Only The Poets

I listened to Only The Poets' music religiously before I spoke with Tommy. I spent countless hours reading his previous interviews and scrolling through their social media pages to get a better feel for them as musicians. What I ended up learning, though, was more about who they are as people. They care - about their fans, their music, about everything - more than any other band I’ve encountered. As Tommy eloquently puts it during our conversation, “We feel so grateful that we get to do this.” They get to do what they love for a living and feel the support of their fans in countries across the world as they’re doing it.

Every word he spoke, every detail he shared, every part of his soul he bared to me during our conversation added another swipe of paint to the picture. The longer we spoke, the brighter the picture became, and I could clearly see that the soul of Only The Poets is deeply, intimately rooted in empathy above all else.

They know they’re saving lives through their music, and it’s not something they take lightly. “I never want to hear that anyone is having a hard time, but when someone comes up to you and says, ‘Your song really helped me,’ it's a beautiful feeling,” Tommy tells me. And it’s obvious to me, a newly converted OTP lover and the recipient of a beautifully vulnerable exploration of Tommy’s innermost thoughts, that the fans are helping the band just as much as the band is helping them.

Only The Poets' new single, ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Your Friend’ is out now. The band’s new EP ‘One More Night’ is out June 7^th , catch them on tour throughout June.’

I want to start with a broad, “getting to know you” question. So, when do you feel most like yourself?
Starting deep! [both laugh] Honestly, it’s when I’m vulnerable while writing music, and then on the other end of the spectrum, I feel most alive on stage. So, I think the two things that I get to do in the band are the two things that make me feel the most like myself. That's the truth.

That must be so rewarding to feel like that in both aspects. Even being a writer, it can be really hard when you’re writing and at the moment, you're like, “Oh, this feels like a great expression of myself,” but then when you're sharing it with other people, it becomes difficult. It's nice that you blend the two and what you're sharing is being received in a way that makes you feel like yourself.
That is the most rewarding thing about what we do. The songs are all pretty autobiographical. So, as you said, when you share them, it's quite nerve-wracking initially, but the way people tell you how it helps them and how they can relate to it, sometimes it then becomes a completely different thing. That's the beautiful thing about music - it is so subjective. I'll write about something I've been through and someone will say, “This really helped me and made me think of [this].” And it's something completely different from what I experienced. I think that is one of the most beautiful things about being able to create and then give it to people and see how it affects them in hopefully a positive way.

I love that feeling as a writer of getting someone else's perspective, or when I'm writing about something really personal to me that ends up somehow being universal and other people find themselves in it. That’s such a unique experience.
We talk about it all the time. People say, “What's the most rewarding thing about what you guys do?” It's definitely that.

Yeah, absolutely. I know we're starting with deep questions here, but in this same vein of vulnerability and how that connects with self-care and mental health, I’m curious - what have you been doing lately to prioritise your mental health while you've been on tour?
To be honest, it is a conversation we've always been really open with, especially when we started to get busier. The great thing about everyone who's been through the pandemic is that it was such a test for all of us. We spoke an awful lot in that tough time and grew closer. We're like a family and we really look out for each other. It's all about being vocal about how we’re feeling. And there have been times when we almost know each other so well and know when someone's having a bit of a tough time so we give each other the space to talk. But the most important thing for us is just to say, “If you are having a bit of a tough time, talk about it and let us know, and don't bottle it up.” That's going to make you feel ten times worse, especially when you're touring. Touring is really hard. It's unbelievable, and it's the thing that gives us so much joy, but being away from loved ones and home for a long time, gets tough for anyone.

It's beneficial to be surrounded by people who share that mentality because it often becomes isolating when you want to talk but it may not be the best place or time. So, it’s great that you’ve all been able to create this environment for yourselves and each other where you're really making sure, when things are getting tough, that you’re there to support each other.
The last thing you want is somebody to struggle and do it alone. We've written quite a few songs about mental health awareness and that's a message we constantly want to spread because we're artists and have a platform. For me, it ranks as the number one most important thing to talk about.

