UK rockers Foals had planned on spending most of 2020 on tour, but then, in a story that’s become all-too-familiar, the coronavirus pandemic put an end to it all.
Chatting with The Guardian, the band’s drummer Jack Bevan revealed that they were literally about to play a show in The Philippines before shit hit the fan. Then they had to head back home and go straight into lockdown.
“We were at Heathrow airport, on our way to tour Asia, just as everything started to shut down,” Bevan said. “When we arrived at Manila, in the Philippines, everyone at the airport was having their temperature checked. We flew back to the UK and were in lockdown about a week later.”
So what’s the band been getting up to? Well, they haven’t been able to jam or jump in the studio just yet, but with touring unlikely to take place again in 2020, Bevan says that new material could be on the cards instead.
“We haven’t been able to get in a room to play because of the lockdown rules – and I’m itching to do it,” he said. “This is the longest I’ve gone without playing the drums since I was 14.
“Our initial plan was to spend 2020 touring, then and go back into the studio next year. But I think we’ll probably start writing later this year instead, and get back to touring next year — if we’re allowed.”
Bevan also revealed that their fans have been incredible in helping support the band’s road crew. “Festivals account for approximately 80% of our income… it’s also devastating for people who aren’t talked about so much – the road crew and the venue staff, who may not fall into the furloughing scheme.”
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He’s revealed that they’ve been feeling sorry for emerging bands, who might have been about to release a debut record.
“If coronavirus had happened to us the year our first album came out, or even our second, it would have crippled us. We might have been dropped by our label.”
Foals released their last album, a two-parter called Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost in 2019. The band also made their TV debut last year on Game Of Thrones.
Check out ‘The Runner’ by Foals:
