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LONDON — The U.K.’s LIVE industry group (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) has announced that contributions to its music fund has crossed the £500,000 ($668,007) milestone. The fund supports the grassroots music scene, and has been backed by stars such as Diana Ross, Pulp, Mumford & Sons and Hans Zimmer, all of whom have pledged to donate £1 ($1.30) from every ticket sale for upcoming arena shows.
LIVE campaigns and raises awareness for issues facing the U.K.’s live music scene, with a particular focus on the grassroots music scene and its workers. It represents 15 live music organizations, including the Music Venue Trust, the Music Managers Forum, Featured Artists Coalition among others.
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The LIVE Trust, established in January 2025, receives funding from a voluntary contribution of £1 per ticket from arena and stadium shows with a capacity of over 5000. A funding strategy is then implemented alongside a panel of industry experts, ensuring the funds reach venues, promoters, festivals and artists.
A proposed ticket levy has long been discussed in the U.K. to help stem the tide of grassroots music venues closures. The MVT reports that over 150 venues have closed across the U.K. since 2023, citing a number of financial challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
The current Labour government has supported the idea of the levy. Speaking in a parliamentary debate in January, Chris Bryant (creative industries minister) backed the idea of a levy in either format: “If the scheme does not happen voluntarily, will we make it statutory? Yes,” he said.
A number of big name acts have already committed portions from ticket sales in recent years, including Sam Fender, Katy Perry, Enter Shikari and more. Coldplay will donate 10% of the revenue from their upcoming Wembley Stadium residency to the Music Venue Trust, one of LIVE’s members. The group will play a record 10 nights at the venue in August and September.
Last week LIVE shared their Music Fans’ Voice report, which surveyed 8000 concert goers about the state of the live music industry, with 93% of respondents backing the £1 per ticket contribution.
Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE said, “This is a welcome milestone for The LIVE Trust and marks a very significant contribution to the grassroots live music sector. What this demonstrates is that there is a real appetite from performers and their teams to support the wider live ecosystem and we applaud and thank those that have already taken this initiative. Whilst this is an excellent start there is still much work to do if we are to convince government that a voluntary rather than statutory levy is both workable and sustainable.”
A video of Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap allegedly calling for the death of British MPs (Members of Parliament) is being assessed by anti-terror police in the U.K. The clip from November 2023 appears to show one member of the band saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” At the time, the Conservative Party – also known as the Tories – were in government with a large majority.
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This follows news last week that a historic video of the band expressing support for Hamas and Hezbollah – both of which are ascribed terror group status by the U.K. government – was being assessed by London’s Metropolitan Police. Under anti-terror laws, it is an offence to express support for such groups. A spokesperson for Kneecap did not respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday (April 27), a spokesperson for the Met said: “We were made aware of a video on 22 April, believed to be from an event in November 2024, and it has been referred to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) for assessment and to determine whether any further police investigation may be required. We have also been made aware of another video believed to be from an event in November 2023.” The group are yet to be charged with any offence.
A U.K. government spokesman told the BBC: “We unequivocally condemn threatening remarks made towards any individual. Political intimidation and abuse must have no place in our society. We recognise the chilling effect that harassment and intimidation of elected representatives can have on our democracy. All reports of intimidation, harassment and threats are taken extremely seriously. We work with the police and Parliament to do everything in our power to crack down on threats to elected officials.”
The news comes in the wake of the fall-out following the band’s sets at Coachella earlier this month. During their performance, the band displayed a message stating, “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.”
On Friday, news emerged that the group had split with their U.S. booking agent IAG, and there have been calls for the group’s U.S. work visas to be revoked. Sharon Osbourne, wife and manager of Ozzy, said, “This behavior raises concerns about the appropriateness of their participation in such a festival and further shows they are booked to play in the USA.” Kneecap are due to perform a headline tour in North America this October.
Kneecap have alleged on social media they have “faced a co-ordinated smear campaign,” saying their shows have previously “called out” the conflict in Gaza. They also suggested that they were considering legal action against the “malicious efforts.” Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert said the band had received “severe” death threats after Coachella.
Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” landed a sixth week at No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart April 25, and becomes the longest running chart-topper since Sabrina Carpenter’s nine-week run with “Taste” in 2024. Last week, Warren broke the tie he held with Lola Young’s “Messy” for 2025’s longest running No. 1 in the U.K. “Messy” had […]
Taylor Swift has returned to the top of the U.K. Albums Chart April 25 with The Tortured Poets Department following a recent physical reissue. A new signed CD variant, released to commemorate the album’s first anniversary on April 19, propelled the album 23 places to the top spot. Upon release in April 2024 2024, The […]
Northern Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap have split with their booking agent IAG (Independent Artist Group) following the controversy caused by their recent Coachella performances.
The news was confirmed by an IAG representative to The Hollywood Reporter. The report states that the Belfast group and IAG, which includes Metallica, Billy Joel and 50 Cent on its roster, split between Coachella’s first and second weekends. A spokesperson for Kneecap told Billboard U.K. that they would not be commenting on the split.
During the first weekend, the group claimed that the YouTube stream of their live performance had been cut following anti-Margaret Thatcher and pro-Palestine chants by the group and crowd. Thatcher was the U.K. prime minister between 1979 and 1990, and played a pivotal role during the violent Troubles in Northern Ireland during that span; she died in 2013, aged 87. The group have long expressed support for a united Ireland, and frequently spoken out on the war on Gaza at their shows and in interviews.
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During the band’s second set at Coachella, a projected message stated: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.” The set was not livestreamed on YouTube, but images from the onstage projections were widely shared on social media.
Since the band’s set, they have faced a wave of criticism from industry figures. Sharon Osbourne, wife and manager of husband Ozzy, called for their U.S. work visas to be revoked, saying that “At a time when the world is experiencing significant unrest, music should serve as an escape, not a stage for political discourse.” She also criticised Goldenvoice, Coachella’s organiser alongside AEG, for allowing the band to be booked. A previous report in The Hollywood Reporter said that Goldenvoice was “blindsided” by the messaging.
On Wednesday, London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed they were assessing a video taken of a band member appearing to say “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” at a headline performance in the capital in November. The two militant groups have been ascribed “terrorist group” status by the U.K. Government and expressing support for either is forbidden under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Following the fallout, the group have shared a number of messages on social media from Palestinians thanking them for speaking out. Kneecap member Mo Chara responded to the criticism on Wednesday, telling Rolling Stone that their message is “about [the Israeli government’s] government’s sickening actions, not ordinary people.”
Kneecap released their second studio album Fine Art in June 2024 on Heavenly Recordings. Their 2024 music biopic Kneecap, starring Michael Fassbender, was nominated for two Academy Awards, and in February director Rich Peppiat won a prize for his work on the film at the BAFTAs (British Academy Film Awards). The group will play a number of shows in Europe this summer including at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Spain and Glastonbury Festival in England. They will return to North American for a headline tour in October.
The shift in Loyle Carner’s persona in recent times is exemplified by the opening songs on his two most recent LPs. On “Hate,” the scorching opener to 2022’s hugo, the south Londoner starts by offering to “let me tell you about what I hate.” He rages against racial profiling, the limited opportunities for young Black men, the pitfalls of his own success and his relationship with his father, concluding: “I fear the color of my skin.”
Now, on his upcoming fourth album, hopefully ! (Island EMI), he strikes a different chord. The opening track — as yet unannounced — is built around a skittish drum beat and soft guitars, and sees Carner, a father of two, singing amid the hum of domesticity. His son plays the xylophone while Carner ponders about his sleeping youngsters, “What language do they speak inside your dreams?” It has the feel of light peeking through the curtains amid the dawn chorus. Let him tell you what he loves.
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When we meet Carner for his first Billboard U.K. cover shoot — and first interview about hopefully ! — he brings that lightness with him. The 30-year-old arrives in London on a break from filming a TV project in Scotland, excited about an upcoming holiday with his girlfriend and two children. hopefully ! (due June 20) is about healing, unconditional love and this new phase of his life; recent double A-side “all i need” and “in my mind” both showcase a sense of serenity and contentment with his lot.
