
‘Saying you're in a jangle-pop band is a red flag': the Tubs talk speed, squalor and their glorious second album
'Most of the songs were written in the midst of a breakdown,' says Owen Williams, lead singer with indie rock group the Tubs. 'My long-term relationship had ended, so I was drunk constantly and being kind of obsessive about the people I was dating.'
Williams doesn't really need to tell me that he was in a difficult place while writing his band's second album, Cotton Crown – the evidence is in the lyrics. Tubs songs might jangle deceptively with intricate riffs and Teenage Fanclub-style harmonies, but the words are loaded with self-laceration. Manipulative, irritating, sycophantic, unreliable: these are just some of the ways Williams portrays himself on record.
The 32-year-old seems none of those things when I meet him at a Wetherspoon's in the band's native south-east London where, over a succession of pints, he cheerfully explains how the Tubs has always been a vehicle to 'do a hatchet job' on himself. 'Sometimes I actually end up painting myself as a lot more unlikable than I am,' he admits. 'But I've always liked lyrics that can be brutal.'
Williams's life was in the doldrums when the band recorded their 2023 debut Dead Meat. His previous group, noise-rock outfit Joanna Gruesome, had split in 2017 and new projects – including an attempt to publish a novel – had all fizzled out. Williams says he had 'zero expectations' that anyone outside his circle would care about the Tubs, whom he formed with fellow Joanna Gruesome members Max Warren and George Nicholls, and who are these days completed by drummer Taylor Stewart, along with occasional guest vocals from Lan McArdle, also formerly of Joanna Gruesome.
'We just turned up and bashed that first album out,' says Williams. 'We didn't actually put much effort into it.'
Whether that's true or not (and with its unusual hooks and harmonies, Dead Meat certainly didn't sound bashed out), Williams is adamant that they've tried a lot harder on its follow-up. Cotton Crown is full of songs about Williams's relationship woes, told with bleak humour. ('Took a bit of what I think was speed,' is certainly one way of beginning a love song.) But what really sets it apart from its predecessor is the inclusion of final track Strange, which deals with the death of Charlotte Greig, Williams's mother, by suicide in 2014.
Williams says he had been trying unsatisfactorily to write about his mother for years until he stumbled on a way in: writing not about her death directly so much as the social awkwardness and bizarre situations that he faced in the immediate aftermath. 'Sometimes when everyone's high / They ask me what it's like / If I'm all right,' he sings. 'I say it makes me more interesting / Then they laugh / And then it's all fine.' Most jolting of all is the way he recalls finding out the method she used to kill herself by reading an article in WalesOnline.
Williams has a keen, almost novelistic eye for the minutiae of day-to-day interactions – sending up both himself and the well-meaning folk who tried to console him. 'At the wake someone took my hand / Said that I should write a song about this,' sings Williams at the song's end. 'Well, whoever the hell you were / I'm sorry, I guess this is it.'
'I don't think you can really touch on what it's actually like [to lose your mother],' he says. 'It's too big. But in a perverse sort of way, writing about it from this angle has given it some kind of emotional heft.'
Williams's mother was a writer and musician, too. Her beautiful debut album, 1998's Night Visiting Songs, was a mix of original tracks and reimagined folk standards that was the focus of a Guardian profile in 2023. Williams grew up in a home full of various touring folk musicians, and his love of the genre clearly influenced his vocal style, which is often compared to that of a young Richard Thompson.
The sleeve for Cotton Crown also features his mother – she's photographed in a graveyard, breastfeeding Williams as a baby. The picture was originally used in a vinyl release of hers which Williams has carried around with him from home to home. 'It felt appropriate to use it because the fact I was having a breakdown was very linked to her. She's kind of in the background of all the songs on the record, not just Strange,' he says. It is, he admits, yet another peculiar aspect of her death that her image is now acting as a kind of promotional tool for his album. 'Now that the vinyls have started arriving at my house, it does feel a bit much. Sometimes I think: should I have done that?'
