Just a few months after scooping the Mercury Prize — beating Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and other similarly massive stars — Leeds quartet English Teacher are sitting in the dressing room of Shepherd’s Bush Empire, reading the names of the venue’s former headliners that they’re about to join the ranks of: The Rolling Stones, Prince, Oasis, the list goes on.
As is occurring with increased frequency, it’s another case of finding themselves spoken of in the same breath as some of music’s greats. Previous Mercury winners include Arctic Monkeys, Pulp and PJ Harvey; the week after we speak, English Teacher are also long-listed for the BBC Sound of 2025 poll, a tips list previously topped by Adele and Sam Smith.
