1. The Guardian Style Article Review
Shut Up Sally and the Art of Doing it Yourself
There’s a unique level of chaos that surrounds an upcoming band on the brink of becoming something more. After a recent departure from their management team, a headline show at a renowned Northern music venue, and the announcement of their debut single; “Lady” – upcoming band, “Shut Up Sally”, have faced countless trials and tribulations so far this year. Yet underneath all the buzz lies something more raw: pure female friendship. Frontwoman Tahlia Gray talks us through all of the above.
By Melissa Douglas
We meet at Tahlia’s house, in the afterglow of a milestone; their headline show at Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds two days prior, and Gray’s 20th Birthday. “It was the most stressful thing ever,” she says, laughing into her cup of tea at the memory. The response landed somewhere between fondness and horror. “But when we got on stage and saw the room completely full…we’ve played to bigger numbers, but they weren’t there for us. These people were.”
That distinction between playing to and being chosen by sits at the heart of the London-based band. Formed at the infamous BRIT School under the previous name “Tahlia and Friends” speaking effortlessly to the true nature of relationships that went into forming this trio. “I was just trying to work with as many people as possible,” Gray explained, “Then the version that it was stuck…we realised we could actually make it as a band”.
This was only the start for the band, with countless members coming and going from the lineup, many difficult decisions had to be made for the greater good. “There’s been a lot of ups and downs,” She recounted, taking a moment to choose her next words carefully. “We’ve had to kick people out”. The current line-up stands as an all-female trio consisting of Gray on vocals and guitar, Connie O’Leary on Vocals and Synth, And Lokbe Lam on drums.
Whilst O’Leary and Gray’s collaboration felt organic, Lokbe’s arrival was something starkly different, yet definitely comedic. “We stalked her,” Tahlia admitted bluntly with a boyish grin. Lam was a last-minute addition to the lineup after their prior drummer dropped out last minute, coming as a recommendation from their teacher, “An unnamed, amazing drummer”. This sparked a military-style search from the original members, and after several DM’s sent, Lokbe was scouted. Although Tahlia recounts the experience as harmless, Lam seemed to think otherwise. “I thought I was being really charming,” she admits, “Apparently I was quite intimidating”. Yet, Lokbe remained in the group after this misunderstanding, and quickly found herself within the dynamic, “She brings the humour…We’re all quite goofy together but it works”.
This blend of personalities extends into the overall upkeep of the band. Gray describes herself as “The drive” behind the group, keeping “serious” when necessary, whilst also allowing those relationships to develop on a personal level, but also on a musical one too. She states feel is a priority, “We want it to sound like a live experience…even in recordings”.
Their headline wasn’t only a celebration for Tahlia, but also a celebration for their debut single “Lady”, set to be released at the end of May. “It was the first song where we thought, this is our sound”. Rhythmically inspired by Nitin Sawhney’s track, “Nadia”, the song started on the back of a guitar riff and a successful collaboration. “It’s quite free,” She says, “There’s no obvious format when you first hear it”.
The lack of format aids as a distraction from the inherently dark lyrical content provided, a fragmented narrative of a kidnapping told amongst multiple perspectives. But even the members feel a disconnect from the themes they originally concocted “We had to remind ourselves what it was about,” she admitted, “The music became the main thing”.
If “Lady” paves the way for their creative breakthrough, their recent departure from their previous management team marks their practical one. After a brief yet disappointing year spent under a London-based management team, KS Music, the band made the executive decision to manage themselves, though this decision didn’t come lightly. Gray reflected on their time with KS Music with a heavy heart, “They promised a lot…but didn’t follow through”. Rather than being bitter, Gray approached the matter with a glass-half-full mindset “At our level, you can do it yourself. You only need management when it becomes too much”.
In true Shut Up Sally fashion, the support system behind the trio as it stands currently relies heavily on the friendships they’ve formed in and outside of the band. “It wasn’t just me”, Gray reflects on the recent Leeds show. “It was everyone around me”. Friends and family of the girls truly rallied together to create posters, spread the news, and sell tickets for this show. “It’s all about making connections at this point in life right now”.
For now though, their focus stays on their debut single “Lady”, releasing on all streaming platforms on the 29th May. “It’ll be exciting to see what people think of “Lady”…hopefully people like it!”
2. NME Style Live Show Review
REVIEWS | LIVE REVIEWS
Shut Up Sally takes on Leeds: A night to remember
Shut Up Sally, the name London Musicians can’t keep off their lips, seems to have spread their legacy like a fever to the Northern city of Leeds. On March 24th, the trio took Leeds by storm with their sold-out headline gig at Hyde Park Book Club.
