Wigan band The Lathums play town centre gig

Four-piece The Lathums set up their equipment on Market Place today (Wednesday) and quickly attracted a large audience.

Technical difficulties meant frontman Alex Moore ended up serenading the crowd with his acoustic guitar.

The band was keen to take advantage of any opportunity to play live after the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the music industry, with venues shutting their doors and festivals being cancelled.

Alex said: “It has not been a good year with us not being able to gig, so we thought it would be fun to do this.

“We’ve not played for so long, it was just nice to see people and get back to a bit of normality.

“I didn’t expect it to be like this, it has been really good with so many people here. It has provided a bit of something to do and something for people to look forward to as well.”

The Wigan gig was due to be one of two off-the-cuff outdoor performances by The Lathums on Wednesday.

However, police intervened and prevented the group from setting up and playing their songs in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester at teatime.

The band says it is desperate to return to the live arena and start sharing its songs with its fanbase once more.

Drummer Ryan Durrans said: “It’s good to be outside in front of people playing tunes. This is the only thing we can do at the moment, we’re just waiting to get back out there.”

In the space of less than two years The Lathums have gone from playing pub venues to being a name known by music lovers across the country.

The band’s brand of jangling indie-pop, which is sometimes combined with upbeat ska influences, has made them a hit with live audiences, while debut release The Memories We Make hit the UK Album Chart.

Lockdown may have affected the music industry but The Lathums have still enjoyed success, raising money for the efforts to save Wigan Athletic with a cover of Northern Soul classic The Snake and joining a host of other acts to do a single raising money for music venues.

Search for The Lathums on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to find out more about the group.

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