DIY punk legends The Lovely Eggs are celebrating their 20th anniversary with a national tour supported by Source favourites Polite Bureaux and a selection of their favourite comedians – Brighton is fortunate to have Stewart Lee as their special guest at Concorde 2 on Sunday 26th October.

We spoke to singer and guitarist Holly Ross about all things Eggs-related.

Hi Holly, how was your rehearsal this morning?
We had to cancel it as we had to go to a meeting for a secret gig we’ve got coming up in Lancaster.

And what’s happening with the Lancaster Music Co-op (legendary music hub for local creatives)
Oh gosh, how long have you got? We’re in the process, to try and give you a really short answer, of getting it back up and running again, but it costs many thousands of pounds to do that and we underestimated how much it would cost because we thought we could just put the roof back on and then do the inside up to the budget that we had. But apparently you can’t do that. You have to follow all these building regulations so, you know, it was put together in the 1980s by a bunch of students with some plywood and rolled up bits of carpet and stuff, which was fine. You can’t take the same DIY approach that they did then, which is kind of sad really because it’s mine and David’s way. It’s the way you cut your cloth to what you’ve got. You just make do with the things that you have, all the resources you have available. But unfortunately, we’re not allowed to open until we do it up to their magnificent specifications. So we’re currently working in a big team of volunteers to try and make that happen.

Do you not get any support from the council?
Yes we do. We’ve had financial support from the Council, but it’s a problematic situation because the building is owned by the Council. And they let it fall into disrepair being the landlords, and then evicted us as the tenants. And then we were like, well, wait a minute, we’ve been here for 30 years, living in this shit, which you should have done up. And then they said, then all the councils got together and they said “Oh, but it’s OK, we’ll repair it for you and we’ll give you a really cheap rent and it’ll be long term so that you can get all these funding grants”. And then they did that, but the actual council officers did fuck all. And then four years down the line they said we haven’t got enough money. And then passed it back to us.

And so, although, yes, the Council have helped, they’ve also hindered massively. So it’s not a black and white situation, unfortunately, but we will never give up on that place and we hope to get it reopened next year. Like I said, it’s mine and David’s massive passion is that place and the opportunity that it gives to young people, working class people, old people, disenfranchised people, people who don’t feel like they belong. That’s exactly what the Music Co-op’s for. So we will never rest until it’s back. You know, we keep on with the money that we’ve got, but we always need to raise more.

But it’s a community asset, isn’t it? And not everything boils down to money, although obviously you do need money to keep it running, but the benefits to the local music scene must be huge?
Oh it is, it’s massive, it’s huge. There’s no dispute about that, but we’ve got a shortfall of something like £200,000 and where do you get that sort of money from? I don’t know and it just takes over your life, you know. A lot of our last album, Eggsistentialism, was written about trying to save that place and how it tore a part of us. The experience of trying to save that place and the gaslighting that we felt from Lancaster City Council, and how a community organisation was treated by the Council, it’s scarred us really. Even if we get the Co-op back open, we’ll never, ever really recover from the fight that was necessary to get it back on track.

In happier news, how does it feel to be celebrating twenty years of The Lovely Eggs?
Oh it feels weird because it was definitely not intentional, you know? But I mean, that’s the whole point. Like going back to the Music Co-Co-op, all our music and being in the band is just our way of life for me and for David. And David started off working at the Music Co-op, in his early 20s and I started going there when I was 15. That’s how we met, at the Music Co-op. In a way, I’m shocked that we’re still going for 20 years cause we certainly didn’t intend to be. But in a way, I’m like, I’m not surprised because it is my life, as long as I’m still living and breathing, I always feel that I’ll be drawn to be in bands and to be interested in art and music and culture and all of that sort of stuff. So it doesn’t surprise me, in a way, that you know, we are still doing it.

Well, I’m glad you are and you’ve got the Bin Juice album out on 17th October.
That’s right and we’ve got hundreds to package up between now and then.

That’s the joys of doing it DIY I suppose.
Yeah, David’s just making some stickers. Some waste disposal stickers, as we speak.

Do you think that title is a little bit too harsh, given that the songs are really good?
Yeah, it’s interesting, that’s what our friend James said, weirdly. He said, “I can’t believe it, the B sides that you write or the stuff that you cut off your album is better than most bands stuff”. That wasn’t us saying that by the way, that was him saying that. But for us, it felt like we couldn’t really move on until we released these songs because they were just songs that we recorded when we were making the Eggsistentialism album. We didn’t even think about it, we just wrote and recorded a shitload of songs. And then we needed to select some for the album and the ones that are on Bin Juice are the ones that didn’t get selected. So when we were trying to think of a name for the album, we just thought, well, these are the songs that didn’t make it through. It’s just that, the bin juice, the dregs, really. And so it seemed totally appropriate and I think it’s fine to be self-deprecating. Too many artists are up their own arses and think too much of themselves and have too much of an inflated ego. And to actually live life low where you don’t think too much of yourself, it’s actually quite a refreshing perspective. And also you know if you set your bar very, very low, you can never be disappointed can you? Which is great.