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
By Melissa Douglas | 25th March 2026
The space was already filled before Shut Up Sally took the stage, with people using the ten-minute
break before they started to keep their positions at the front of the crowd. Flashes of red and purple projected
their way onto the stages back wall, the logo practically imprinted into the venues ether.
Kickstarting the set with their unreleased song, “Something To Do” felt like a fitting choice; heavy
jungle drum beats mixed with dreamscape synth lines. Grunge and Whimsy, Hard and Soft, Grit
and Clean.
Their cover of “So Real” by Jeff Buckley was a standout moment, with the crowd
erupting into knowing cheers. Their use of covers placed throughout the set felt intentionally
chosen by each member, showcasing their influences as individuals as well as a collective.
They brought the energy down from boiling point with their middle song of the set. “Oh, Martha”.
Frontwoman, Tahlia Gray presented this particular original as an “ode to her best friend“
As the song continued, the energy began to increase to the level it had been at with the other songs;
harmonies, distorted bass, heavy drum beat. It served as a perfect middle ground of the set,
giving the audience a moment to breathe before what was left to come. The shift in visuals added
even more to the energy, taking you on a journey within itself; hand drawn frame by frame images of a
club window, as if you were looking in from the street. Just like the music, messy but intentional.
This felt like a perfect lead-up to the moment the audience had all been waiting for: their upcoming debut single,
“Lady”.
After a swift announcement, the crowd erupted once more, being swiftly cut off by the
sharp echo of the singles riff. Although the chemistry between band members felt obvious, it
seemed to truly show during this song. The conclusion of this unique set had every member of
the audience static, a fan favourite cover of theirs; “Girls On Film” by Duran Duran. After many
heavy performances throughout the night, the use of a song like “Girls On Film” felt like a necessity, a bit of fun!
Overall, my opinion still stands, if not taller than before; everyone needs to see this three-piece live at least once.
Thank you, Shut Up Sally, you’ve done it again.
3. A Daily Mail Style Opinion Piece
No Manon? No Katseye! Management confirms the star won’t play Coachella amid ‘hiatus’ mystery
By Melissa Douglas
The announcement of Katseye’s Coachella debut this year left the world with high expectations of solidifying their place within the industry. Instead, fans will be left in the desert squinting at the stage, wondering where their self-proclaimed visual member, Manon Bannerman, is.
It was announced earlier this year by the girl group’s entertainment company, HYBE, via their app, Weverse, that the star would be taking a temporary hiatus due to “mental health”, which left fans heartbroken for the loss of a member during their upcoming festival tour.
Contrary to HYBE’s original statement, Bannerman herself took to her Weverse fan DM’s, thanking her fans and creating her own statement on the matter:
“I’m Healthy, I’m okay…Sometimes things unfold in ways we don’t fully control, but I’m trusting the bigger picture”.
Aren’t we all trusting the bigger picture, Manon?
Many have claimed to have leaked information from inside sources, stating that the alleged mental health hiatus wasn’t a hiatus at all, but rather forced upon the singer to push her out of the group. Visuals for their most recent single, ‘Pinky Up’, were leaked via X, clearly showing Manon throughout the music video, which had been replaced by her other members when released
During this discourse, fans were left outraged, taking social media by storm with X hashtags such as “Katseye is 6”, and “We stand By Manon” due to the other members’ painful silence on the matter, with Megan Skiendel even hiding from fans when asked about Bannerman’s whereabouts, adding to the concerns.
The ‘Dream Pop Star Academy’ finale episode aired Novemeber 17th 2023, with Katseye finally being formed | Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images
This isn’t the first time these girls have faced backlash within mainstream media due to their treatment of Manon, dating back to their pre-debut. The six-piece found their fame through the release of their Netflix Documentary series, “Dream Popstar Academy”. Throughout the documentary, their distaste towards the Swiss member was made very clear during their training, with Manon having to call a group meeting to work through the tension.
Members, Lara Raj and Sophia Lafortenza, were criticised for their ‘jealous bully’ attitude towards their future member by many fans due to Bannerman’s success through the fan votes from the original survival show. Although the drama seemed to disappear after the group’s debut, some have been speculating about their involvement in her alleged forced hiatus.
Regardless, many Eyekons remained vigilant, holding onto hope that Manon would make her return for their highly anticipated Coachella debut on April 10th. Yet again, it seems they’re being left disappointed.
In an interview with the Korean Herald released a day before her anticipated return, HYBE has unfortunately confirmed that she will not be performing at Coachella, and that she “remains on hiatus”.
Will the remaining Katseye girls be able to pull through the drama, or are they going to be the next addition to the long list of failed girl groups we’ve already seen?