“My relationship with [hopefully !] throughout was quite healthy,” he says in a quiet corner of Shoreditch Studios. “I didn’t have grand expectations and didn’t put loads of pressure on myself. I was able to get to the point where I’m lucky to be able to enjoy it.” In the past, he was “trying to prove something, worrying about what people think” of his music. Now he’s just grateful for the joy these songs give him. He wears a beaming smile as he speaks.
For the past decade, attention has closely followed Carner (born Ben Coyle-Larner) on his journey to becoming a British youth icon. His debut live performance was supporting MF Doom at a show in Dublin, and by age 17, he was on tour with hip-hop don Nas. Debut LP Yesterday’s Gone (2017) was a love letter to the rap that supported him following the death of his stepfather and earned him a nomination for the prestigious Mercury Prize; his sophomore record, Not Waving, But Drowning (2019), spawned a number of streaming hits, including the jazz-tinged “Ottolenghi.”
Throughout his career, he has used his platform to campaign for better awareness of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), something that he lives with, and the benefits of cooking to help manage those symptoms. His singular voice is a crucial one for Gen Z at a time when British male stars are lacking, and his live shows attract a wide cross-section of U.K. youth culture.
hugo was a huge leap forward. Across the record, he ruminated on his mixed-race heritage (Carner’s mother is white; his biological father is Guyanese) and his place in British society, enlisting esteemed poet John Agard for a spoken word meditation on “Georgetown,” produced by Madlib. On “Blood on My Nikes,” Carner contemplates the knife crime epidemic among young men — both as victims and perpetrators — in the capital. It’s a socially conscious record, but not overwhelmingly bleak, either; he knows when to pair light with shade in order to document the human experience.
Loyle Carner
Lily Brown/Billboard UK
It was his depiction of a difficult relationship with his biological father that resonated with listeners. For many years, the pair were estranged, with Carner describing him as “present at times and not present at other times.” hugo was written and recorded as Carner became a father himself, reflecting on the cycle of resentment and anguish, and how to rebuild a parental relationship. The album closed with “HGU,” seeing the pair share a mundane conversation about driving lessons, which Carner took with his father during the pandemic lockdown.
hugo became his highest-charting and best-selling album yet, landing at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart and earning him another Mercury Prize nomination. The Guardian called it a “beautiful, blistering masterpiece.” He reimagined the album with an orchestra for a one-off show at London’s Royal Albert Hall, headlined Wembley Arena and then hosted an even bigger performance at London’s All Points East Festival in August 2024. The 35,000-capacity gig cemented his place at British music’s top table, with a supporting cast of OutKast’s André 3000 and, to come full circle, Nas. In June, he’ll headline Glastonbury’s The Other Stage, putting him on a par with Charli xcx and The Prodigy.
“I think that [hugo] was necessary for a lot of people,” he says of the album’s success. “I still have people messaging me saying, ‘Yo, I just heard that album for the first time yesterday, and it made me want to go and connect with my mum, or grandad,’ or whoever. That to me is the beauty of it, that it’s still doing its job.”
hopefully ! is something of a departure for Carner. More in tune with his love for alternative and indie music, his hip-hop stylings make way for inspiration by Irish rockers Fontaines D.C., cult star Mk.gee, Big Thief, Idles and more. The band he assembled for hugo’s live shows followed him into the studio to bring new textures to his compositions.
“It’s a lot of pressure to step out singularly as a rapper. And I’m not even, like, a ‘rapper.’ I just make music, and people like to put me in that box,” he says. “I loved the anonymity of being in a band. I wanted to be around when the magic is happening and to not just be sent a beat after all the fun parts had already happened. I wanted to move away from the words being all that I can contribute.”
Carner’s pen is still mighty, but in a different way. Since his earliest releases, his words have been what has carried him forward and provided renewed inspiration. On 2019’s “Still,” which he described as his “favourite-ever song” during its performance at the Royal Albert Hall, he speaks about his insecurities with a disarming honesty. The rhyming couplets on hugo’s “Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)” and “Homerton” show remarkable dexterity. He knows when to build tension, but also when to let the words breathe. It’s a skill he learned from his poet heroes like Agard and the late, great Benjamin Zephaniah, the man Carner was named after.
