An overcast Sunday in Nottingham saw self proclaimed captain of the ship, Welly and his disciples sit down with Olivia Hannant ahead of day two of Dot to Dot Festival in Nottingham to discuss all ends of silliness and the origins of a very nice pair of Bvlgari sunglasses.
Fresh off the back of their latest sarcastic pop offering, ‘Soak Up The Culture’, the lovely folk of Welly clad in school uniform with a muddle of nonsense, sat down for a pre-show chat. Following their journey from Bristol, the band packed themselves onto a weathered picnic bench outside of Rock City and the chaos ensued.
The Brighton five piece’s first impressions of Nottingham were invaded by “the Simpsons sort of nuclear cooling towers”, stating that they were “really cool”, with brief plans to convert Ratcliffe power station into a nightclub aside. The band proceeded with introductions, with enigmatic front man Welly pitching himself as someone who “can blow really big chewing gum bubbles”, guitarist Matt not confirming nor denying whether he has multiple hands to play his two guitars. Hannah’s talents include “being 5 '7, playing synths and anything that shakes”, guitarist Joe being “painfully average”, his words not mine, and bassist Jacob sporting a very nice pair of vintage Bvlgari sunglasses which he found and I quote “among the plants outside our local co-op”.
It was pretty apparent that collectively Welly don’t take themselves too seriously, which emerges as an asset among a seemingly never ending cycle of nonchalance. When asked about any highlights from Saturday in Bristol, it is no surprise that everyone's new boy crush, The Dare, got a mention. Parallels between the provocative electroclash and Welly’s own relentless style were becoming increasingly apparent, proving that providing a sense of nostalgia is still essential to emerging sound. Further kudos given to Baby Morocco, who Matt described as “tantalising” and Ugly (UK) surfacing as Hannah’s pick from the weekend.
As expected, things divulged further when Jacob couldn’t remember if he had paid for parking and we returned to discussion about the infamous power station being poised as the “eighth wonder of Nottingham”, after Matt tried and failed to claim it as his own business on Google. Whilst being very disappointed that the chimneys weren’t smoking, they were collectively even more disappointed when I said the power station was shutting down.
Off the back of a discussion surrounding the band's first single ‘Shopping’, delivering what can only be described as self-aware sub-urban pop, Welly reveals that himself and Joe work in an organic greengrocer and that as far as UK supermarket rankings go Tesco was at the top, despite the distrust in the clubcard scheme with the Co-Op at the bottom despite delivering on the eyewear front. The only apt development from Tesco was to ask for their preferred choices of meal deals, in which Welly revealed he would go “for a prawn salad or cheese and onion sandwich” and Jacob picking up a milk as his drink choice; I would not want to be sat near either on public transport.
From this revelation it was becoming clearer how the process of creating this fever dream of a set I watched became reality: I imagine the band playing a metaphorical game of chicken deciding how far to extend the bit.
Having previously been compared to the music iconic CBBC show Horrible Histories, I had to ask about their favourite offerings from the show and the conclusion was kings and queens, stand and deliver and a moving rendition of ‘Born 2 Rule’. It is obvious that Welly are unapologetically themselves and hey, maybe a Horrible Histories cover might not go a miss amongst the rest of their schoolboy silliness.
Some sorrow arose when realising Dot to Dot’s sponsor Super Bock, the Portuguese beer, was in fact brewed in Nottingham’s neighbour, Burton-on-Trent. Joe realised this when sipping it on holiday in Portugal, resulting in Welly's proposition of renaming the festival either “Bock to Dot'' or “Dot to Bock”. In regards to new material, the band announces to expect more tongue in cheek commentary and general shenanigans ahead of the upcoming General Election and the Euros.
The live set consisted of P.E. kits, plimsolls, and jangly guitars, all round a lot of fun, it is refreshing to see a group who are coming into their own and one unafraid to stick out. If you can appreciate irony and see beyond silly, you’ll love the likes of Welly.
Big thanks to Welly for their time, their latest single ‘Soak Up the Culture’ can be listened to here!
Written by Olivia Hannant
Edited by Natalie Howarth
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