Idles definitely owe a lot to the Foo Fighters. In 2017, the British post-punk band was selected to perform as a support act for the stadium rockers. Now singer Joe Talbot has revealed how they managed to catch the attention of Dave Grohl and get themselves considered for the slot.
Idles: So they became the opening act for the Foo Fighters
Although Idles formed in Bristol, England, in 2009, it took some time before a debut album was released. “Brutalism” was released in 2017 and the band saw their chance to take off internationally. So why not ask big acts whether you can play as an opening act? Speaking on the Lipp Service podcast recently, Joe Talbot said of the Foo Fighters playing the UK in 2017: “They had a shortlist of five to ten bands, I think. And apparently they choose the bands themselves; they had the shortlist. We found this out and thought, to get ahead of the others, we’d make a puzzle with a photo of our bass player on it. In his pants. It just said: ‘Pick Idles’. I simply built a box for it and wrote on it: ‘If you build them, they will come’. And they have.”
Idles: Second number one album in the UK
Idles are now playing big shows themselves. Their latest album “Tngk” was released on February 16th and landed at number one in the British album charts – this is the second time in the band’s career that they have achieved this success. But idles are also extremely well received in Germany. In this country, the album has positioned itself at number two in the album charts.
On the new album, Joe Talbot became more melodic – which he probably also owes to the birth of his child. The singer recently admitted that fatherhood has made him “more sensitive.” In a recent interview with NME he explained: “’Delicate’ is the right word. Since becoming a father, I’ve addressed this in my songs.”