I completely agree with that. It's interesting to see it from your perspective of being a musician and knowing that what you're saying impacts people. Even for my own mental health, it's so tied into music and what I listen to to help me honour and process my emotions. What is it like on the flip side of that when you’re writing about mental health and you know people are going to use your music to help themselves? Do you feel pressured by that or does it feel more like a release?
The great and beautiful thing about the first song we put out that was scratching the surface and talking about mental health was that I wrote it a long, long time before we had a big fan base. It's a track called, 'Waking in the Dark' and I wrote it because I was having such a rough time and was writing it completely in the sense of, “This is what I need to tell myself right now.” I was saying, “You need to do all these things and it's okay that you're feeling like this and it's going to get better.” We kept it for so long and then we released it when we felt, like you said, that we could definitely help people, and it was a no-brainer for us to release that song. That song now has become such an incredible moment in our set and our fans tell us how much it's helped and that is why we released it. Of course, I never want to hear that anyone is having a hard time, but when someone comes up to you and says, “Your song really helped me,” it's an amazing feeling, really, because it's exactly why I wrote it for myself at that time, and now it's been able to help so many other people as well. It's an incredible feeling.

That's really, really powerful. It’s such a beautiful example of human connection, and I think it’s also a good way of highlighting that when you are open and choose to talk to someone about something, you close the gap between yourself and other people and allow them the strength to talk about something they wouldn't have talked about otherwise.
That's what people have said to us. They say that the song gave them the courage to want to talk, and that's the message we constantly want to spread. You can say so much on the microphone, and of course, people listen, but when you are talking through the songs you've written, the power of music can really hit people, do you know what I mean? It can make them feel listened to. I'm so glad we released it. Don't get me wrong, there was an element of me being like, this is the most honest song I've ever written, and putting that out to the world was a pretty scary feeling initially because it's a real honest encounter of how I was feeling at the time. But I got myself out of that and the reaction has been amazing.

Absolutely. From a music fan perspective, is there a song that helps you feel like that, where you listen to it and it helps you process your emotions?
Wow, you put me on the spot! [both laugh] Do you know what? For me, when I was going through a tough period in my life and I was really struggling, music was always complete escapism. I didn't necessarily have to listen to a song that spoke to me lyrically. It’s more like, “This makes me feel comforted,” or while listening to a certain song, my mind wanders and I can now suddenly feel lighter. It is amazing to think our shows and songs do that to others. That is really powerful. We have a song called “Even Hell,” a love letter to music. There’s a lyric: “I swear when I'm with you, even Hell feels like home.” The meaning of that song is that, on the worst day ever for me, music makes me feel better. It makes me feel at peace with myself and I can forget the world for a second and escape.

That is such an incredible line. It's such a beautiful way to capture such a universal feeling. Speaking of the band, when you guys came together as this specific core group for the first time, did you have a clear idea of what you wanted the music to sound like and what themes you wanted to include? Or did that evolve?
Even before the band, just from the minute I first picked up a pen and paper and a guitar and started to write music, the thought of not writing autobiographically was alien to me. That's just how I knew I was always going to do it. I've gone through a lot and I feel a lot of things as an emotional guy - I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I feel like many artists do. And it's great because it's how I get out those feelings. I grew up literally around the corner from Reading Festival, so I spent my teenage years having all of these incredible bands and artists on my doorstep. That was so inspiring because I was talking to our bass player, who also lives around the corner from me, and we said that it made us realise, “Oh, you can do this.” When it gets brought to your doorstep, it becomes more doable. Going back a bit further than that to my earliest memories of music, my dad was a DJ, so he used to spin vinyl in the house all the time. And I remember the albums that I used to be obsessed with from such a young age - The Cure's Disintegration, The Stone Roses' self-titled first album, and the whole Britpop thing with Blur and Oasis. My dad would tell me about how their bodies of work represented moments in time which stuck with me and made me listen to the music so differently. Moving into when Only The Poets started, I used to be obsessed with that chorus-y guitar that The Cure did so well and was inspired by that ‘90s Britpop movement.

