Villain in the name of

The universe abhors a vacuum. If The Wonder Villains’ story is anything to go by, it isn’t too keen, either, on vacancies at the head of the Northern electro-pop table.

Those attending Oppenheimer’s final gig probably weren’t expecting to find their heirs buzzing around hyperactively at the bottom of the bill.
But when Rocky O’Reilly and Shaun Robinson advertised for an under-18 act to play at their all-ages farewell show, they were also (unwittingly) putting in place the sequence for a faultless succession.
“We always loved Oppenheimer,” reveals Wonder Villains lead singer and main songwriter Eimear Coyle. “And when the chance came to play at their goodbye concert, we were very excited. We couldn’t believe it when we were chosen. It was a brilliant gig, and afterwards we were pure buzzing. Then Rocky came running over to us, telling us how incredible he thought we were. And right there he asked us if he could be our manager. It was insane. And from that moment it hasn’t really slowed down.”
That’s very true: UK tours; statement gigs at SXSW and top of the bill at Glasgowbury, to say nothing of a brace of well-received EPs, have all rushed by in an 18-month blur. And the music they’ve been producing has had no trouble keeping pace. A sugar-rush of choruses and front-tumble licks, with lyrics celebrating the lives of four very ordinary late teens... The Wonder Villains are so consciously youthful, they make Ed Sheeran look like Seasick Steve.
Northern acts, of course, have great form with this kind of post-adolescent subject matter. So, two names will inevitably get mentioned in relation to the band.
“We wouldn’t mind that at all,” says Eimear’s brother, Kieran – the band’s drummer. “We’d be thrilled. The Undertones and Ash are two of our favourite groups.”
“We have some silly songs,” adds keyboard player Cheylene Murphy, “and sometimes I wonder – are we actually allowed to do this kind of stuff? Then I listen back to The Undertones and Ash, and when you see some of the things they wrote about, you think it can’t be that bad.”
“I think that can be a good reason to do it in itself,” explains guitarist Ryan McGourty, “the idea that you’re not really supposed to be writing songs like this. There are lots of songs about love and relationships – why not write about other things?”
Like diminutive Italian playmakers?
“Exactly.”
We’re talking now, of course, about ‘Zola’ – the band’s debut single, which paid homage to the one-time Chelsea magician. How did that come about?
“Weezer’s new single was leaked,” says Kieran, “and someone put a clip on YouTube with a video made up of Premiership goals. Ryan and I sat and watched it, and as it went on, we got less and less into the song, and more and more into the goals. Especially the ones Zola scored. By the end of it, we were looking at one another going: he was amazing.”
“When we were recording it, we tried to get in touch with him to ask if he’d rap over the chorus,” Ryan adds.
And?
“He didn’t get back. We probably should have just asked him to sing.”
As The Wonder Villains story gathers pace, Franco may soon prove more receptive to a phone call.
But while their increasing popularity makes many things easier, it does throw up the odd problem too.
“We’re getting asked more and more often now to play 45 minute gigs,” reveals Eimear. “Which is great, but our songs only last 2 minutes...”
“So, that’s a lot of songs on a set-list,” says Kieran.
Eimear: “And we used to write our set-lists on our arms. That means we’ve ink up to our chins now.”

The Wonder Villains new single ‘TV’ is out now through No Dancing/Third Bar.