At the moment, I’m just listening to The Maccabees and The Cribs because I went to All Points East on Sunday in Victoria Park. I watched The Maccabees do a comeback gig and The Cribs were opening for them and it was absolutely fantastic. It was so good, it was one of the best live gigs I’ve ever been to. I texted a friend that I was going and he said, “This is your Oasis”. The Maccabees are that band from when I was 14, 15, all the way to mid-twenties before they stopped for a while. It’s that exact era when music is so important. They were my favourite band that whole time, so really I’m just relistening to them over and over, trying to relive that night. 

I’m in a WhatsApp album club where an album gets suggested and then we write a review after a few days. Every time I’m struggling with a new release from someone I’ve not heard of, I find myself just drifting back to Wet Leg’s latest album instead, but then someone like a Chappell Roan comes along and forces their way into your consciousness, and it’s brilliant, and you’re like ‘fair enough’.

Suddenly it was all Chapel Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Charlie XCX. I happen to like all of them and what they do, but it doesn’t really matter how much you’re avoiding stuff as you’ve heard at least one song from one of those three. I don’t drive. I only ever listen to the radio when I occasionally host Radio X.. and that is certainly not new music.

Rhys’ new book  ‘You’ll Like It When You Get There: A Life Lived Reluctantly’ is out now. Tour tickets are available here.