Another thing Williams has refused to shy away from in his songwriting is the reality of living with poor mental health. His struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder were laid bare on earlier songs such as Round the Bend. Cotton Crown continues the excavations: on Narcissist, he sings about wanting to hook up with a potential sociopath in order to distract himself from more existential thoughts.
He hopes his lyrics act as an antidote to the romanticisation of mental illness. 'Everyone has sympathy for [people with] mental illness in a kind of abstract way,' says Williams. 'But that doesn't really work in an intimate relationship or friendship. Sometimes people who are mentally ill are really fucking annoying. Anxious people are annoying! Especially if you have something like OCD and you're constantly asking for reassurance about some catastrophic fear that you've become obsessed with.'
Williams paints an equally unforgiving picture of being a musician in the modern world – one in which nobody makes any money any more, and any glamour associated with indie rock has long since vanished: 'When you're dating, telling someone you're in a jangle-pop band is basically a red flag these days,' he says, laughing. It has to be said, few would be tempted to sign up for the rock'n'roll lifestyle after listening to Dead Meat's title track, in which Williams explores the previously untapped subject of simultaneously running out of beans and the steroid cream you use to treat a stubborn groin rash.
What the Tubs document so well is that period in life in between young adulthood and middle-age, when the party lifestyle starts to seem less carefree, and adult issues are more prone to intrusion. In this sense it shares a similarity with Charli xcx's Brat, albeit a much scruffier Brat that grew up listening to early REM and Hüsker Dü.
Williams laughs off the comparison but says that he has noticed that the songs do strike a particular chord with men in their 30s. 'Guys over the last decade have maybe felt this pressure to be living more virtuously,' he says. 'And some of them have said that our music makes them feel like they don't have to be this super-virtuous, perfect person – but they also don't have to be a misogynistic arsehole either. There's, like, a third way.'
That way is a throwback to pre-social media times, before everybody felt monitored and the music business became slickly professionalised. 'I think other bands practise a lot more than we do,' says Williams. 'We might run through the set once and be like, 'Can we go to the pub now?''
As for playing live – at present Williams says they can only handle that by getting extremely drunk beforehand. 'It's maybe a bit unsustainable. The drinking in the band can be quite exhausting. We always feel like every show is a big deal, and we probably overcompensate for that.'
Not all chaos is good chaos. On the eve of their sold out gig at Moth Club in London last December, their bassist Max was hit by a car and hospitalised, meaning it had to be cancelled. 'We immediately started treating it like a joke, posting pictures from his hospital bed,' says Williams. 'Then he went to ICU with blood clots on his lungs. It was quite dicey. I was thinking – if he dies, will we have to take those Instagram posts down?' Fortunately Max pulled through, although he's still in a wheelchair.
The same month also saw the departure of Nicholls, whose spidery, Johnny Marr-like guitar lines elevated the songs (for all Williams's claims of minimal rehearsing, the band can undoubtedly play). Nicholls is off to focus on his career lecturing at Goldsmiths, University of London, but Williams is adamant that the Tubs are only just getting started. In fact they've already written album number three, which apparently has a northern soul-infused sound. Creativity comes easily to Williams – he writes songs and stories constantly. And despite the struggles and the squalor of being a musician in 2025, he concedes that it's a pretty good life overall.
'It's not like I need to buy clothes or whatever it is that people buy,' he says. 'All I need to get by is food and pints.'
And so with that in mind, we get another round in.
The Tubs tour the UK and Ireland until 5 April. Cotton Crown is out now
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. You can contact the mental health charity Mind by calling 0300 123 3393 or visiting mind.org.uk
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time Out
8 hours ago
- Time Out
The Ritz has been named the UK's best restaurant at the National Restaurant Awards
Congratulations are in order for a little spot known as The Ritz. Maybe you've heard of it? Yes, this plucky up-and-comer has been named Best Restaurant in the UK 2025 at this year's National Restaurant Awards. We jest, of course. The Ritz Restaurant is world-famous, but seems to be having something of a second wind. Earlier this year, their executive chef John Williams secured the Mayfair spot's second Michelin star (after getting the first in 2016). The Ritz Restaurant has been open since 1906 (when the hotel itself opened), and Williams has ruled the roost since 2004. Speaking about the win for The Ritz, restaurant editor Stefan Chomka commented: 'As a bastion of fine French food served in unashamedly refined surroundings, The Ritz stands alone in the UK. 'The top 100 restaurants list reflects the diverse nature of our eating out scene and the changing trends within it, whether they be less formality, more farm to fork menus, or embracing new cuisines, but it's also wonderful to see a restaurant unwavering in its focus finally get the recognition it merits. The Ritz is an exemplary restaurant, one fully deserving of the title National Restaurant of the Year.' We had similar thoughts when we last visited the restaurant, awarding it a glowing five star review. 'It's a performance worthy of any world-beating theatre down the road, and it's all we can do not to burst into applause after each dish,' we wrote. The awards - which were held on June 9 in London - also saw another local win, with David Carter named Restaurateur of the Year 2025. Carter has two restaurants on the winning list of 100 UK restaurants, including the Highest New Entry, Oma (in at number six!), and Agora at 51, both in Borough Market. Oma also features highly in Time Out's very own Best Restaurants of 2025 list, which you can read here. Other London wins included Opening of the Year, which went to AngloThai in Marylebone. The newly opened One Club Row in Shoreditch was named 'One to Watch', while 'Gastropub of the Year' went to The Devonshire in Soho and 'Lifetime Achievement Award' went to Skye Gyngell of Spring in Somerset House. Other London restaurants to make the top 10 included Notting Hill's The Ledbury at number 3, Trinity in Clapham at number 4, Bouchon Racine in Farringdon at number five, Oma at number six, AngloThai at number seven, and Notting Hill's Dorian at number 10.


Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Telegraph
The secrets to looking as good as Liz Hurley at 60
'Mummy, actress, model, farmer, bikini designer': that's how Elizabeth Hurley describes herself on her Instagram bio, and who are we to contradict? Though if we may, we'd also like to add 'national institution who has been enlivening the news cycle since 1994, when she stole every front page in That black safety-pin Versace dress'. 'National institution' is not, one fears, a phrase that would find favour with the perennially youthful and ebullient Liz. It makes her sound venerable, yes, but also rather staid, something that Hurley is decidedly not. Everyone celebrates their 60th birthday in different ways, and Hurley seems to have chosen to mark hers by ageing backwards, though not in a Kris Jenner way. Yes, she's genetically blessed to be a quintessential English rose, but more compelling than her looks is her lust for life, and her enthusiasm for living it fully. Whether she's sauntering along a tropical beach in her self-designed bikini, fronting a new reality TV show (Channel 4's The Deceased), larking around with her lookalike son, Damian, or hard launching her new relationship with Billy Ray Cyrus, Hurley's joie de vivre is infectious. Here's how to be more Liz, whatever your age or relationship status. Don't be afraid of bold style choices If anyone subscribes to the notion that you can wear anything at 60, it's Hurley, whose glamorous, high-octane style has only amplified with age. If it's figure-hugging, bright and shows off her famous décolletage, she's on board. Her go-to designers are Versace, Valentino and Tom Ford-era Gucci, but when it comes to swimwear, she always wears Elizabeth Hurley Beach, the swimwear brand she launched in 2005. 'Elizabeth has a perfect eye for fashion,' says Mike Adler, who's been her stylist for red carpet events, tours and special projects since 2018. 'Her signature style always remains glamorous with ultra clean lines. A formal look centres around a brilliant cut, a bold, bright colour and a favourable neckline or deep plunge. She's always incredibly supportive of designers and their craft, and appreciative of being able to present with total confidence in the public eye. 