration from Horrible Histories to Pulp and everything in between. Welly present English suburban life through rowdy, infectious melodies and chaotic performances. They don’t take themselves too seriously, and that’s what makes them such an incredible band. 

Welly are releasing their debut in March 2025 in the run-up to this they’ve recently done a UK tour. This followed their support of indie powerhouse Sports Team. They returned to the Liverpool Arts Club, a venue they had played days earlier as a support act, that this time they were headlining.  They featured local upcoming bands like Permanent (Joy), So, Reverie and SHEFU as support acts. 

Elliot or Welly — he is the band’s namesake — and I sat down for a chat in the band’s green room before the show. Like most green room’s Welly’s was chaotic and had the buzz of nervousness and excitement before a show. With the rest of the band coming and going either to ask for questions or look for things, we settled in to the interview.

I’m opening with this question over specific influences just for a bit of variety. So, can you give me a Letterboxd-style top four albums or tracks?

The first songs I liked or the most influential are… this is bad it’s the first question, and I’m stumped! Up the Junction by Squeeze, that’s the first song I ever heard. The Kinks ‘All Day and All of the Night‘… sorry I’m so bad at picking songs.

Don’t worry, I’m like that! If you asked me my actual Letterboxd top 4 I would really have to think.

What you don’t have them ready? Surely you’re meant to I feel like everyone does, I guess it’s about whether you actually think that in the moment though. Ok, ok so what have I said so far Up the Junction by Squeeze, ‘All Day and All of the Night‘ by The Kinks, I would say anything off The Ting Tings album. Actually, no, I would say Great DJ by The Ting Tings it’s a great song.

What’s that, Take That one! (Starts singing Shine)

Shine! That‘s a good choice.

Yeah, did you say that before I’d even said it? It is that one that’s impressive!

I think you said it in a different interview!

So I’m just repeating myself I’m sorry, let me think of another one. Actually, I’ll do albums, I never do albums!

The The ‘Soul Mining’, the first The Ting Tings album, The Virgins by The Virgins, their first album is incredible. We recorded the album in Scotland so Sunshine on Leith by The Proclaimers.

You sped through those! So a lot of your songwriting is highly detailed. I know you’ve said Common People by Pulp was an influence on that. What else drew you to that kind of songwriting?

I’ll be honest, I’ll probably never do it again. I wanted to create this little prestige thing and I wanted to write, I don’t know. I’ve never been asked this kind of question. I guess the songs I like are just more like that, Up the Junction is very based in detail. I wanted it to have another level and be more clever than me just writing silly songs. If I put a story in, it felt like that’s what I was doing. For me, I think music has to work where you don’t like the story, you don’t have to get it. At the same time, it’s there for people who do want it.

When the album comes out, people will be able to find the story and there’s a little thing that goes on. I’ll be honest, I doubt I’ll do it again. It’s really dumb, I want to make it much more simple. Like if you listen to a New Order song, it’s utter nonsense but broadly sounds cool. I want to try and do that like make Top Shop music not that I want our to be played in Top Shop, maybe Zara!

Another influence you’ve spoken about is old CBBC shows like Horrible Histories.

When I used to watch Horrible Histories I used to I’d leave the room when songs came on, I really didn’t like the songs! I didn’t like music, I didn’t get it. I loved Horrible Histories because it was funny, and silly we put stuff on TikTok and people told us it was similar.

It was a lot of American people who made that comparison weirdly. We have 30,000 followers on Instagram, which is not really representative of our fanbase at all. I think a lot of it is Americans who like Doctor Who and see us as a fun representation of British people. I’m not unhappy about that, it’s just the reality.

I guess I kind of have a question that links to that. You have an attitude towards ‘Englishness’ that is really refreshing.

I just think people slagging it off is so unproductive. Music is supposed to be bigger, like who’s sitting on the bus putting music on that’s all about hating your country and hating life. I feel like I don’t listen to political music, and I understand why people do. It’s just not why I listen to music. It’s an amazing art form, and you should always use art to influence politics. I think you should be able to choose, and also I guess be optimistic about it.

You’ve spoken about glum music, how important is it to you that your gigs are silly and high-energy? Especially when there’s this decline in live music, people don’t want to risk money and see a low-energy show.

I think that’s what we were saying earlier. Unless you have a strong emotional attachment to the glum music, why would you go to a show just to maybe enjoy feeling a bit glum? I think it started off with people bringing out energetic and performative music. Those are the people who are doing really well at the moment, like Chappell Roan.

The thing is I sound a bit silly when I go round saying I just want to make happy music. When you try and make something that’s uplifting, people make it seem like you can’t say anything deeper. You can’t have anything clever to say if you’re being chipper about it. I hate that people think you can only be clever if you’re being glum.

We’ve spoken a bit about ‘Englishness’ but your shows have a uniquely English aesthetic you wear PE kits on stage and have a live album recorded in a Village hall amongst other things. What drew you to create this aesthetic and retain it, making it really part of ‘Welly’?

It’s definitely hammed up and a bit sarcastic, I wanted to be a caricature of it. The PE kits came about because I wanted all of us to match costumes on stage, and it was the cheapest way to do it. It all came about with disco lights, bunting, and the banner which we have on stage.

We’ve just done some shows with Sports Team, and they really don’t have to do much, they have very hooky songs. I think we have really good songs, but I feel like there is some sense of overcompensating. If we have the lights and all this stuff, then people will feel more confident that they’re having a good time. But I also have much more fun doing it that way and people don’t want to go sit in the same sweaty smelly rooms, we want to make it look a bit different. Dress it up as a village fête, I guess!

Joe (one of the band’s guitarists) came in and said Welly was doing a good job. *I promised I would keep this interaction in

I ask everyone this, but it is silly, If you could have anyone come to a gig dead or alive who would it be?

*Joe says in the background Harry Hill and the whole band threw in some interesting suggestions and queries about the reincarnation of dead people*

Are they getting killed or not also are they re-animated?

Bruce Forsythe, actually he’s a legend, and he has to introduce us as well, that’s my request.

Pre-save the band’s debut album here! https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/2Cwmcvk5Cem1aXeiAHngmu

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