More about: The Twang

Phil Etheridge of The Twang is teaming up with Heineken for their first ever effort at window service. Designed to bring a smile to the faces of those working from home, celebrities Etheridge, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Divina De Campo and Eleanor Morton are due to be in the air on cherry pickers across the country, serving Heineken 0.0 through peoples' windows. We spoke to Phil to find out why he wanted to be involved...

“I was asked if I was up for doing it and thought it sounded like fun. Something different, isn’t it? The thought of pulling up on someone’s drive in a cherry picker is pretty mad [and] you can’t be getting on the normal beers so the 0.0 thing is good.” The plan is to visit between 4-6 properties on 6 April (enter to be one of them in the ballot) to bring a pint and shed some light on what’s been an awful year for everyone. “I’m buzzing to be delivering pints through people’s windows in my hometown of Brum. Hopefully it’ll brighten up their day after the rubbish year we’ve had. I was just watching the news and seen it’s been a year since we went into lockdown and it’s just crazy; it’s hard to remember normal life, it feels a bit never ending but you’ve just got to try and stay positive.”

We were keen to find out whether Etheridge was nervous about cutting around in a cherry picker however many feet in the air, but he seems as cool as ever. “I’m not [scared of heights]. [But] that’d be a bad way to go, wouldn’t it?"

On the topic of lockdown, we spoke about what Phil’s been doing to keep himself occupied. “We’ve been writing a bit, but it’s been difficult. It’s been difficult to get together but I’ve been writing from home. As far as future releases are concerned I’m just not sure at the moment...but no one is. I keep saying to the other lads in the band that I’m sure when the time comes to get in [the studio], we’ll all have quite a few tunes we can collate together and see if we’re feeling any of them.

"I’m quite happy with what I’ve been doing but I also don’t want to force it, it was that whole thing when lockdown started like ‘learn a language, make use of the time’ but I don’t want to force it.” He reminds us, too, that he’s got three children keeping him busy while his wife’s out working her arse off as a teacher the whole time...but continuing on the music front, he says “We’ve just got a new publishing deal with B-Unique who signed us for our first two records, so it’s really nice to be back involved with them again. We’re hoping to get out gigging again by the end of the year as I’m sure everyone is, but we’ll just have to wait and see. I’m conscious of building it up and letting people down, it’s not us letting them down but it’s just another kick in the teeth.” 

The Twang have been doing Twangmas, a Christmas show in their hometown of Birmingham, every year for over a decade and last year was the first that had to be cancelled. “I don’t want to get the violin out because everyone’s in the same position; I am in a fortunate position where the wolf’s not at the door yet because the wife works, whereas other people have it horrendous at the moment and you have to think of them as well” Phil admits.

The Twang have been active on Twitter and other forms of social media throughout lockdown, using it as a way to keep in touch and engage with fans. As well as spreading the word about projects such as Heineken's Pint At A Height, they've been putting out old live footage. People who asked for more archive film are in luck: “I had boxes full of DVDs and memorabilia which had just been thrown in this trunk but I’d never looked at. We’ve got this lad that’s worked with us for years who looks after all the socials, but he was like ‘get them all over to me and I’ll get them organised’, so I posted him this box full of everything I had – there’s loads of stuff I hadn’t had the time to go through so it’s just picking through it.” This mammoth task is a job in itself, but what else is there to do when we’re still finding ourselves in a national lockdown? 

What’s next for The Twang isn’t yet set in stone, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something coming in the future. “Jewellery Quarter never came out on vinyl so it’s possible we’ll re-release that on some anniversary, but I’m conscious that everything’s like ‘hey man, it’s been 10 years since...’ and it’s like, fucking hell. We don’t want to become that band that’s like ‘they come out every Christmas!’ because we feel that we’ve still got something to say and something to write about. I think our last record [If Confronted Just Go Mad] was the strongest since the first and was definitely received the best since the first one. It’s been all good bar what’s happened the past year, which is sad because we’d picked up a bit of momentum. We had a really busy year planned last year but again, you can’t moan because it happened to everyone.” 

Phil’s positive and empathetic attitude towards the pandemic and the public was refreshing to hear and helps put things in perspective. Things are coming for you Twang fans, and for those of you in the Birmingham area, be sure to enter the Heineken Pint At A Height ballot before it closes tomorrow (25 March) for your chance to have Phil delivering pints in your window on 6 April. You can enter the ballot here: www.wind00wservice.com. 

More about: The Twang