Mumford And Sons’ Ben Lovett: ‘We really don’t take ourselves that seriously’

Multi-instrumentalist discusses goofy promo for 'Hopeless Wanderer'

Mumford and Sons‘ Ben Lovett has insisted that he and his bandmates “really don’t take ourselves that seriously” after releasing the parody video for their track ‘Hopeless Wanderer’.

The band raised eyebrows with the promo clip for the track, which sees former Saturday Night Live cast members Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte star as Marcus Mumford and Ted Dwane respectively, while Arrested Development and 30 Rock‘s Jason Bateman plays Winston Marshall. The Office‘s Ed Helms, meanwhile, plays Ben Lovett – scroll down to the bottom of the page and click to see the video.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Lovett said that people shouldn’t be surprised by them showing their sense of humour. “We do that shit all the time though,” he said. “Anyone who has spent some time with us knows that we really don’t take ourselves that seriously. We do our music that we care about and it is from an earnest place but you know we don’t just sort of sit around in basements with the curtains closed crying about things that inspired songs in the first place. We have a great life. We have great fun with it. And it felt pretty important to remind people that most of the time we’re just goofing around.”

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He also revealed that the band still weren’t comfortable with taking part in promotional activity, adding: “We’ve never ever ever liked any of our music videos. We can’t stand having our photo taken or doing a video because that’s not why we’re musicians. So it made a lot more sense to put other people on the screen who are very watchable and much more qualified than us. And it showed why they’re so good at their jobs. They’re very entertaining.”

Mumford & Sons recently said they get frustrated at reverse class snobbery in England. The band, who headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury before a massive show at London’s Olympic Park last month, said they enjoy being in America because it is less class-orientated than their home country.

“We’re not the first band who went to public school,” bassist Ted Dwane said. “I think it’s unfair to hammer anyone for anything.”

Banjo player Winston Marshall added: “Class is a big issue here [in England]. And some people get picked on more than others. I think we probably do. I mean, it doesn’t help that we wear waistcoats and tweed the whole time. But there is a reverse snobbiness in England towards that sort of stuff. And I think that’s one of the reasons we really enjoy America, ‘cos there we’re classless.”

Shortly before their Glastonbury slot, Dwane had surgery for a blood clot which led to the group being forced to cancel a string of US dates.

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