English Teacher on life since Mercury Prize win and love of Fontaines D.C.: “We would love to work with them”
English Teacher have looked back on how life has changed for them since their Mercury Prize win, and shared that they would love to collaborate with Fontaines D.C.
Read the interview below, or watch it in full via the video above.
The Leeds band spoke to NME while at the BRIT Awards 2025 this weekend. They were nominated in the Best New Artist category alongside Ezra Collective, Myles Smith, Rachel Chinouriri and The Last Dinner Party – with the latter ultimately taking home the trophy.
On the red carpet, the band looked back at how life has changed for them since they won the prestigious Mercury Prize award in 2024 – beating off competition from Beth Gibbons, CMAT, Charli XCX and more.
“Life has changed in so many ways. We were fairly busy before, and then it went up to 11, and we have been non-stop busy until now,” guitarist Lewis Whiting told NME. “We had a little bit of time off over Christmas but it’s been incredible.”
He added: “I remember us getting the tube together and walking past the billboards [for ‘This Could Be Texas’] in the stations, literally the next morning. That was mad.” Bassist Nicholas Eden said: “It feels like it marks someone saying that everything is going to be alright. It’s like getting an arm put around your shoulder and telling you ‘Yeah, you’re alright.”
The victory marked the first Mercury Prize to be won by a non-London act since Edinburgh’s Young Fathers took home the trophy in 2014.
At the BRITs, English Teacher also told NME about their live show with Fontaines D.C. later this summer, and revealed that they would love to collaborate with the Irish band in the future.
“We haven’t really worked with them yet but I would love to,” singer Lily Fontaine said. “I feel like they’re so much further along in this whole thing than we are… but maybe that’s just our perception. It’s really nice to be placed alongside them, because they’re amazing.”
Whiting added: “We love them, and we’re excited for their shows.”
The two are set to take to the stage for Fontaines’ huge show in Newcastle on Sunday July 13. It’ll see frontman Grian Chatten and co. headline the 10,000-capacity Exhibition Park, with support coming from the Leeds band. Visit here for remaining tickets.
According to English Teacher, they are set to have more music ready by the time they hit the road for their own headline tour – which will be their biggest to date, taking place towards the end of the year.
“It’s our favourite bit of it all. We love being on tour, we love playing the shows, and these are the biggest ones we’ve ever done, so it’s going to be mint,” said Whiting. “Expect new songs… we’ll write them in time for that!”
Eden added: “We are writing, but it’s individual at the minute. We’ll get together in the next week or so and throw our stuff at each other.”
The upcoming releases will mark the first new music since the group dropped their Mercury-winning debut album ‘This Could Be Texas’ in April 2024. Visit here for tickets to all of their upcoming live shows.
Their comments follow on from further hints at new material the members shared in a separate interview with NME in 2024. Here, Whiting said that English Teacher had “got some writing” to do in between their support shows with IDLES and their 2024 UK headline tour last November. Bassist Nicholas Eden also teased a new song, describing it as “an amalgamation of every single track on this [first] album”.
They have already begun dropping hints of new material with fans too, playing a new track called ‘Billboards’ on tour last year.
The post English Teacher on life since Mercury Prize win and love of Fontaines D.C.: “We would love to work with them” appeared first on NME.
Liberty Dunworth
NME