'She's also sustainably aware, re-wearing iconic pieces from her own wardrobe. During our recent Oscars fitting, Elizabeth pulled out an incredible archive Versace gown, as appealing today as when she first wore it. Not only did the dress still fit like a glove – but in comparing the red carpet photo from 30 years ago, she looked even better now.' Avoid a high-UPF diet In January 2024, she detailed in an Instagram post how she avoids junk food, which she defined as 'anything that contains any ingredient that I don't have in my own kitchen'. Adding: 'My tastes are pretty simple – I don't drink weird green juices or anything like that. My mantra is: don't eat too much, too fast, too often or too late. Or, put another way, eat smaller meals, chew properly, ban snacking, and eat dinner earlier. This works for me.' She also ensures that fruit and vegetables take up half her plate with every meal. Crucially, she isn't abstemious, making a loaf of bread every day, and cakes on weekends. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Elizabeth Hurley (@elizabethhurley1) Get into the garden Ever the pragmatist, Hurley prefers walking in nature to sweating it out in a spin class. 'I don't go to the gym, but I do a lot of gardening...' she told The Telegraph last year. 'I don't really sit still very much.' Perhaps this is where we're going wrong. Forget cutting out carbs after 7pm: we simply need to rake more leaves and weed more. A fan of 'found fitness', she likes to incorporate exercise into her everyday routine, doing squats while she brushes her teeth to tone her legs, then walking her dogs for 20 minutes to get her blood pumping. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Elizabeth Hurley (@elizabethhurley1) Tweak the shade of your hair Like many women approaching 60 (or even 40), Hurley has lightened the dark brown tresses of her youth into a rich caramel bronde whose shade has largely remained consistent for decades. Warm, flattering and sun-kissed, it's coloured using a 'ring lighting' technique that frames the face with highlights, acting like a low-maintenance soft filter. How to get the look? 'Keeping those greys away can be a real chore, but adding a few very fine micro lights near the root and broader beach lights near the face, plus choosing a base colour that is natural and a shade or two lighter than one's own original colour is key to a flattering effect,' says the celebrity colourist Josh Wood. 'Adding gloss and shine is also important, as the texture of grey can be very wiry, so keeping the hair looking hydrated is paramount.' For those not in possession of Hurley's thick hair, help is but a hair extension away. Hadley Yates salon in London specialises in a full yet natural look. 'For a DIY solution I'd recommend the Curated Hair Extensions full-head clip-in, which come in 16in and 20in lengths and add instant volume,' Yates suggests. 'For maximum shine, Redken's Acidic Colour Gloss, £33, is an at-home treatment which locks in glass-like shine by sealing your cuticles and restoring the hair back to its healthiest PH.' Moisturiser, moisturiser, moisturiser 'The one thing I swear by is moisturiser – and lots of it,' she told Woman & Home magazine. 'I'll moisturise my face about six times a day and my neck about 10 times a day.' Her favourites include La Mer, £135, and Estée Lauder's Advance Night Repair serum, £55, which she's been using religiously ever since becoming an Estée Lauder spokesperson in the mid-Nineties. For her body, she favours Clinique's Deep Comfort moisturiser (£39). While she's open about her skincare routine, she's not on the record as having had any extra help. 'Facially, Liz appears refreshed and natural,' notes Dr Manav Bawa, a cosmetic doctor and medical director at Time Clinic on behalf of Allergan Aesthetics. 'Subtle signs might suggest she's had light Botox treatments, dermal fillers like Juvederm to restore facial volume, and possibly skin boosters or injectable hydrators to hydrate and tighten the skin.' He suggests that those looking to replicate Hurley's glow at home should focus on products featuring vitamin C and retinol. Treatment-wise, they could also try biostimulation and regenerative treatments such as HarmonyCa to enhance the skin's own healing and renewal processes. 'These approaches can help maintain a rejuvenated, naturally fresh appearance without the risk of looking 'done'.' Body-wise, Hurley's even-toned skin could be achieved with the help of medical-grade microneedling with radiofrequency or laser skin tightening, which can stimulate collagen production and improve elasticity. 