As his family has grown, Carner’s techniques and influences have changed. He describes his son as his muse, and his presence is felt throughout the album. hopefully !’s artwork features a snap of Carner and his son, with colorful scrawls and additions only a child can make with such purpose. His voice babbles away throughout the record and his mischievous personality shines. Words could not contain the emotions Carner feels toward him, so the songs became looser, less literal but still emotionally resonant, and with a greater focus on capturing his son’s “melodic” personality in his songwriting structures.
On one album highlight, Carner speaks of the transition of becoming a father and notes that he’s “falling asleep in a chair I used to write in.” Later, he speaks directly to his son, saying, “You give me hope in humankind.” He has learned to embrace sonic imperfections and to capture a feeling, letting broad brushstrokes stand proudly. There’s a childlike wonder to the rawness of these songs; from snatches of phrases to choruses that linger in your head long after music has ended.
“If you try and color around something or touch it up… you always f–k it up,” Carner says. “That’s what I love about my son’s paintings. It might even be just one line across the page, but the simplicity of how he works and moves on. That’s how I feel now.”
Loyle Carner
Lily Brown/Billboard UK
Carner used the opportunity to embrace his role as a producer-curator. “As a rapper, the insecurity is that I don’t have any musical talent or whatever, so I’m like, ‘F–k, I better fill every gap so people know that I was there, too.’ But now I don’t mind people hearing a song and I’m barely on it, because I’m so across from everything else [in the creative process].”
He sings much of what’s on hopefully !; singing with his son on his bike, in the car and at home encouraged him to let his voice shine. “He never says, ‘Dad you’re way out of tune,’ even if I know that I am.” Here, Carner’s voice has an intimate quality, like he’s caught singing under his breath without a thought as to who might hear it.
He adds: “It’s fearless, but I’m not embarrassed about it and I don’t care because that’s the truth of how I felt. It’s that kind of bravery to me that is a reflection of what it was like to be a man. This living, breathing, feeling, flawed, emotional person that is willing to turn over heavy stones and be accountable for failing.”
Entering his 30s and becoming a parent for a second time brought Carner an emotional clarity about his relationship with his biological father. His stepfather, Nik, who raised him alongside his mother, Jean, died suddenly in 2014 when he was 19. The forthcoming LP encouraged him to embrace his softer side and the personality traits that Carner wished he had experienced with his biological father.
“Me and my dad are cool now, but he wasn’t really around when I was young,” he says. It was time to take a different approach. “My inner child is getting an experience of fatherhood that I never had, which is crazy. I’m not only being a father to my son, I’m also being a father to myself. I’m a person that I never thought I could become.”
Making the record has given Carner a greater perspective about his role and place in the world and in the family dynamic. “I’m not the main character in the movie any more. It’s my son and daughter’s film, and I’m just some extra in that.”
Carner has long been an advocate for a more healthy relationship with masculinity, having worked with suicide prevention charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). He gave a passionate speech at Reading & Leeds Festival in August 2023 decrying the “toxic masculine bulls–t” that plagued his childhood. His records and shows have helped unlock certain conversations, but the issue remains prescient. Netflix’s streaming hit Adolescence, which examines the fallout from a misogynistic murder by a 13-year-old boy, has sparked new discussions around the manosphere and its pervasive influence.
Carner saw the intensity of the show — which uses one-shot takes — up close on-set; he’s close friends with actor-creator Stephen Graham and director Philip Barantini. The topics at hand need urgent attention, Carner says. “We’re at an essential need for conversation for young boys to let go of this fear, frustration and anxiety and be able to pass it to someone.
“I’m very glad that my son has my daughter to live with,” he adds. “That’s a huge thing for me, and also for me to be in the presence of someone who is growing up to be a woman. For my son, it’s even crazier, as it’s so natural and safe and understood and demystified.”
Loyle Carner
Lily Brown/Billboard UK
The aforementioned Zephaniah features on hopefully !, a full-circle moment for Carner, given his profound influence on his life and as a male role model. Zephaniah, who died in 2023 at 65, was a towering figure in literature, music and politics, vocalizing the Black experience in post-war Britain. Carner honors his hero by sampling a clip of Zephaniah speaking on the Brixton riots, but also the potential and hope of the youth to change things.
