Every Monday we will be bringing you interviews with UK or Ireland artists for Independent Music Monday. Recently we caught up with Leeds band Pretend Best Friends to find out more…
Who is in the band, how did you meet, where are you from and how did you come up with the name?
The band is made up of Leeds Music Scene stalwarts from the past 20 years. We’ve all featured in different bands and have put the rivalries aside to finally join forces! The name is a Terrorvision song that Rob tried to base a TV show idea on (the show was awful). No idea why we chose it to be honest, we’re sometimes actual best friends, I think.
Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
All the band are different and I cannot speak for everyone but my (Rob’s) influences are the most generic thing known to man; The Beatles, Oasis, Jason Donovan. I absolutely love 80s groove, 80’s pop – Stock Aitken Waterman, Bowie, Me First and The Gimme Gimmes, anything Britpop with a big chorus. PBF are all about the big choruses, bigger the better.
How would you describe your sound?
It’s Indie Powerpop AF and we cannot hide it. We are on an endless pursuit of finding the greatest chorus ever. It’s music that has been designed for partying at 1am in the bars. It’s guitar heavy, vibe heavy and generally party heavy.
What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
Our latest single, A Wasteman’s Dream, tells the story of how love is an addictive drug. So not to ruin the ending or anything but the wasteman is not actually on smack but is madly in love to the point where it is all he wants. The chorus is definitely got a Britpop thing going on and the rest of the track is a bit 70’s Americana Daisy Jones & The Six type thing.
What’s your local music scene like?
Leeds is magnificent. There is literally everything going on here and has been for many years. The venues seem to go through phases and have come and gone, especially over the past 20 years but we have institutions like The Brudenell and Music:Leeds (Launchpad) that will never go away. It’s a massively supportive scene and the people that make it happen and keep it going are doing God’s work.
What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
Our 4th and final single of this current run is released Friday 30th May. We’re also releasing 2 additional tracks and compiling everything on a 6 track EP. Recording our new stuff resumes in July 2025 and hopefully we’ll have a few autumn gigs to coincide with the new releases then.
Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
We’d love to work with our very good friends The Sexy Wild East, the singer is very dishy. It’d be good to play in Ibiza with Lovely Laura on Sax as the sun is setting wouldn’t it. That Rick Astley and Blossoms doing Smiths at Glasto was good wasn’t it? Perhaps we should get in Billy Idol and do Talking Heads covers?
Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
None at all – we’re a very serious band and will not have any funny business on our watch.
Do you have any upcoming live dates and performances?
None at the moment but our 4th single and EP featuring an additional 2 more songs is out at the end of May.
What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
We’re probably your new favourite band, so give us a listen, follow, share etc. (Thank you X)
You can find out more about Pretend Best Friends via Apple Music, Facebook, Instagram or Spotify.
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