There's a lot of honesty in those records. It just all started making sense to me. I remember just being at the Reading Festival, we used to call it Fest, we don't even put the Reading on it, it's just called Fest. [laughs] My friends who aren't really into music would go because it was around the corner. But I remember being there and thinking, This is speaking to me on such a deep level. I was always into performing, but seeing so many bands perform all in one place definitely inspired us to create the band. The amazing thing is that all four of us went to that festival from a young age, so we all had those same inspirations from watching these huge artists so close to home.

Did it feel like an almost out-of-body, full-circle moment when you then played that festival?
Honestly, I can't even tell you how it made me feel. I remember looking out just for a split second and seeing the arena that I literally grew up going to and that is the reason I wanted to pick up a guitar. [It was incredible] being on the bill and seeing our name on the iconic yellow poster I used to have on my bedroom wall, which I now have in my house. I printed it off and I've got it up in a frame. It was a full-circle moment. We should be really proud because that place is literally where the idea of the band was born. And then suddenly, we're fast forwarding and we're there and we're playing it and we have a right to be there. That was one of my proudest moments in our career so far.

It’s such a beautiful realisation of the initial dream because there are so many different ways things can go when starting in music or any career. You can be successful in so many different ways, but then to not only be successful but to find a degree of success that brought you back to this place that was so iconic for you…that’s amazing.
And we're doing it again this year as well! When we found out again, it was almost that same initial excitement from the first time just kicking back in again. We feel honoured to be asked to play it - it's like coming home. That's how we describe it to people without sounding too artsy, but it does feel like coming home because it's a place that's so fond in our memories, in such a deep way.

I feel like that's such a rare thing as well because so many of us in creative pursuits get inspired by a performance or something like that, but so rarely get those opportunities to revisit what sparked our initial interest and then celebrate it in a new way.
I think the thing that I had that not everyone is as fortunate to have is that when you have a festival of that size so close to home…some of my earliest memories are of live music. I was completely wrapped up in it, which is why I'm so proud of where we are now. The live show is the thing that makes us feel fucking alive. That's the thing that makes me feel like nothing else in the world - playing live - and being surrounded by that from such a young age, I feel like it's even more incredible because when music is played in front of me, it's a completely different experience. I love the times when I listen to an album or listen to a song, but when you go and watch your favourite artists, that excitement before they come out on stage and during the show is incredible. I definitely think it had a big part to play when we started Only The Poets because we were like, “We are going to tour as much as we can. We're going to build a real fan base and work hard.” That was ingrained in us at a young age, that work ethic, and we quickly realised it's not easy to get to those heights. You've got to put the time in.

There are so many layers to it. One of the things I was so fascinated by with your band is the work ethic you're talking about, and how you started doing everything with a small team backing you. Your creative process has obviously had to grow and change organically over time as you guys continue to get bigger, but you are doing the work. It must be interesting to approach it that way and build it from the ground up completely by yourselves.
The whole DIY approach is still quite prominent even now. Like you said, we had a really small team and still do really, especially in the live aspect of things. It was really, really important to realise quickly that you have to put the 10,000 hours in. Nothing was ever handed to us. That's something we're really proud of. There were many times when we would get in a van and drive six hours and play in front of seven people, but if one of those people connected with what we were doing and listened to us, we’d done those twelve hours in a van justice. Do you know what I mean? That's how we would always view it. We have always been obsessed with talking to people on a musical level and having people be engaged with what we’re doing.

That reminded me of something I often talk to other people about, which is that you have to give that validation to yourself when you're starting out and not look at it as, “Oh, we only played to seven people tonight,” but redirecting it through a lens of being grateful. You have to validate it for yourself until you get external validation.
100%. We would always try and flip anything that would be seemingly negative. There aren’t many people there, so what? Do you know what I mean? Don't worry about that. Go and put on a show for the people who are there, because why are you there otherwise? If you get pissed off about it, you're not going to put on a very good show, are you?

Absolutely. It's funny, you're touching on so many things I had written down and wanted to ask about. One of the things I love about your music is that you consistently acknowledge where you came from. From an inspirational standpoint, how did the landscape you grew up in influence you as an artist?
I always feel very grateful to have been surrounded by music from such an early age and to come from a semi-musical family. Since my dad was a DJ, music has always been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I feel very grateful that in my family and with my parents, creativity has always been at the forefront of everything. Even in the educational system in the UK, I was always doing music. My parents were always like, “You need to be creative as well as academic.” I was fortunate enough to be put into all those scenarios and had such a great social circle from a young age as well. Music was probably what I was always meant to do. What else would I do?

