Stanleys: Wigan band discuss excitement over debut headline tour, supporting the Lathums, and meeting Blossoms backstage

The four-piece will play six dates across the country at the beginning of December, starting in Glasgow and finishing in London.

Lead singer Tom Concannon says they are looking forward to getting out on the road to perform their own stuff following an uncertain 18 months caused by Covid-19.

He said: “We’ve waited a long time for this, it’s been in the pipeline for a good couple of years with lockdown and stuff. We are just excited it has now come round. This is the perfect time to introduce ourselves to other places.

“We have already done a lot of gigs in the local area, like Liverpool and Manchester, and established ourselves there, so we wanted to look further abroad. It will be the first time we have ever played Nottingham, while we’ve only done Birmingham and London once before.

“We are buzzing for all of the shows. When we went on tour with Lathums, we would say what we thought the best gigs would be, but it never turns out that way, so it’s best to look at them all equally and I’m sure one will happily surprise us.”

This tour follows the release of the band’s debut EP Look Back, which came out in September.

“We spent a lot of time writing and had a catalogue of different songs which we could choose from. We ended up picking the four we thought might be best to introduce people to us. It’s left us in a position where we are excited to get the others out.

“By the time we released it we were already in the studio recording our second EP, so it felt like a lifetime ago.

“We can’t wait to share the new stuff, the more the merrier. I think it is the best stuff we have written, and I hope it gives others as much joy as it gave me. Progression is the main thing for us. We never want to stand still, we want to push ourselves.

Along with bandmates Jake Dorsman (guitar), Harry Ivory (bass) and Rob Hilton (drums) Concannon has already had a taste of playing live this year, after performing at festivals and supporting multiple bands on tour, including fellow Wiganers the Lathums.

He said: “They were amazing gigs, just so much fun, and it was a great experience going to those places. It was really nice to see.

“We have done a load of gigs with the Lathums in the past, when we were all starting out. We’ve been so proud to see them rise, and it was nice of them to let us come along with a few dates of the tour.

“Being with them made us so much more comfortable with it. It was the first tour we had ever done so it was a bit daunting, but we just felt out home.

“It was the first time really where we could see people singing our songs back to us. For four lads from Wigan, it was an amazing feeling.”

Throughout their previous dates, the four-piece bumped into a few well-known figures, including a UFC fighter and a chart-topping band.

“At Sound City we saw Paddy the Baddy, which was crazy. We had joked about it before, but we didn’t think it would actually happen. Then, when we played Victoria Warehouse, we were backstage with a few lads from Blossoms, which again was ridiculous.

“We played it completely cool on the outside and panicking on the inside. We gave a subtle hello then went and screamed in a dark room for a bit.”

One thing Concannon is proud of is how much the Wigan music scene has grown over the last few years.

“It’s one thing we want to strive towards as well. We’ve been in the community of Wigan, and it is where we started our musical journey. Seeing the array of talent is great, there are so many young artists with so many clever ideas.

“The spectrum of genres is quite broad. Obviously, Indie is at the forefront of it, but there are a load of different venues that have a range of events.

“We are all proud to be from Wigan. It’s probably got an image of being a very working class, some might say, run down area, but that’s what we are here to change because it’s very vibrant at the minute.”

After a worrying pandemic period, Stanleys are now excited to be preparing to head out on the road and looking to the future.

“There was a period when it was all doom and gloom and you couldn’t see past the clouds, so for it all to be back at the stage we are now, is great. People are back enjoying gigs, which is something as a band we live and breathe.

“We want to do as much as we can, touring as much as we can. We want to get a few decent support slots, going round the country with a few decent acts. We have to keep practicing and doing what we are doing, to make sure everything is the best they can be.”

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