So have you got loads more unreleased songs knocking around that could be a second volume or is this a one-off?
I think this is a one-off because we’re quite keen to move on. We would never do the band to entertain other people, we do it for our own personal enjoyment, really. So for us. I know other bands sit on albums for years before they release them until the conditions are right. You know, they’ve got the right label, but that doesn’t interest us at all. It’s all about the art, the music. You know, what we’re creating, so we’re keen to write and record new stuff. It was just like we wanna get rid of all this stuff. Put it out there for people to hear, and then we can start afresh. And that’s what we’re doing. And we’re not doing any more touring next year. You won’t see us in Brighton again next year, because we’re gonna be fully focused, immersed in The Lovely Eggs art world which is creating new stuff.

The Grind is the first release from the album. Is this a call to empower all the Eggheads to quit their jobs and get away from the 9:00 to 5:00?
Yeah, it kind of is. The inspiration for that song was our little boy Arlo. He’s 12 now, but at the time when we wrote the song, a year or two ago, he had really long hair. And that wasn’t anything that we pushed on him, that was just what he wanted to do. And people at school were saying, “oh, you’re a girl” and other people saying stuff to him. And he was just like, I don’t fucking give a shit. And I just thought that’s great, you know. That’s just the attitude that you should have in life with anything that you believe in, or want to do, so “I won’t cut my hair off”, it’s kind of like a metaphor for I’m not gonna change my mind, I’m not gonna change my stance. I’m just gonna believe in what I think. And now, he’s fucking shaved the whole head, which is fine, his choice. But yeah, I guess it’s about that alternative lifestyle and there is always a different way, and I think sometimes people feel trapped in life, that there isn’t a different way and it’s really hard to get out of that cycle. But we’re out there saying that there is, and you can do that if you want.

Is it still a worry for you and David that you might end up in a 9:00 to 5:00 job?
Not unless it was something that we wanted to do, I guess. Although there are benefits in a sense, to the 9:00 to 5:00, because obviously being in a DIY band is 24/7, your entire life is your band, and your band is your life, which is brilliant in a way. But sometimes when you’re making money out of the thing that you love doing, mixing money with anything just turns it to shit, do you know what I mean? But sometimes, your motivations might be paying your gas bill rather than, what is artistically the thing that you want to do. And I think a lot of bands feel that pressure. But so that’s when the 9:00 to 5:00 can be great, actually, because it can really keep you up.

You need some guarantee of money coming in just to survive.
Exactly. So it’s not like we’re anti that, but we’re anti that if you feel trapped by it, that’s the difference, I think. And if you feel trapped by it, you shouldn’t ever feel trapped by life because we’ve only got 70 years, if you’re lucky. And if you’re lucky to be on this amazing planet and feel awareness and life, you know, and experience stuff, it’s like try to get the most out of it and be pleased with the decisions that you’ve made, I guess.

To go back to Arlo. The last time I saw him, he was in a little baby bouncer on the merch table at Union Chapel. I think your mum put a not for sale sign underneath him?
Yeah, yeah.

So he’s going to be a teenager soon?
Yes, he’s 13 next year.

Are you looking forward to having a moody teenager around the house?
You know, I don’t really mind because, out of everything I remember as being a teenager, I kind of really identify with that. I know what it’s like when your mum and dad piss you off, I know what it’s like to hate everything. And I really remember strongly that feeling of otherness and hearing a lot of alternative and underground music, when I was a kid. As soon as I heard it, I was just like, bang, this is my tribe. I remember hearing the Sex Pistols for the first time, and I didn’t even know that it was a band from the 70s. I thought they were a 90s band and I just remember thinking, it was fucking great and Nirvana and Sonic Youth and the otherness you know, it’s the subculture of that. it. So I feel like, out of anything I remember, I remember being a teenager, so I’m hoping that it’s going to give me empathy when he starts becoming one.

Has he got any kind of musical inklings? Is he going to grow up to be a Lovely Egg?
I don’t know, actually. That’s something that we’ve never pushed on him because we don’t want to force that idea of him having to do anything, and please your parents. It’s crap, isn’t it? So no, he doesn’t. He really likes football and Minecraft. They’re his things that he fucking loves and good luck to him with it.

And he might. He does listen to a lot of music and stuff, and he gets me into stuff that I’ve never heard before. And I’m like, ohh, that’s great. You know, I like that, but. But yeah, he doesn’t play anything that regularly or whatever.

You’ve got this big tour coming up. What was the idea of getting comedians involved?
Well, we always used to like poets supporting us. And that was always a big thing because we love spoken word and poetry and it makes it for the night to be different. I think sometimes when you just get blasted by three bands on a night, you know, a lot of people can’t take that much music in, or maybe that much loud music all in one, sort of thing.

