Boisterous, speedy pop-punk outfit
May Day tell Kate Abbott about
Mob Monday, mellotrons, and their
addiction to all things Brum.
May Day’s music is rife with
snippets that won’t stop
running around in your
head, from the superior
speed-drumming of ‘WFP’
to the insight of tracks like ‘This City’s got
an Offering’, in which they spout their
devoutness to Birmingham. They provide
fresh, gritty pop-punk, and they cavort
around every stage with more than enough
energy and élan for the excitable over-14s
crowds they wow at their own club night
Mob Monday. “We’re on our fifth venue now,
The Hiberian in Stirchley,” explains Stuart.
“We got kicked out of four venues because
of all the kids goin’ mad for it. It just goes
off … we’re not even on stage half the time
—the crowd’s on there instead of us.” They
are quick to remind me that they cottoned
onto, and cornered, the massive under-18
gig market way before anyone tried it out on
London crowds. They’re ahead of the curve,
May Day
Photography by Sam Burrows
and they’re taking the young masses along
for the ride.
May Day bring a lot to the table in
defence of Birmingham and its burgeoning
music scene. They started Mob Monday to
give young local bands a step in the right
direction. “Birmingham needs a big push,”
says Stuart. “All the bands that get big
from here always say ‘Birmingham’s shit’ in
interviews, even when all their artwork relates
to the great things in the city,”. “People
don’t seem to give Birmingham a chance,”
says Josh. “It’s so fruitful, but there are no
labels here, and there need to be. You can
come to any gig here and see three top class
bands; people need to start taking notice.”
All of the boys are as passionate about this
subject; frontman Simon’s favourite lyric of
his own making is ‘How can you sit and slate
this blessed wonderland? It turns you in to
who you are.’ Stuart also keeps the band
true to their Brummy background by playing
From left: Stuart, Carl, Josh, Simon
the mellotron, a home-grown hybrid of the
organ and keyboard.
Because of their ages (all of the boys are
18 and 19), May Day have been repeatedly
compared to Arctic Monkeys, a fact that
raises the temperature in the room.
Frontman Simon explains why: “I know why
people have said Arctic Monkeys, because
we talk about the things that happen to us
in our city. But I wouldn’t like to be put next
to them out of respect for them, like. They’re
in the Premiership compared to us, we’re
Sunday League.” Josh chimes in with “Not
even Sunday League—we’re playing Fuseball
in my back garden!” My guess is that they
won’t be garden variety for too long. Grab
your mellotron and sneak into Mob Monday
while you still have the chance.
www.myspace.com/maydaynet
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