How Only The Poets brought Beatlemania to Reading
As my eyes slowly opened onto another winter’s day in Reading, words formed in my mind, then locked on repeat and simply wouldn’t stop.
“I’m over, being emotionally hungover. Now I... I’m sober.”
If you know who Only The Poets are, you might already know those words.
Poets are an indie-pop band from Reading, and they’re on the verge of breaking into the big time. Their debut album, And I’d Do It Again, is at No 10 in the midweek UK album charts.
Those words, repeating endlessly in my mind like all good earworms do, are lyrics from their song Emotionally Hungover.
The trouble was, I was Actually Hungover. Alcoholically Hungover. Headache, Shivers and Painfully Hungover. As melodic, energetic and catchy as that song is, it was not what I needed.
How had it come to this sorry state of affairs? Well, that was Only The Poets’ fault too.
It all began coming back to me. That had been one of the most surreal days I’ve ever known in Reading.
Inside Only The Poets' extraordinary homecoming shows in Reading
From the Purple Turtle to a sold-out hometown show, I spent a day following Only The Poets – Reading's biggest band – while they celebrated the defining moment of their career. As hordes of teenage fans flooded in from across Europe, I never thought I’d see Reading quite like this.
(This is an edited extract from a story originally published by The Reading Reporter. The full version is available on Substack.)
As my eyes slowly opened onto another winter’s day in Reading, words formed in my mind, then locked on repeat and simply wouldn’t stop.
“I’m over, being emotionally hungover. Now I... I’m sober.”
If you know who Only The Poets are, you might already know those words. If you don’t, then Only The Poets are an indie-pop band from Reading, and they’re on the verge of breaking into the big time. Their debut album, And I’d Do It Again, is at No 10 in the midweek UK album charts.
Those words, repeating endlessly in my mind like all good earworms do, are lyrics from their song Emotionally Hungover.
The trouble was, I was Actually Hungover. Alcoholically Hungover. Headache, Shivers and Painfully Hungover. As melodic, energetic and catchy as that song is, it was not what I needed.
How had it come to this sorry state of affairs? Well, that was Only The Poets’ fault too. It all began coming back to me. That had been one of the most surreal days I’ve ever known in Reading.
I should have realised that it wasn’t going to be an ordinary day when I arrived at the Purple Turtle at 3pm last Saturday.
You’d expect the bar to be happy for custom in the middle of the afternoon but the welcome was a suspicious look from a bouncer and then, eventually, a question: “Are you here for the band?”
Yes I was. And when I walked inside it became clear why I’d been considered potentially a bit iffy. The place was rammed full, mainly with hundreds of teenage girls. I stood out like, well, a 42-year-old man at an Only The Poets gig.
Want to know what happened next?
Read the full story for free on Substack, where I follow Only The Poets through an extraordinary day in Reading. You'll find many more stories like this about Reading too. A day, a night and a hangover with Only The Poets
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See you there,
Chris (The Reading Reporter)
