UK indie rock band VILLANELLE sit down with Dan O’Connell to unpack a milestone moment, stepping onto the stage during the Definitely Maybe tour. Gene Gallagher and Ben Taylor describe the nerves, the rush, and the weight of the room as they brought their songs to a crowd tuned to Britpop history. It was a high-stakes set, loud, immediate, and charged with adrenaline.
The conversation moves fast, from tour stories to their growing bond with Miles Kane, now firmly in their orbit, and into the DNA of their new EP ‘Measly Means’. The band outline what drives the record, tight songwriting, sharp edges, and momentum built for the stage. This is a group leaning forward, moving with speed, and speaking with confidence about what comes next.
DOC: “I mean, I guess the Definitely Maybe tour was probably the baptism of fire. Did it feel different in terms of pressure between the Miles Kane tour and Definitely Maybe?”
GG: “I was more locked in for Miles than Definitely Maybe. Definitely Maybe, like, I didn’t even know what I was doing. I didn’t even know what a tour was, or, like, how to do it!”
BT: “I mean, Definitely Maybe was as far as being thrown into the deep end as you could possibly be. I’d say even now we wouldn’t be ready for a tour that big.”
GG: “I don’t think anyone ever really is.”
BT: “Yeah. But it was one of those where we were as ready as we could have ever been. But in terms of the Miles tour, we went in with, I think, a lot more conviction. Because the EP is done, we know what we are as a band far more than we ever did on the Definitely Maybe tour. As amazing as that was, but I think we had a lot more purpose on this tour.”
DOC: “Not that it matters what I think at all, but I would say I couldn’t tell that that was the case, if that’s how you felt going out on stage.”
GG: “What, for Definitely Maybe?”
DOC: “The Definitely Maybe tour.”
GG: “I couldn’t sleep the night before. I was, I didn’t, because I was, like, what was so unknown to me? Yeah, because I was like… It was so unknown to me. I put on a brave face.”