SHARE THE NEW SINGLE ‘HOPELESS ROMANTIC’ – LISTEN HERE
BIGGEST HEADLINE TOUR TO DATE STARTS NEXT MONTH
INCLUDES A LONDON SHOW AT OMEARA
With a growing catalogue of fan favourites such as ‘Vicarage Road’ and ‘Sally’, The Lilacs are becoming one of the big new hopes of the UK indie scene. That status has been amplified by their exuberant live shows, which have included gigs with the likes of The Lathums, Lottery Winners, The Sherlocks and The View as well as festivals such as the Isle of Wight and Y NOT?. Now the Wigan quartet are set to accelerate that rise, starting with today’s release of the new single ‘Hopeless Romantic’.
Demonstrating their ever-growing ambition, ‘Hopeless Romantic’ sees The Lilacs raising the bar in every way. Evolving their sound, the band have infused their core anthemic indie style with a gritty, rock ‘n’ roll edge as well as a flood of ragged melody with Sam Birchall’s fluid lead guitar particularly standing out. And frontman Ollie Anglesea delivers the band’s biggest hook to date, his lyrics exploring the complications of a relationship with his “biggest mistake.”
Ollie says, “‘Hopeless Romantic’ is our biggest, fattest, riffiest track yet and we know the fans are going to love it. We will also be releasing enough new music to keep everybody on their toes. We are really looking forward to getting out on the road in April. This is, by far, our biggest headline tour yet. With over 75% of tickets already gone, it still blows our minds that thousands of people up and down the country buy tickets to come see us live, week in week out. We’re just four mates from Wigan simply doing what we love the most, and we can’t thank the fans enough for that.”
Ollie Anglesea and Sam Birchall formed The Lilacs to realise their own vision having previously been in another band together, putting a feelgood spin and conversational lyrics on key influences such as Arctic Monkeys and Courteneers. Things soon took off after the line-up was cemented late in 2018 with the addition of Matt Johnson (bass) and Dave Gomersall (drums), as the band rapidly built a following around the north-west and then further afield with the help of their debut single ‘Vicarage Road’.
While lockdown paused their progress, they quickly made up for lost time with an array of headline shows, high profile support slots and major festivals all inspiring big reactions. Their debut EP ‘Red Flags & Warning Signs’ dropped in 2022 followed by a selection of singles in 2023 which resulted in Radio X airplay from John Kennedy for ‘Grace’.
While The Lilacs feels like an instantly classic band name, it actually comes from a meaningful place. It’s a tribute to the staff at The Lilac Centre, a specialist clinic in Whiston Hospital, who looked after Sam’s late mother during her battle with cancer.
Next month will see The Lilacs play a show as special guests to Cast before embarking upon their biggest headline tour to date. Most shows are almost sold-out, but limited tickets for the tour remain available HERE. The dates are:
MARCH
9th – Leeds, O2 Academy (special guests to Cast)
28th – Sheffield, Leadmill (LOW TICKETS)
APRIL
4th – Birmingham, The Rainbow
5th – Nottingham, Rough Trade (LOW TICKETS)
6th – Brighton, Hope & Ruin
12th – Southampton, Heartbreakers
13th – Bristol, Crofters Rights (LOW TICKETS)
18th – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club (LOW TICKETS)
19th – London, Omeara (LOW TICKETS)
20th – Liverpool, Arts Club – Theatre (LOW TICKETS)
FOLLOW THE LILACS
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
