NEWS
Yungblud and Florence Pugh served pints to fans in a central London pub to celebrate his new single, ‘Zombie’.
Released yesterday (May 30), the anthemic and emotional rock track is the latest preview of ‘Idols’ – part one of the Doncaster artist’s – real name Dominic Harrison – double fourth album, which is released on June 20 (pre-order/pre-save here).
Pugh (We Live in Time, Oppenheimer) stars in the powerful official music video for ‘Zombie’, playing a healthcare worker at her emotional brink, overwhelmed by grief and exhaustion.
To celebrate the collaboration, the duo surprised punters at The Devonshire in Piccadilly, central London last night (May 30) by putting in a shift behind the bar to pour pints of Guinness.
It’s not Harrison’s first time as a bartender – recent he showed up at his favourite London pub, The Hawley Arms in Camden Town, where he pulled pints for fans to mark the release of ‘Lovesick Lullaby’.
Check out the footage from last night below.
Yungblud debuted the song at an intimate gig at London’s Scala in March. He later said the ballad was about “feeling you’re ugly, and learning to battle that”, while detailing his experiences with eating disorders and body dysmorphia.
“The song was written initially about my grandmother going through serious injury and trauma, leading her to become a different person to who she was before,” Yungblud explained in a new statement.
“It’s about the feeling of deterioration and ugliness; shutting out the world and the people we love out of the fear of becoming a burden or an embarrassment.”
He added: “We all want someone or something to comfort us, no matter how we are right now or who we become in the future. But it’s fucking scary.”
The soaring, poignant single features a performance from the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
‘Zombie’ follows on from Yungblud’s previous singles ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’ and ‘Lovesick Lullaby’. ‘Idols’, described as his “most ambitious” release yet, follows the musician’s 2022 self-titled third album.
Last December, Yungblud exclusively revealed to NME that he had a “double album” on the way. “The new album centres around the idea of self-love and self-reclamation that allows people to feel seen, and emit this light,” he told us at the time.
“You can be seen for who you truly are, no matter where you’re from or what you believe… That’s what I needed to write an album about.”
During an earlier interview, he told NME that he had been inspired by the likes of Oasis, The Verve, Primal Scream, My Chemical Romance, David Bowie and Madonna on the Britpop-influenced LP.
Meanwhile, Yungblud has announced a brief run of intimate UK shows, dubbed ‘Idols – Up Close And Personal’. The dates follow the second edition of Yungblud’s BludFest in Milton Keynes on June 21, and come ahead of his ‘Idols’ headline tour in North America and Europe.
In other news, Yungblud, has criticised the current cost of festival tickets, saying he “100 per cent” agrees that prices have “got out of hand”. Harrison spoke about his vow to make BludFest 2 affordable for fans (£65), “because that’s the way it should be”.
“In this world, there is nothing you can’t achieve if you are doing it from a place of truth, and for the right reason,” Harrison said, having previously declared that “music should be accessible to everyone”.
Taylor Swift believes Nashville has a music scene that stands apart from anywhere else.
The 36 year old singer moved to Nashville, Tennessee, when she was young to chase her dream of becoming a country music star. After being inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on Monday (26.10.26), Taylor took the opportunity to recognise the city and the talented writers who have helped shape its music scene.
In her acceptance speech, Taylor said: "I believe you really get to master a craft by doing it again and again. That's exactly what the incredible songwriters in this wonderful town do every day."
Taylor also spoke about what makes Nashville such a special place for musicians.
The award winning singer, who ranks among the best selling music artists of all time, said: "You won't find another music community quite like this one. Trust me, I've checked them all."
Taylor also shared how being part of Nashville's songwriting scene had taught her valuable lessons about life and working with others.
She joked: "I've learned to be flexible when your co writer turns up with a hangover, or when they need to spend ages talking about their divorce before we can even get started on a song."
Taylor previously spoke about how Faith Hill and Shania Twain inspired her decision to move to Nashville.
Speaking to Time magazine, the singer said: "I couldn't get enough of watching TV biographies about Faith Hill and Shania Twain, and I realised they had both moved to Nashville to get their careers started. After that, I kept asking, pleading and begging my parents to take me there.
"When I was 11, my mum took my brother and me to Nashville during spring break, and we spent the trip driving around Music Row. She stayed in the car while I rushed into record companies one after another, giving my demo CD to the receptionists. I found it fascinating that so many major record labels were gathered along a single street, often inside little buildings and old houses.
"What really stayed with me was how welcoming people were to newcomers and complete strangers like us. We started visiting Nashville more often, and when I was 13, I received an offer for a development deal from a major record label. That was when my parents finally agreed to leave Pennsylvania and move with me."