4. The Guardian Style News Article
HYBE Confirms Manon Bannerman will not perform at Coachella with Katseye
HYBE has now confirmed Manon Bannerman will not perform with Katseye at this year’s Coachella festival, as the singer remains on hiatus.
By Melissa Douglas
Manon Bannerman of KATSEYE at the MTV Video Music Awards 2025 held at UBS Arena on September 07, 2025. Photography: Gilbert Florez/Billboard via Getty
The six-member group was formed in 2023 through the Netflix Documentary series, ‘Dream Pop Star Academy’, which followed 30 contestants competing in a two-year training programme before a final selection process. The girl group is comprised of Sophia Lafortenza, Jeong Yoon-Chae, Daniela Avanzini, Megan Skiendel and Manon Bannerman. Since their debut, the group has achieved international chart success, including their singles “Gnarly” and “Gabriela”, and were nominated for Best New Artist at last year’s Grammys.
After receiving traction from their debut Lollapalooza festival performance last summer, they were set to make a reappearance and take off on a Festival Circuit this year. This included their debut at the LA festival, Coachella.
Earlier this year, HYBE announced via their fan platform, Weverse, that Bannerman would be taking a temporary hiatus from the group for mental health reasons. In a message to fans, the Ghanaian-Swiss performer stated:
“I’m Healthy, I’m okay, and I’m taking care of myself…Sometimes things unfold in ways we don’t fully control, but I’m trusting the bigger picture. Thank you for standing by me. I love you endlessly, and I can’t wait to see you again.”
Since the initial statement, Katseye released their first single without Bannerman titled “Pinky Up” on April 9th, ahead of their Coachella set. Further to this, Manon was absent from all promotional material for the single rollout, yet some fans speculated that the performer would be rejoining the group for their Coachella performance. It has since been confirmed that she will not be.
The group’s entertainment company, HYBE, confirmed to the Korean Herald that Manon will not be performing at Coachella and that she is still on hiatus.
There is currently no comment on how long this hiatus will last, nor her position within the group at this time.
Appendix:
Fig 1: transcript for artist review (M = Mel the interviewer, T= Tahlia the interviewee)
M- Thank you so much for making the time for this interview today Tahlia, would you like to introduce yourself to who those who may not know you?
T- Yes! I’m Tahlia Gray. I started out at the Brit School in London, forming my band ‘Shut Up Sally’, and then moved up to Leeds for Uni. I’m second year songwriting student at Leeds Conservatoire.
M- So, I’m aware of this information already but would you tell me a little bit about yourself, the background of shut up sally and your role within it?
T- Shut Up sally is an all female band. We started, it started off, as ‘Tahlia and ‘Friends’ and we were just doing open mic nights. I was trying to collaborate with as many different people as I could and then Shut Up Sally, the version that it was, stuck and we decided to try and make it work and be a band. It’s developed a lot over the years because people have left, people have joined, we’ve had to kick people out. There’s been a lot of like…
M- Up’s and downs?
T- Yeah, up’s and downs of the whole thing.
M- So when did it start? When was it Tahlia and Friends?
T- It started like three years ago?
M- Like at the start of Brit?
T- Yeah
M- So did you meet at Brit or did you meet at the open mics?
T- So we met at Brit, I met all of them at Brit. I met Connie first, she’s the other vocalist and synth player. It used to be us two, our friend Martha and these two guys. So we weren’t originally an all female band. Then the two guys left to pursue another band and its developed. We eventually got Lokbe in and that was when I feel it started because we started making music, we started making original music then.
M- Well that leads onto my next question, how is it being in a band with your friends? You say you met Connie first so were you friends first or was it something that came over time with working together?
T- We are best friends. As soon as I met her, she was like the first person I met at college where I was like “this person is cool, this person I want to be friends with, this person I want to collaborate with”, and it just, it was natural. We were already collaborating with our original acoustic music and…so she was the first person I asked to help me with ‘Tahlia and Friends’ and do these open mic nights. We’ve always been a team, me and her, like a duo because she’s the one…we’ve stuck through all of the ups and downs of Shut Up Sally and the whole journey, you know? We’re like, we’re just a pair. It wouldn’t be the same without her.
M- It translates, what about with Lokbe? How did it go with Lokbe getting into the band?
T- Lokbe, it’s quite a funny story. We stalked her
M- *Laughs*
T- *Laughs*
M- Funny?
