As the crowd of baying teenagers drew closer, clambering up on to the pool table and bar in scenes the NME compared to zombie film World War Z, I wondered if my mum hadn’t been right after all that this was “very ill-conceived”. It was 2020, we had just announced the debut Sports Team album Deep Down Happy, and our latest single, Here’s the Thing, was Radio 1’s Hottest Record in the World.
We were celebrating with an impromptu gig, announced via a tweet, in an old-school Camberwell pub, the Nag’s Head. A few songs in, things were getting out of hand. I spied our bass player seeking refuge atop his amp, only to lose balance – tumbling into a crash cymbal that collided with the head of our drummer. A trickle of blood ran down her forehead. The show went on. It was perfect.