“He articulates something that my brain has always wanted to say about masculinity,” Carner says. “Kids that look like me or are stereotyped are full of feeling and emotion and pain, shame, joy, guilt, hope and naivety. And nobody knows how to deal with it.”
Why that clip? “He’s saying what I’m saying about having pent-up rage and emotion; I’d rather use my pen to express it that way in a palatable and safe way.”
Zephaniah’s work, Carner says, taught him how to be a man who feels secure in himself. “His work shows the joy of not taking life so seriously and realizing that it’s fine to be a bit lighter or softer, and know that it doesn’t discredit my legacy or my story to be silly and to let go.”
Later this year, Carner will head on a mammoth U.K. and Ireland tour that takes in residencies at some of the nation’s most historic venues, like London’s Brixton Academy and Manchester, England’s Victoria Warehouse. Before then, he’ll headline The Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival on the Friday-night lineup (June 27) alongside Charli xcx and The Prodigy; it follows his 2023 top billing on the West Holts stage. Recent headliners on the coveted Other Stage include Megan Thee Stallion and Lana Del Rey — comfortably putting him in the big leagues alongside international superstars.
When the slot is mentioned, he’s speechless for a moment. “It feels like an amazing, monumental part of my career,” Carner eventually says. His whole family will be coming to watch on Friday, and then he can celebrate the rest of the weekend and “go see Doechii” the following night on the West Holts stage.
It’s just one page in this new chapter. In March, it was announced that Carner would star in an acting role for BBC’s upcoming crime drama Mint, directed by Charlotte Regan (Scrapper) alongside Emma Laird (28 Years Later) and Sam Riley (Control). The new disciplines that have come with being on-set have inspired him to write and direct his own upcoming project. He wants to promote poetry workshops in schools to the next generation. There are many strings to Carner’s bow as a complex, charismatic cultural figure.
He’s most excited for hopefully ! to come out and for his children to hear the snapshot of this moment, about this family, and about the man their dad was when they were little. But what about the fans’ reaction to the new sound and what they might take from it? “Honestly, I don’t care. It’s totally up to them. They could take nothing and not find it for 10 or 20 years or even hate it, but…”
Carner throws his arms up and laughs. “I haven’t even thought about it, actually. I hope that people that do find it and that it can be a good friend to them.”
Loyle Carner
Lily Brown/Billboard UK
Shoot production by WMA Studios. Photography by Lily Brown. Styling by Lucas Smith. Grooming by Marina Belfon-Rose. Shot at Shoreditch Studios, London.
Those Damn Crows has earned its first-ever No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart on Friday (April 18) with fourth album God Shaped Hole. The Welsh band had previously peaked at No. 3 with 2023’s Inhale/Exhale. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news By hitting the top […]
Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” has landed a fifth week at No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart on Friday (April 18), and is now the longest-running chart-topper of 2025 so far. By securing his fifth week, he breaks a tie held with Lola Young’s “Messy,” which had also notched up four weeks earlier in the year. […]
The Who have parted ways with drummer Zak Starkey after nearly three decades, following the band’s recent run of London shows.
In a statement to The Guardian, a spokesperson for the veteran group said: “The band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall. They have nothing but admiration for him and wish him the very best for his future.”
The gigs, which took place last month on March 18 and 20, were in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The Who’s frontman, Roger Daltrey, is a patron of the charity and until 2024 acted as curator for their annual gig series at the historic venue.
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Tensions came to a head when Daltrey complained onstage last month about Starkey’s performance. A report of the first performance via Metro suggested that the singer stopped several songs mid-performance, citing difficulty hearing the band over the drums.
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It also said that Daltrey paused their final song, “The Song Is Over,” and told the audience: “To sing that song I do need to hear the key, and I can’t. All I’ve got is drums going boom, boom, boom. I can’t sing to that. I’m sorry guys.”
