We had the pleasure of catching up with Bang Bang Romeo after they opened up the main stage at Isle of Wight festival for the 50th anniversary. We spoke to them about the amazing opportunity, their love for Isle of Wight festival and the reality of being a woman in the music industry.
You opened the main stage, how was that?
Three dreams were made on Friday at 4pm, it was the most surreal gig experience we’ve ever had. It was incredible, the crowd was amazing and we actually couldn’t believe how many people had turned up for us. It just made the whole experience ten times better. We got to play the new single for the first time at a festival and we appreciate John Giddings so much for giving a band like us the chance to open up the main stage, that is phenomenal.
How does Isle of Wight compare to other festivals?
Isle of Wight was our first major festival appearance so it is special to us. The This Feeling guys gave us our first ever slot at 12pm on a Saturday and it was half full, so we picked up from there to be where we are today. This festival is the grandad of them all and playing the main stage on the 50th Anniversary was unreal.
How does your set differ between festival slots and your own shows?
For the first time at a festival this year we had a bit of a backdrop and we had a few satellites on stage as our album coming out a bit later this year has a space theme so that’s a bit new for us but pretty much everything else stays the same. We just do what we do. We could be playing a small bar with an audience of ten people but we’re playing Glastonbury in our heads, its just the same set, different stage.
Has being a female within the music industry had any downfalls for you?
The industry is changing and especially over the last year, I’ve never played with so many line ups that involve so many women. It was only a few years ago that I was playing shows with about 60 men and I was the only woman in the whole thing, and whilst I kind of liked that, it is quite intimidating for young girls. Some advice I have for young girls is to not walk into that room as a man or woman, just walk in representing a person in music and it really doesn’t matter about what’s going on downstairs. My favourite bands are my favourite because of the music, not because of whether they’re a guy or a girl.
Finally, how has the reaction to your latest single Shame On You been like?
That has blown us away. It’s our first single with our new record label and we just filmed the video last week, which was incredible. It’s fresh out and already the response has been insane. We’ve been on ITV 10 o’clock news. It’s the first single that we’ve not gigged it prior, we’ve just waited until it was ready. It’s so new for us to play as well but we can’t wait to see how far it can go.
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