I feel the same way about writing.
I'm just really, really grateful…I keep repeating myself. [both laugh] But music has always been in my life for as long as I can remember, and I think that must help.

I think so. And the encouragement to be creative as well - I had a similar experience with my mom who was very much into letting me be creative. When you’re raised like that, you feel like you can do anything. And I think that allows you to have this positive mindset that has really benefited you, where you're like, “We can really do this. We can actually do this.” Then you can because you believe you can.
Certainly. The really sad thing is so many people would love to do music, but it doesn't feel realistic for them. I think it's really important to do what you want to do. If you really want it, you can go and get it. If you get a bit of luck along the way and have a load of passion, drive, and work ethic, that's what you need.

Passion, drive, and work ethic can get you a long way in almost anything. Speaking of your musical background, I’d love to talk about your songwriting. Is there a specific musician, band, or maybe even writer that you feel has had the biggest impact on how you approach your songwriting?
From a songwriting standpoint, without a shadow of a doubt, it’s the Beatles. I had a friend called Ben who, when I first picked up a guitar, just said, “Look, listen to these records,” and so much made sense to me at that point. Obviously, I was always aware of them, we all were but I still remember when I listened to “Yesterday” for the first time, and how it made me feel, still to this day, and that's probably going back to one of your first questions - that's a song that every time I listen to it I'm like, “This is just the most beautiful thing I've ever heard.” I know it may be a bit cliché but these artists will forever be influential to people who pick up instruments in three hundred years. The other thing I found amazing is there are multiple songwriters in the Beatles. What I found so unbelievable about the songs is how they’re all so cohesive as well, even though there are songs that they've written separately. But it just opened my creative brain when I would listen to those records and it's all about the honesty, man.

I think that can be really hard, especially if you're in a place where you feel like you have writer's block.
Honestly, it took me a couple of years to realise that was a thing. There are so many times I've tried and tried and then I listened back to it and I'm like, Oh yeah, that's the block. That's the writer’s block. You can't chase it. In my own experiences, the songs that seem to connect the most with people tend to be the ones that I say fall from the sky, they just sort of write themselves. There's always been a bit of a trend with that. Most of the time, the song that’s written in forty minutes versus four hours, is when people say, “Yeah, that really spoke to me.” And that's interesting, actually, because it didn't take very long, but obviously, it comes from a place of real inspiration and at that time that's what you're meant to talk about.

I feel like that when I write poetry. That's the most honest expression of myself, in all the ways I write. And there are those feverish moments where you can tell when you're in it, that it’s working - that it found you when you were ready to receive it and let it out.
Do you feel lighter as well when that happens?

Oh, absolutely.
That's when I really know when I’ve finished writing. It's like therapy for yourself, isn't it? It's exactly like you said, you’re letting it out. I just feel lighter when I've written about something I was meant to talk about that day. I definitely get rid of a lot of anxiety that way as well.

You've said in past interviews, that in terms of your songwriting, you usually start with a melody first and then add lyrics from there. Is that still how you operate?
I've started to do something now where I’ve found it really useful to write down loads and loads of song titles, but with the title, I'm not necessarily thinking about a song. This is going to sound really confusing. [both laugh] I'm not thinking about a song title specifically. It's just maybe an emotion or something I'm feeling throughout the day, and I'll remember it and write it down. That's been a really great tool for songwriting. I'll go through the list and suddenly something will catch my mind and then I know that's exactly how I'm feeling. Then an idea stems from there. So, the melody is definitely what I carve the lyrics from most of the time, because for me, when I play chords for the first time, I very quickly know exactly what I want the melody to do, which then almost inspires me to know what I'm meant to talk about that day. Does that make sense?

