Only The Poets admit 'it's our dream' as they reveal major career milestone

With concert tickets rising due to the cost-of-living crisis, rockers Only The Poets are set to change things. The band, consisting of frontman Tommy Longhurst, guitarist Clem Cherry, bassist Andy 'Roo' Burge, and drummer Marcus Yates, is launching a huge gig that will cost just £1.

Since launching the band seven years ago, the quartet has toured across the globe, supporting artists such as Louis Tomlinson, Yungblud, Lewis Capaldi, and Bastille. But while dozens of musicians are hiking up the prices for their gigs, this is something the boys aren't too keen on doing.

Instead, they will headline the iconic O2 Brixton next year, and fans won't have to spend a lot to see them. An initiative, which also supports the LIVE Trust, Tommy and Clem exclusively revealed how access to music was crucial for them during their early days.

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"It's always been the destination for us, that's the dream, that's the goal, anything above that is a complete bonus," Tommy told us backstage at their Berlin gig last week. He went on to add: "It's a rite of passage in the UK, it's a phenomenal venue. We've felt very inspired in that room, so to be going there and doing a show, hopefully maybe doing a similar sort of thing to some younger people and for our fans, it's a celebration of our journey and our album – we couldn't think of a better place to do it, it's our dream venue."

The gig will take place on February 2 next year, just days after the release of their debut album, And I'd Do It Again. But they feel passionate about making music accessible for all, regardless of socio-economic status. "Music for us in our early years was so important, especially live music," Tommy added, before explaining the band wants the night to be an "escapism" for people to leave all of their troubles at the door.

Clem told me: "To draw attention to an issue that, for us, gigs in our early years were everything. Going to concerts is where we made our friends, it's where you go to let go and escape, for us, musically speaking, it's where we got our inspiration to start picking up instruments. If we can give that back to other people, that's everything."

One song from their upcoming album that the band is especially proud of is Emotionally Hungover. "I guess that song is about how even your emotions can bring you to a point that you almost feel like you're feeling hungover, and you feel rough just from your brain," Tommy explained.

The record, which centres around the rise to where they are now was called And I'll Do It All Again as the four-piece are firm believers in "everything happens for a reason." Tommy explained: "It feels like it's almost a time capsule of our journey as a band for the last seven years.

"But when we've been writing and producing it, we've all been through quite a lot personally. It's a real emotional journey. I guess we just believe that every single thing in life, not just in the band, everything in our lives has led us to this point. And if people say, 'Would you change it a bit?' the answer is no. We really believe that everything happens for a reason, and hopefully, the fans will feel like we're celebrating with them.

"We're going to all the grassroots venues that we love dearly, so it's really going back to where it began at the point of our record, it's behind the messaging of it all, it's that full circle moment. We're so proud of it, the boys produced it with our producer Dandelion, it feels the most cohesive, and we feel like we're the band we've always wanted to sound like."

Meanwhile, while Clem admits things have never felt "forced", he says this record is the most "unforced" project they have ever worked on. He said: "The whole process of putting it together has just been so natural. We never really sat out like 'Right, it's time to make an album' it was just kind of like we just sort of slowly stockpiled this collection of songs that kind of all met each other in terms of like themes, in songwriting, and sonically, they kind of gelled, it felt like it was a really natural, organic process for us as well."

Although the band are signed to Capitol UK, one of the biggest labels in the world, one thing that will never change is how much creative freedom the four lads have. "We're firm believers in doing everything like this," Tommy said, adding that they always want to make the fans feel involved in "really poignant moments" of their career.

Over the years, the boys have been very open with fans about their mental health and breaking the taboo around men talking about their feelings, something which Tommy says is extremely important to them. "We are four guys that are incredibly with how we feel and we're more than happy to be open," he said.

Turning to Clem, he said: "Music is kind of that outlet for us, isn't it? We've poured that into this album and these new songs, and hopefully, if we can encourage even a couple of people to feel like they can speak up about how they're really feeling, that's just an amazing bonus. That's kind of why you make music: to help people. I do think the conversation is definitely getting better, and I feel more people are, even with me and my friends; everyone is more open than they were maybe a decade ago. So I do think we feel very strong about that."