Starkey appeared to pre-empt his dismissal over the weekend (Apr. 13), when he posted an all-caps message to his Instagram page that read, in part: “Heard today from inside source that Toger Daktrey [sic] lead singer and principal songwriter of the group unhappy with Zak the drummer’s performance at the Albert Hall a few weeks ago is bringing formal charges of overplaying and is literally going to Zak the drummer.”
Daltrey, 81, recently revealed during those Teenage Cancer Trust shows that “the joys of getting old mean you go deaf. I also now have got the joy of going blind.”
The decision wraps up a significant chapter in the legendary rockers’ history. Starkey joined the band during their 1996 Quadrophenia world tour. He was introduced to drumming by The Who’s original drummer, Keith Moon, a close family friend who gave him a drum kit for his eighth birthday. He went on to play major shows with the group, including the 2010 Super Bowl and the 2012 London Olympics. At press time spokespeople for Starkey and the Who had not returned Billboard‘s request for additional comment.
Starkey is the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Maureen Starkey, and has also enjoyed a fruitful career outside of The Who, playing with Oasis, Johnny Marr, Paul Weller and Graham Coxon. He currently performs in the recently-formed supergroup Mantra of the Cosmos, also featuring Shaun Ryder and Bez of the Happy Mondays and Black Grape, and Andy Bell of Oasis and Ride.
Netflix’s Adolescence has got the world talking. The four-part drama covers the fallout from a brutal murder of a teenage girl by her male classmate following his radicalisation by misogynistic content online. The Guardian called it “the closest thing to TV perfection in decades” and the topics raised on the show – incel culture; Andrew Tate’s influence on young boys; the dangers of the manosphere – are brought back to the forefront of U.K. and global political discourse.
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That’s without mentioning the technical triumph the show achieves. Directed by Philip Barantini (Boiling Point), the show uses one-take shots for entire episodes, allowing tension to build and to demand viewers attention; to pick up intimate moments of doubt, fear and sadness. It is a show of rare brilliance and massive U.K. success story; upon release, episode one pulled the largest ever audience for any streaming TV show in the UK in a single week.
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The show – spoilers ahead – culminates with a devastating moment. Stephen Graham (This is England, Boiling Point), whose son is accused and convicted of the aforementioned murder, is trying to keep the family together amidst the turmoil. In the final scene of episode four, Graham’s character heads to his son’s bedroom and breaks down in tears full of sorrow, rage and despair. The scene is soundtracked by Aurora’s 2016 single “Through the Eyes of a Child,” which was first released via Decca Records on her debut LP All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend.
The song has been boosted with over five million streams since the show’s release, and had success on the Global and U.K. Shazam charts. A decade down the line, the Norwegian’s poignant track is now resurging with new meaning and reaching fans all over again.
In an exclusive chat with Billboard U.K., director Barantini and Aurora discuss the song’s place in the show, the vital conversation the show has renewed and the possibility of a second season of Adolescence.
Philip, when did you first hear Aurora’s song?
Philip: Well, I have been a fan for a long time of yours, Aurora. I think you’re incredible. We were in the writing stage of Adolescence and we’d had a first script written for the first episode. We were driving to look at some locations actually, and the song just came on in the car on a playlist from my phone.
The timing of it… it was like something in the air. I’d heard the song before, but the words didn’t really hit me as much because we were talking about this adolescent child and this whole thing. I listened to it, and honestly, I could not stop crying in the car; so in my head, I knew that was going to be in the show.
How does that make you feel, Aurora? I mean, to know that it was so integral to the writing process so early…
Aurora: It’s absolutely beautiful. I feel very honored. It’s always so nice when something that you’ve created from your soul, and obviously kind of at the same age of the characters in Adolescence — which is also very heartwarming, to hear the vocals of me from such a long time ago being sung almost like a classmate, like one of them in the show.Also the fact that this show, the actors and the dialogues and the music and the way it was filmed, it’s a piece of art. It’s so deep. You can sit and discuss it for hours and hours, which I love because there are a few things now I feel that come out and touch you, because we are so used to consuming things without being deeply disturbed or moved these days.
Did you have a feeling you were onto something special?