It does. It's so intriguing because I’m not musical at all - I wish I was, but I don’t understand it unfortunately - but you saying that made so much sense to me because you're almost matching the words to the sound.
It's just the way a chord progression makes you feel. But to be honest, I tend to know the precipice of what I want to talk about even before anyone plays any music. I have friends who write and treat it like poetry because songwriting is, essentially that. If you read a song, it's essentially a poem, right?

Yeah, I'd agree with that.
Like you said, writing poetry is amazing. For me, I need the music to navigate me. I need the music to inspire me to then write down what I want to feel. But the writers that will write a whole song and then write a melody around it…I find that so impressive because I don’t do that. It’d be way cooler if I did. [laughs] But I have to be really honest with you, melody comes first for me.

I was so intrigued by that when I was reading your previous interviews. I love that idea of being able to hear something and then think, That sounds like this thing I'm feeling.
Yeah, it is a wild thing when you explain it to people. I wish I could explain it better, but it just comes to me.

That's such a beautiful gift. You touched on this a little bit earlier, but another thing I love about Only The Poets is that you’re known for creating this really welcoming community amongst your fan base and having genuine connections with them. If you're comfortable sharing, what has been the most touching fan interaction you've had so far?
Wow, there have been a few. I'll give you a few because there have been so many amazing ones. I remember the first time somebody tattooed our lyrics on them, and that, to me, was just so alien at that point. I have lyrics tattooed on me, so I know what it means to get that done. I remember the girl saying, “This song pulled me out of a really dark place and I wanted it to be tattooed. I want it to be on me forever because it changed my life forever.” She said that to me and the boys, and we were all just like…you don't really know what to say at that point. When you initially write the music, you would never think that could happen. Some people get really emotional and there are so many times when we see people turn to their left and just hug, they make sure they're okay. I remember seeing that happen right in front of me for the first time, and I remembered the two girls. I saw them after the show and then fast-forward six months, and they’re best friends now.

Oh, I love that!
Honestly, we are so blown away when the fans tell us we’ve created this community. We are so grateful that our songs have brought people together. But the incredible thing, and the thing that we tell them, is that it's their complete selflessness. They're so selfless that they have created the community because they look out for each other, and it is an incredible feeling when people tell us they've made friends for life through Only The Poets, the boys and I can feel that energy in the room. I love that there are moments when, if you want to be vulnerable and really think about how you’re feeling and be there for each other, you can. That falls under the realm of why I want us to write so honestly and why we want to talk about really important topics like mental health awareness. The fans are why we are here, and we constantly want to remind them of that. It's this incredible thing because people say to me, “Oh, I come to a show and it makes my day seeing you on stage, and the energy you give us makes me feel alive.” And I say, “The energy you give me makes me feel alive.”

It's a constant back and forth. That's what makes live music and makes me fall in love with it second by second when I'm on stage. When people ask, “How does it make you feel?” I can't describe it. Nothing else makes me feel like that. When you perform in front of people, no show is ever the same. You're constantly picking up on different things and the reactions and the energy you're getting from every room is different. It's really incredible. You're doing the same set over and over and over again, and in any other walk of life, you're doing the same thing every day. Does that all get repetitive and boring? But in a live show, from a standpoint of what we do, it’s not. If anything, it just gets better and better.

It's funny you mentioned that because, on this tour, you've been in so many different countries. Are you noticing a difference in the crowds and how they're interacting with you and each other?
We are so fortunate that we get to travel all around the UK and around Europe, and hopefully the USA eventually - that's the dream. You definitely get different energies from different places, and it's amazing. We feel so grateful that we get to do this, and we understand the rarity of being able to explore and be on tour. And then, as a musician, I come back from tour and when I write again, I find inspiration from being in other places. That in itself is quite an inspiring thing. Being able to see as much of Europe as we have, while doing what we’ve always dreamt, as best friends, is something so special. That's why I wake up every morning. It really is the best thing ever. I’ve seen most of Europe now - places I never thought I'd go, places I've fallen in love with, and everyone's so lovely. Some of the cultures are so different, so the shows are unique. It's amazing. I think that's why we've got such an appetite to get across the pond to the States, because all my friends in bands who have played in America, are like, “Oh, when you go to America, it's unbelievable.” Because state by state, it’s so different, right?