We’ve always liked the idea of splitting up the night by having spoken word, and it started out, like I said, as poetry. But then some of the poetry is quite humorous. So say, for example, someone like Rob Auton. He always called himself a poet and a comedian. And Thick Richard is a poet, but you do laugh at his stuff a lot. It’s like John Cooper Clarke, you know, he’s a great poet, but his stuff is really funny. So it just started from then really. And then conversations we’d have with friends like Frank Skinner and Stewart Lee, who both like our band. We were talking to Frank about how we would love you to play a gig with us one time and then we’re just like, right, let’s make it happen. And then that was that, Frank says, right, I can do these three, and then Stewart’s like, oh, yeah, I’ll do the Brighton one. And then there’s Phill Jupitus, who lives up in Scotland. So he said I’ll help you out in Edinburgh. Yeah. So it’s really happened ‘cause we know the people.

And those three, that you’ve named have all got really good music connections, haven’t they? Phill Jupitus, did a lot with Red Wedge and The Housemartins; Stewart Lee with the Nightingales and Shirley Collins; Frank Skinner has had a number one single with Three Lions, so it’s quite a rock’n’roll line up you’ve got.
Yeah, it is. Someone was saying to me in another interview the other day, like, what is it about comedians that are into your music? I’m not quite sure, but I think that they’re all just into bands. I know that Stew and Frank were massive Fall fans, you know. And yeah, so if you’re into bands and you like ours, then I guess that’s why.

And you have Polite Bureaux on the bill as well. How did you come across them?
Now I can’t quite remember. I remember looking for supports with David but of course, if you put a call out for supports, it’s a bad move because everyone gets in touch with you and a lot of them aren’t appropriate. So we never try and do that, but we’re always looking for someone new and someone different and interesting and I guess we just came across them, you know and it’s also quite good that I don’t think they’ve got much industry backing, and we like to support bands that feel a little bit more real, you know, and doing things at a grassroots level and they sounded brilliant.

How has having Iggy Pop as a fan helped your career or has it hindered it in any way?
I don’t think it’s hindered it at all. I can’t even call what The Lovely Eggs have done in the last 20 years a career really. That’s the word that you should use to describe people with proper jobs. But I guess what it is is, anything in art and music is validation, isn’t it?

I’m saying this guy, Iggy fuckin’ Pop, you know, singer of The Stooges, one of the most classic rock’n’roll acts of all time says your band is good – yeah, that feels great. And it feels great to any band, I can tell you that it would, but it feels more so to us because we’ve got no fucker backing us. We’ve got no record label, no publisher, no manager, no booking agent. Everything is done by us, so the compliment feels direct and it feels real. It hasn’t been done because someone we know knows them, who’s told them that he’s just discovered us by chance and that’s nice. And stuff like that, it’s like whenever our band is done or when we die, whichever comes first, we can look back at that and that’ll be one of the things that we’ll look back on with affection. The fact that we worked with Iggy and that Iggy was a supporter of us because we’re massive fans of his.

And you got to make a record with him.
Yeah, we did and it was great, you know.

Have you met him?
No, we haven’t. Because when we did the single, it was Covid, it was lockdown so people couldn’t travel. So no, we have yet to meet him but we have conversed.

Do you and David get to go to many gigs?
No, not apart from when we’re touring. Because we’re still at that stage, and any parent will know when you’ve got a kid that’s preteen, you can’t. Your social life just goes out the window. So we rarely go out these days. We have an odd night out when we can get a babysitter and stuff, but yeah, we don’t go out to that many gigs. The last gig we went out to as a proper gig was Osees I think, in Manchester. I mean, apart from at festivals, like we played quite a lot of festivals. We played in Jersey. That was one of the last festivals we did and we saw Big Special at Jersey Live but that doesn’t really count for me because we were playing there. But that’s the beauty of going on tour and being in a band is that we bring the nights out, that is our work. So it’s great, we have a night out and work all in one, so it’s good.

We talked more about their artwork collaborations with artists such as Casey Raymond and David Shrigley, and there will be limited edition screenprinted posters on sale at the shows, how their overseas fans interpret their work and that David was unavailable to chat as he was upstairs printing out some stickers.

The interview ended with Holly explaining about their campaign to keep booking fees at a reasonable cost.
One thing we’ve really tried to do is to stop ticket fees. What ticket people charge is ridiculous these days, so we had a discussion with all the promoters and Seetickets, and we said, what is the minimum you can charge? They said 10%, so we said OK 10% that’s it. So, all ticket fees are only 10% for the gig, so you’ll just pay £22.00. So we think for us, Stewart Lee and Polite Bureau, that is fucking good value. It has to be the minimum and that is within the power of all promoters and all bands because we’ve done it.

Well, that’s brilliant. So thank you on behalf of everybody that’s bought a ticket.
Yeah, you’re welcome. I don’t like being ripped off when I go to gigs either.

The Lovely Eggs play Concorde 2 on Sunday 26th October 2025.

Tickets are available (with the cheapest booking fee the band could arrange) here.

Photo by Darren Andrews