Philip: Of course you never know. You sort of hope, don’t you? I always wanted it to be a conversation starter, or certainly for people to take different things away from it and have their own experience with it. There was definitely that feeling when we were on set. When we screened it to people, the audience were having the same reaction, but I did not think for one second it would be doing what it’s doing and still continues to do.
Aurora, the song that was first released in 2016. How does it feel to see it be repurposed almost a decade later?
Auroa: That’s the curse and the gift in making things and giving them to the world. They’re no longer yours and belong to everyone, which also makes it possible for them to be revived again and again through different emotions and through different eyes and ears. I love the way this show kind of has changed a bit now what the song means to me. I’m very grateful to have the fire in me reignited when I sing this song now, and I feel very, very grateful that this show has done that.
It’s like every song has arms that stretch out and wants to hold the whole world. But every song kind of finds a group to hold at the time. And I feel like this show and you, Philip, have helped this song stretch its arms even further to hold a new group.
AURORA
Wanda Martin
How did it feel when you saw the final scene and your song came in?
Aurora: I didn’t know how the song was going to be there, or if it was going to be in the scene, or just at the end. So I kind of had forgotten by the last scene, because obviously the show had such a hard grip on me that I couldn’t leave the screen. I don’t think I blinked either as the scene just kept going and going without cutting. It had such a hold on me, which was beautiful to be held like that by a show. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this gripping feeling. But then I had forgotten by the end of the show that I was going to be on it because I was just completely taken away and apart by the show.
I almost didn’t feel like it was me [singing]. I just felt like it was a child who knows how it is to be at the age of losing childhood. It’s a weird balance for people that age. I felt like I heard it from a child singing to me as well, for me to also relearn something I had forgotten as an adult. So it felt like it wasn’t me, if that makes sense. The universe kind of just chooses for you.
Needle drops are always difficult to get right. Did you feel that pressure Philip?
Philip: We talked about music a lot in this show, and whether we were going to have any music at all because I’d done a movie called Boiling Point, which we didn’t have any music in. That was also shot in one take, and it was a very conscious decision to not have music in it. But with Adolescence, it became apparent quite early on that music is going to help us here. I always knew that I wanted to have the needle drop at the end of episode, two with the choir and the kids’ voices. But then with this, “Through the Eyes of a Child” at the end of episode four — it was just like, that is the perfect song to end the whole show on.
How does it feel to lead on a conversation around topics like incel culture and violence towards girls and women?
Philip: We started the discussions about making something because of a couple of things that we’d seen over the last few years. What drives a young boy to pick up a knife and kill a young girl at that age? We did a lot of research into the incel culture and toxic masculinity and all of these things, and it was really deeper than what I thought. I didn’t understand it at the beginning. I thought I had a small understanding of it — but Jack Thorne, one of our writers, went on a real deep dive. It’s absolutely terrifying.
It’s a terrifying state that we’re in at the minute with our children. I would hate to be a teenager in this day and age. Obviously, the internet can be a very amazing thing, and social media too, but it also can be really dark as well. I’m just incredibly proud and honored to be part of this because we have started a conversation and not just in the U.K. but globally. This is a big global issue. I think it has been a part of a tiny little stone that we’ve dropped into the middle of the ocean and now the ripple effect is doing what it’s doing. It really does hurt my heart, but it also melts it as well.
Aurora, what have you seen from the response from people towards the show and the topics that are raised in it?
Aurora: I’m just happy to see people discussing, even arguing because it’s all engagement. Hidden issues like this only reach the public when it’s too late. Every time this happens, it’s already too late to bring it up, because it should never have been an issue in the first place. But the way the world is, is that we’re so in touch with each other and things are quite unfair in this world. It’s quite an unjust world. We are also so aware of how unjust it is, and then we’re being misled in who’s to blame for why we’re sad and why we are feeling like we’re being treated in an unjust way.
There’s a report on Deadline that a second season could be in the works. What’s your feeling on that?
Philip: Look, there are so many stories to tell about adolescence: boys and girls. It is a minefield. So I’m sure there’s more stories to tell, but whether we do… I’ll be honest with you, we’ve been talking for a long time about whether we should do another one or how we do another one. Obviously with the success of this one, it’s something we will look at and see what we can come up with. But there’s nothing set in stone or anything like that.