Mercury Prize winners English Teacher are still coming to terms with the enormity of their triumph on Thursday night, giving interviews reflecting on what it means for the band and underlining the importance of supporting grassroots organizations in music. 

“We’re still pinching ourselves, really,” vocalist Lily Fontaine told The Guardian on Friday. “To win it in a room where there were people such as Corinne [Bailey Rae] or Beth [Gibbons] that inspired me is just amazing, like a dream I keep expecting to wake up from.” “I feel like it’s going to take me a long, long time for this to sink in,” drummer Douglas Frost told NME. “As soon as it was announced, my whole body just shut down.” 

The Leeds band’s win wasn’t entirely out of the blue – bookmakers had tipped their debut album This Could Be Texas among the top three favorites to win ahead of the ceremony – but it does feel like the right choice. Commenting on the fact that English Teacher are the first act based outside of London to win the Prize since Young Fathers’ win in 2014, Fontaine says it’s “ridiculous,” suggesting that it might reveal “what the industry puts the spotlight on, because there’s certainly no lack of talent.”

Formed at Leeds Conservatoire in 2018, originally going by the name Frank, the band played their first gig as English Teacher in 2020. Early on, the band received crucial funding that's currently no longer available to artists in Leeds. Lack of financial support for musicians is a cause that English Teacher have already taken up with the UK government – and vowed to keep speaking out on. Appearing at a hearing with the Culture Media & Sport Committee in March, Fontaine said:

“If you can’t support artists who are signed to a major label and you can’t support artists at a lower level, then how is anyone without money or from a regional area where they don’t have access to venues going to have an opportunity to create music and tour it? That leads to a homogenous music industry which leads to less diverse music scenes. If there are less diverse music scenes, then music as one of our biggest exports, is then diminished.”

English Teacher also revealed that they have already completed work on a new song, telling NME that the band have further writing sessions for album #2 planned around their current touring commitments. First up is a North American tour – including seven dates supporting IDLES – with a European tour to follow. Catch them at the following venues:

09/11 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
09/13 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
09/14 Asheville, NC @ Rabbit Rabbit +
09/15 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle +
09/16 Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
09/18 Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom +
09/20 Toronto, ON @ Coca-Cola Coliseum +
09/21 Montréal, QC @ Mtelus +
09/22 Montréal, QC @ Mtelus +
09/24 Boston, MA @ Roadrunner +
09/27 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
09/29 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
09/30 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
10/02 Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou's
10/03 Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
10/08 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
10/17 Cardiff, UK @ Sŵn Festival
10/23 Paris, France @ Le Hasard Ludique
10/25 Tourcoing, France @ Le Grand Mix
10/26 Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ London Calling
10/27 Hamburg, Germany @ Plan B
10/30 Malmö, Sweden @ Plan B
11/01 Berlin, Germany @ Neue Zukunft
11/03 Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique
11/07 Reykjavík, Iceland @ Iceland Airwaves
11/12 London, UK @ Shepherds Bush Empire
11/14 Manchester, UK @ Ritz
11/16 Leeds, UK @ Live At Leeds In The City
11/18 Glasgow, UK @ St. Luke's
11/19 Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop
11/21 Bristol, UK @ SWX
11/21 Bedford, UK @ Esquires

+ with IDLES

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