Taking time for themselves while on the road allows the lads to check in on one another if someone is "having a bit of a wobble." "We do things, go off on our own and have a bit of time on our own," Tommy said, adding: "We don't fall out, we know each other so well, so there's a good dynamic."

Clem said: "It's like a baptism of fire, I think, when you make a band, you hear of so many bands, I guess, that don't make it because of inter-political stuff, right? Or, like people fall out and whatever, there's so many stories about huge bands that have done that. But for us, I think we got quite lucky that we all gel so well, but we know each other so well now after touring.

"You can immediately sense if someone is having a bit of a funny day or whatever, you know to give them space or the opposite, lean in a bit more if that's what the person needs. I do think in terms of how we are as a collective, we're very supportive of each other. That really does shine through. Even with our crew, we really try to be there for each other because it can get tough on the road, but at the same time, this is the dream for us."

Tommy admits that while aspects of the band, including travelling as far as America, can be tough being away from home, he checks in with himself, saying it's ok to have a bad day, adding that the band get on "really well, like brothers."

"That kind of falls into the meaning of the album," Clem said, adding: "Everything we've ever done from point A to point B is we are here now as a result of all of those choices and the mistakes and everything but would we want to change any of it to be where we are now well the answer would be no, even the highs and the lows."

The past seven years, though, have been a ride of highs and lows for the band on a personal level, with Tommy explaining it's allowed him to understand himself more. "Especially with this album, I went through a breakup and I sort of scratched the service of why that went wrong," he explained.

He went on to admit: "Beyond that, I started to analyse myself, it's a very honest recollection of that kind of reflection amongst the record, you'll feel and hear that undertone throughout it. What I've learnt about myself, I've had some kind of hard conversations with myself but then come out the other side, lighter and better."

Clem added, "I'd say the thing I've learnt, not about me, but our fans, is how incredibly powerful it can be. It really is amazing for us to have the fan base that we do. The things they do for us are indescribable; they're so amazing and so powerful." Tommy continued, "Like Clem said, it's the most amazing feeling; everyone's got your back."

"We now know of so many people by name, and we know they are best friends through liking us. This goes through the full circle of the album and how important live music is. We feel so grateful and honoured, there's no bigger compliment than helping people." This is something the band relates to, having met through music. "We know there are some fans of ours, who will come to our shows to see friends they've met at shows," Clem commented, adding that some fly in from foreign cities to catch up with their pals. He said: "It's that all-inclusive sense of community that I think is just so beautiful to see sometimes."

And while they've played some incredible venues across the world, grassroots venues will always remain close to their hearts. "It' just said," Tommy said of dozens, including Sheffield's The Leadmill, closing down. He went on to add that many musicians start their careers at smaller venues, performing to a handful of people. "You fall in love with it more," he said, adding: "They are the seed that will hopefully grow the tree and help you get on the ladder of the live music scene."

Clem commented: "It's also, I think, what gives a lot of up-and-coming or undiscovered artists the belief in themselves that they can do it, which, obviously, for us, is exactly what happened." This week, having already played a handful of shows in Europe and their hometowns, the band will hit the road, performing in Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford and Southampton.

Next month, though, they're set for their biggest American tour to date. Tommy said: "We've only ever done four states, we're doing 20 shows with The Wombats, which is going to be unbelievable." They're not planning on slowing down any time soon though as they look towards the release of their record next year.

"Then we're doing our biggest European tour and our biggest ever US headline tour and hopefully a bunch of festivals," an excited Tommy said. For their US date, they'll be driving across the States in a van, with their shortest drive being ten hours.

And while they've already played Reading and Leeds Festivals in the past, the thought of playing on the Main Stage as the opening act would be the "cherry on the cake" for them. "I'd love to open the Main Stage, I feel like that's a slot that people don't really like," Tommy said, adding: "Imagine opening the Main Stage with a band from Reading on the Friday, I would love to do that, fingers crossed."

Only The Poets will become the only band to headline O2 Academy Brixton for £1 on February 2, 2026. Click here for pre-sale, from 10am, September 11.

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