Oh, it is. They're very different worlds. [laughs]
I mean, in the last year and a half I've been to Nashville and LA and they are so different!

Before I pivot to the next question, I want to say something. When you were talking about being on stage and your fans being selfless - what you put into the universe comes back to you. You guys are putting so much selflessness and care and compassion into the universe, and that's why you're being met with that in return. It’s beautiful and important in general, but especially during a period when it's really tough to be alive. Your fans are like that because you’re like that with them, and you're always going to be this beautiful mirror of each other, I think, because of that.
That's a really lovely way of putting it. It is like a mirror, isn't it? And it is amazing. I could talk about the fans for days on end because it's just…some of the things they've done. It’s incredible. Do you know that we do this: the low-income tickets and the fans for fans tickets?

Yes! I love that.
So, the low-income tickets are something we've always done because we want music to be accessible for anyone, and money should never, ever, ever stop people from being able to go to shows, because it is so good for people. Music is the international language that speaks to people on such a deep level - it should be for everybody. So, that's why we do that. But then we did a fan for a fan ticket. That came from the fans as well. They were like, “You should let us do this. You should let us buy tickets for each other.” We’ve heard so many stories of people buying a ticket for another fan who might not be able to afford it, and then they meet and become friends. It's just incredible. The things they do for one another are incredible.

You're also giving them the platform and ability to do that. I wish more people saw it like that because anytime I’m going to a show, if I could buy a ticket for someone else, I would do that every single time. I don't think anyone should have to miss any impactful experience because they're unable to pay for it.
We're going to keep doing it. We always say, “We've got you. We've got your back.” They've got our back and we've got their back, and there's nothing that’s ever going to break that community, because it's the thing we're most proud of, and is where we get energy from as well. Seeing them all together is incredible.

I saw too on your Instagram that you were having them help determine what song you wanted to release for your next single. I’d love to know, first, what prompted this idea. Have you been surprised by which song resonated the most with your fans?
Do you know what? In all honesty, we were. We didn't know which one to choose, and we were literally like, we should just get the fans to choose. And again, it's giving them that ownership and being like, “This is how much we value your opinion.” We literally put two snippets up, and the fans who had been on the tour thus far, when we announced it, had been able to hear both songs live, so they had a better gauge on it. But the most amazing thing was it was so close as well.

Oh my god, that's amazing.
The song that didn't get picked is coming out eventually. It’s a song I wrote way more recently as another reminder to myself, and it's called “It's Okay Not To Be Okay.” I literally had to tell myself that on that day. There's something really beautiful about playing these two new songs and the crowd being really quiet and just listening. I was surprised that it wasn't picked. But the song that got picked is a song called “Gone By Now,” which I love.

That's amazing. And I know you have a new track releasing soon, “I Don't Wanna Be Your Friend.” Can you tell me the inspiration behind that song?
It’s basically all about vices and the temptation side of things. It's just really different from anything we've done. And the process was so fun from when the boys and I were building it up from the initial idea. It's really pop. We are a pop band with slight indie-leaning influences, but it's perhaps more pop-leaning than anything we've done. And it's one of my favourite songs to play live at the minute. The best thing was seeing people react to it on tour. We were like, “Oh, okay, we should put this out.” I'm really proud of it.

It must be such a great feeling. I know everything you're saying is so positive. It is nice to know they were received really well at the live shows.
Totally. Because, trust me, I've gone into the set sometimes and it doesn't always fly. So, it's nice that on this recent tour, which we're only halfway through as well, everything has been well received. We're going back in a week! We split the tour in half. We liked the idea of breaking it into two. So, we've done half of Europe and now we're doing the second half in a little over a week. Normally, you just do a tour and you're finished and have the post-tour blues, but this has been sick, and I've been writing in between, which has been really inspiring.

It’s everything we've been talking about - where you get inspiration from. I think it's amazing that you're able to take in so much inspiration and not only put it into the live shows but also be productive as well.
Thank you. It’s a way I'd like to do it more, for sure. Split 'em up a bit because they're so different - the writing and the recording process, and then the live show, are the things I love the most, and it's so nice to do them in a slightly different way.