Bambie Thug: “Change can be done with music, and people listen through art”
Bambie Thug spoke to NME at Download 2024, telling us about life after Eurovision, using music as a force for change, festivals representing minorities, and their plans for the future.
This year marked the Ouija-pop singer’s first time on the main Apex Stage at the Donington Park festival after debuting on the smaller Dogtooth Stage back last year. It also followed them competing in the Eurovision Song Contest earlier this spring, where they represented their native Ireland with the show-stopping track ‘Doomsday Blue’.
They came in sixth place – Ireland’s best performance in 25 years – and made headlines for their vocal support of Palestine amid the conflict in Gaza, and for voicing their frustration at Israel being allowed to compete in this year’s competition.
“The uptake in fans and support has been incredible,” they told NME of life since Eurovision. “It’s wild because a lot of my stuff is explicit, but I’ve now garnered a really big young fan base as well. So I’m wondering if now I have to do some less explicit songs. It’s been beautiful, they’ve named themselves ‘The Coven’ and every single one of them seems super kind, super creative and super open. It’s so good to finally be getting more recognition too because I’ve been hustling for years.”
While they were forced to remove the words ‘ceasefire’ and ‘freedom for Palestine’ in a mediaeval script from their costume due to Eurovision’s political neutrality clause, they did sport the message in their make-up on the night, as well as share a moving rendition of The Cranberries’ political hit ‘Zombie’ ahead of the finale.
Shortly after they took to the stage for a powerful, politically-motivated set on the main stage, Bambie Thug caught up with NME to talk about returning to Download, a resurgence in Irish talent, and plans for new material.
NME: Hi Bambie. What’s it like to be on the festival stages again after your time in Eurovision?
Bambie Thug: “It’s been amazing. I’ve done a few festivals since, but this one for me is especially warm in my heart because I love Download. I played the smallest stage the Dogtooth, last year – so jumping to the main stage has been wild. I love the crowd here – it’s so it’s so welcoming. It’s so warm. It’s so safe. I love it.
“Plus it feels amazing to play more of my songs too. When you’re on TV doing the one [Eurovision’s entry ‘Doomsday Blue’], it’s fun but we do it about a million times! So now I’m enjoying getting people to listen to more of my discography because it travels through so many emotions, so many worlds. I love performing and I don’t like having to leave after like three minutes.”
You performed your cover of ‘Zombie’ in dedication to those in Palestine here. Why was that important for you to do?
“The cover of ‘Zombie’ was important for me because it is as relevant now as it was when they made it, with the state of the world. It’s important for me as an artist when my platform is growing to use my voice and I don’t understand how people don’t use their platform. When you have all these eyes on you, when you have people together and connecting over your music, you really can share a message that is so important. Change can be done with music, and people listen through art. It’s a very powerful song, it’s an Irish song, and it was really important for me to sing.”
There seems to be a lot of Irish talent dominating the entertainment world at the moment — yourself, CMAT, Lankum… Why do you think this is?
“I think talent in Ireland resonates with the rest of the world because, first of all, everyone seems to love the Irish! We’re a very poetic country, a very loud country when it comes to fighting for things, and we’re a very honest country too. It’s very strange that there are only five million people in Ireland and yet so many incredibly talented people come out of it.
“I don’t know whether it’s the air or because music is such a big part of Irish history? There’s a lot of oppression in our past, so there’s a lot of anger but also a lot of love. We don’t take ourselves too seriously either, which I think resonates with people.”
This year’s Download seems angled towards having more focus on newer artists. Is this something you’ve noticed?
“I have noticed a surge in it! There’s more queer talent, there are more women, more non-binaries and also more music that isn’t just rooted in just metal or rock. Download is opening itself off to new artists now and becoming more accepting of talent that likes to experiment, which is amazing. I think this year Download has made some historic moves and if it continues on this path, it’ll continue to be one of the best festivals in the UK.”
What does the future hold for you?
“Going forward, no sleep! I have my headline tour which starts at the end of August and it’ll go all across Europe and the UK. So that’s pretty wild. And maybe I’ll get sharing some new music. I have so much music in the vault to release, so there’s no stopping me for a while. I’m going to sleep when I’m dead.”
Bambie Thug is set to kick off their ‘Crown The Witch’ tour later this summer, where they’ll play across the UK and Europe. Visit here for remaining tickets.
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
