Young Fathers: ‘Working-class bands have been eradicated’

Group follow 2014's Mercury-winning debut with new album ‘White Men Are Black Men Too’ on April 6

Mercury winning Edinburgh trio Young Fathers have said middle-class bands “have a duty to society” while “working-class bands have been eradicated”.

Speaking in the new issue of NME, which is on newsstands now and available digitally, the group explain how they held down various jobs in order to keep their musical ambitions alive.

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“Middle-class bands are the most content, tasteless cunts around,” band member G Hastings told NME. He added: “They’re so comfy that understanding anything with a bit of bite or grit about it seems like rocking the boat. They’re taking up space. They don’t realise they have a duty to show society a broad spectrum of stuff. Instead all their mates, who should have sold fucking insurance, start a band. Working-class bands have been eradicated.”

“The people in charge don’t want new ideas or change because they don’t know what it spells,” continued Alloysious ‘Ally’ Massaquoi. “It could be the end of their reign. That means TV and radio doesn’t want change. If they were putting out interesting ideas, it would make people realise that change is possible. That’s what we’ve got to do.”

Young Fathers release new album ‘White Men Are Black Men Too’ on April 6. The album is the follow up to 2014’s Mercury-winning debut LP ‘Dead’. Hear the song ‘Rain Or Shine’.

The album will be released via Big Dada. It’s striking title is explained by Massaquoi in an email exchange with management published on Young Fathers’ website

Responding to the suggestion that the name ‘White Men Are Black Men Too’ could be deemed offensive or pretentious, he replied: “I’m aware of the points we’ve discussed but all that sounds like to me is, we are trying to cater to what other people might think, as if it’s a negative thing, which it’s not. We came at it from a different angle, a positive angle. it’s got issues of race and so what? Why should alarm bells start ringing, even though in general conversations race, politics, sex and religion are always the subject matter? Why should it be discussed behind closed doors and never confronted head on?”

The Scottish group kicked off a massive UK live stint on March 13 in Skelmersdale. The tour ends on June 7 in Liverpool.

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To check the availability of Young Fathers tickets and get all the latest listings, head to NME.COM/tickets.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/?bctid=89762356001

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