INTERVIEW W/ Only The Poets: "It's always been important to us that music is accessible to everyone!"

As they gear up for their debut album in 2026, Alt-Pop stars Only the Poets have just made headlines by announcing a gig at Brixton Academy where all tickets are just £1. Their album ‘And I’d Do It All Again’ is set for release in January and appears to be arriving at the perfect time as their popularity begins to soar.

We sat down with the band's Marcus Yates and Andy Burge to talk about why making gigs affordable matters to them, how they feel about headlining such an iconic venue, and how they made their album. 

Q: You’ve just announced a show at Brixton Academy for £1. Where did the idea for the £1 gig come from?

A: “Going to concerts was a huge part of our childhoods. Going to small venues for free entry or £2 gigs was so important to us. It’s how we made friends and how we felt part of something bigger. We still have friends now who we met at these tiny gigs in Reading, so we’re so excited to be able to create that setting ourselves, so low-income tickets have always been something we’ve done. It's always been important to us that music is accessible to everyone, so that’s really in the DNA of us and our shows. And one of our first tours was £1 tickets, when we just had one song out at the time, so it’s a nice full-circle moment for us in that way. And we’re really lucky to be in a position of making more of a statement, so being able to do something like this on a big scale, at such an iconic venue, is amazing.”

“The show is two days after our debut album comes out, so we’re seeing it as a bit of an album launch party. A lot of the material hasn’t been played live yet, so that’s really exciting. There’s tracks on the album we haven’t announced yet, but since we finished the album we knew that one track would be the perfect opener. So that’s going to be a really special moment.”

Q: Why Brixton Academy?

A: “Brixton Academy is THE venue for us. Since we started as a band, it’s been a goal to play there. We used to joke about it but it never really felt real, so it’s incredibly special to be able to do that now.  It’s a right of passage for so many bands, it’s one of the UK’s most iconic venues, it's a venue that’s inspired us, we’ve seen so many amazing bands there, and it’s part of what made us want to pick up instruments. We really can’t wait.” 

Q: What’s it been like being on the road playing smaller venues?

A: “We went to lots of the independent venues that are important to our journey, some of the first places we played. It’s been really nice to look backwards as we head towards the album release and the Brixton show. It’s been so lovely to celebrate the album with all these places that are important to us. We played The Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham, which was our first headline show and holds maybe 80 or 100 people. We did that show for £1 when we first played there, so it's surreal to know we’re playing Brixton Academy as one our next UK shows. So from 100 people to 5000 feels crazy.”

Q: What was the album creation process like? 

A: “There were a lot of late nights and hard work put into this record, but it all happened pretty fast. We had a collection of songs and it felt like a record, so it felt really natural. There’s a couple of older songs, from two or three years ago. But most of the songs came together in about eight months. It all happened really naturally, we didn’t set out to create a certain sound or anything like that. It was really about expressing ourselves, making the music we want to make, and going with our instincts. It’s our first album and we’ve been thinking about this since we were kids, but we’re really grateful that it happened so organically.”

Q: How did you name the album? 

A: “We really considered a self-titled album, it’s who we are and this our “we’re here” moment. But ‘And I’d Do It Again’ encapsulates our journey as a band over the last seven years. All those moments have led us to this point, and it’s a very autobiographical album. Lyrically it’s a journey, and we want this to be an album you listen to end to end. These moments have made us who we are and we wouldn’t change any of it. So the title just felt right. “

Q: How do you balance being vulnerable with knowing this music will be heard by so many people? 

A: “We always have the listener in mind, but to make the best art you have to have yourself in mind and think about what you want to say, and how you want to say it. And that’s what the audience wants to hear. Sometimes we do ask ourselves if we’ve been too open and too honest, but we owe it to ourselves to be honest. In the studio we felt a bit more nervous about people liking it, but now it’s finished and we can approach it as a whole, it’s just exciting. January can’t come quick enough.”

Q: What’s it like working together on the album? Was it an exciting or tense experience?  

A: “Before we did the album, there was definitely a sense that this was a huge thing to take on, it’s a big statement about who we are. But in reality it was really smooth and seamless. The whole process was good, we all knew where we wanted to go and where we wanted to end up. Musically we massively pushed each other, songs were making the cut then weren’t, and we were all very vocal on that. If a song wasn't right we’d keep pushing to get it there. But it’s not disagreements, it’s about pushing each other to create the best music we can.  We’ve all grown together, evolved together, we see each other more than our families, we really are a little family. We completely trust each other, so even if we don’t agree, we trust each other to make the right call. “