'Regular exfoliation and the use of active body skincare, such as glycolic acid lotions, also help maintain a youthful, luminous skin tone at home, although the most powerful product in Liz's skincare arsenal is likely a high-quality broad-spectrum SPF,' says Bawa. Make the effort with your make-up 'Actors and models must spend the equivalent of years in the make-up chair,' Hurley posted on Instagram. Unlike many women in the public eye, she's honest about the time it takes to reach Peak Liz, acknowledging that there's no quick fix. 'I work for a cosmetic company, I work for fashion companies, I have my own fashion company, I'm in high definition on massive cinema screens,' she once said. 'So it's my business to make more effort ... of course I do, it's my bread and butter.' Hurley's not averse to wearing a full face of make-up, and really carries it off. Her trademark look – a smoky eye composed of black kohl liner, shimmering grey eyeshadow, soft pink blush and shiny pale pink lip gloss – is part Hollywood siren, part Brit on a big night out. A close friend of Trinny Woodall for over 30 years (she calls her 'Trinster'), it's likely she uses Trinny London's Eye2Eye cream-based colour in Chalice (£20), and her Line2Define smudge-proof eyeliner in Shahrose (£24). Hurley also has the distinction of having a lipstick named after her and formulated in her honour: Estée Lauder's Elizabeth Hurley Pink 391 Rouge Cristal. It's sadly discontinued, though if you have $98 (£72) to spare, there's one currently for sale on eBay. Liz Hurley's 10 most memorable style moments By Jessica Burrell


Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Top European theme park that mums say is better than Disneyland shows off new Wes Anderson-style hotel
Plus, a huge new Premier Inn will open near major airport and will be the largest of its kind in the north of UK SUITE DREAMS Top European theme park that mums say is better than Disneyland shows off new Wes Anderson-style hotel Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TOP European theme park is welcoming a new premium hotel that looks like it's out of Wes Anderson's world. Dutch theme park Efteling will be opening a new hotel this summer called the Efteling Grand Hotel. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Dutch theme park Efteling will be opening a new hotel this summer Credit: 6 It will follow the fairytale-theme of the park Credit: 6 In total, it will have 140 rooms and suites complete with themed decor Credit: The theme park is already well known for its fairytale theme, with one TikToker - The Travel Mum - dubbing it "better and cheaper than Disneyland". The new addition to the attraction will be the first hotel located within the theme park itself and will open on August 1. The hotel will be themed around a traditional grand dame hotel with stories woven into the design throughout, appearing like a Wes Anderson story. There will be digital check-in, valet parking and luggage handling, upon arrival. A bellhop and Efteling's two princesses will guests in the lobby, where the air will also be infused with the hotel's signature fragrance. The hotel will be spread across seven floors offering 140 rooms and suites, with a total of 644 beds. The biggest room will be able to host six people. The hotel rooms will also overlook the park with different views of the Aquanura water show the House of the Dive Senses entrance, the Fairytale Forest or the Pardoes Promenade Lane. All of the rooms include breakfast at Brasserie 7 and half an hour of early access to the park before it opens to the public. Other features of the rooms include each one having an Efteling Grand Hotel fairytale book. Inside Universal Epic Universe with incredible thrill rides and amazing food The lower ground floor of the hotel will have a swimming pool - availabel only to hotel guests - with spa facilities including a steam room, sauna and massage room. There will also be a multifunctional serenity room where guests can unwind, pray or meditate. The hotel will have two restaurants with Brasserie 7 located on the ground floor and Restaurant-Bar Mystique on the first floor. While Brasserie 7 will serve up a range of classic dishes - which include seven 'magical' ingredients such as princess tears and snow from Mother Holle - Restaurant-Bar Mystique will offer a more premium dining experience. 6 There will also be two restaurants at the site and one cafe Credit: 6 There will also be a swimming pool at the hotel, and spa facilities Credit: Each table will be decorated with edible decorations and the restaurant will be open to the public, as well as park and hotel guests. Café Biscuit will also be a part of the hotel, where baristas will serve coffee and the signature Grand Hotel biscuit. Plans have also been revealed for incredible new 240-room hotel with huge swimming lake, golf and spa near to iconic racetrack. Plus, a huge new Premier Inn will open near major airport and will be the largest of its kind in the north of UK.