T- We stalked her, but I’ll give some context. The drummer left and then we went to our teacher at Brit and we said “Look, we need a drummer, got a gig coming up. Are there any drummers in the year below that have come in?” And he was like “There is an AMAZING female drummer who has just come in, I can’t remember her name…but she’s just come in”. And we were like, that’s perfect, and kind of the vision started of “we can be an all girl band, this is so exciting, no more men!!” and were we just tunnel vision on Lokbe, trying to find her her. We didn’t know her name, we just knew she’d started, and knew she played drums. So then we went to another female drummer that we knew in the year below and said “Do you know the other girl drummer, do you know her?” and she gave us her Instagram. We messaged her on the Shut Up Sally account, I messaged her on my private account. *laughing* Eventually we approached her in the canteen and she tells the story very differently, I thought I was being really charming and welcoming but apparently I seemed very serious and intimidating but she agreed
M- Bless her
T- Bless her yeah, but she agreed immediately and we played the gig with her and after the gig she was like, “I wanna join the band” and it was perfect. She was definitely, she was shy at the start but she came out of her shell and it’s like, such a beautiful experience to work with her. I see her as like my little sister and…Shut Up Sally’s all helped us in so many different ways.
M- That’s really interesting you had Connie, who was your friend beforehand and then Lokbe who joined first and then became a friend. What would you say each member brings to the band outside of music?
T- Outside of music?
M- Yeah so as people
T- As people? I bring the focus and the drive for the band so I tend to get quite serious when we’re talking about admin or anything like that. In a room where we’re writing or rehearsing , Lokbe definitely brings the humour. But its also, we also bring similar and different things. We’re all very goofy together and Me and Connie have a dynamic where we’re just…it’s just so funny. Lokbe can be so silly sometimes and it all works really really well, we all feel the love. It’s a mix of…
M- It’s a good work/life balance?
T- Yeah completely because we’ll do things in the breaks like our rehearsals are so chill sometimes. But yeah, it’s really good to work with them.
M- You mentioned you go to Leeds Conservatoire now and Connie is at Trinity?
T- Yeah, Trinity Laban. In London.
M- And Lokbe’s just got out of Brit. How was it transitioning from all being at Brit together, all being in the same place in London to say last year, when you moved to Leeds Conservatoire and Connie went to Trinity, and Lokbe was still at Brit. How was that dynamic change in the beginning compared to now let’s say?
T- Yeah well, it was a very different time back then as well like we had, it’s different now. It’s just me, Connie and Lokbe now and we get bass dubs in currently at the moment but before we had another guitarist and another bassist. It was very different so the transition was quite weird because the bassist went to LIPA, in Liverpool and the guitarist was just working in London. So our schedules didn’t really match but me and the bassist, we’d go back, do gigs, rehearsals in the breaks but it was much slower because those two people were just being very flaky and we had to make the hard decision of moving on without them and that was quite a barrier for us. We thought, the way I approached it was I asked Connie “If we got rid of both of them, would this band continue?”. And we agreed that yes, it would. We spoke to Lokbe and we did it and then, it’s always been a thing of I just come down. I’ll do the admin whilst I’m in Leeds, and then we’ll do the writing, we’ll do the recording, we’ll do the gigs in London and we’ve tried to do some online writing sessions which have been successful but yeah I think the biggest thing was moving on without those two people in the band rather than the transition from London to Leeds.
M- So it was working out the balance going forward compared to that.
T- Yeah
M- Do you think it’s been successful?
T- I think it’s been successful. I think in London, obviously, we all still had college, and we had a lot of plans. Um, our schedules still didn’t really line up because Lokbe was in the year below. And even when I went to Leeds, she still had her college. Yeah. She was still going to classes and we, you know, have to plan out our rehearsals. There’s no, “oh, you free today?” It’s a lot of planning and scheduling of when people are free, but we make time for it, shut up Sally. I think that’s an important thing that does make it work.
M- You mentioned going down for rehearsals, but recently, the band came up to Leeds.
T- Yes.
M- And you had a practically sold-out headline show at Hyde Park Book Club.
T- Yes.
M- On your birthday. How was that?
T- That was the best thing ever. It was the best thing.
M- Describe it, like how was the feeling, how was it as a celebration for your birthday?
T- It was the most stressful time ever. It was the most stressful thing to put on a gig. Don’t know why I put myself through that, but the result, it was worth it. It was so worth it. All of the stress. It was, um, yeah, I’d been trying to convince the managers and the band to come up to Leeds. I was like, I’ll do it. I can put on the gig. I’ll do it. I’ll plan it. We’ll get it done. I think we could get quite a lot of people to come because it’s a uni city. Mm-hmm. All of my friends are students that’ll come and. Then we started planning it and it was really stressful to like the, the planning process and there were a lot of problems that arose. But on the night when we got onto stage and just saw the room completely packed out, and for me, it was everybody I knew. For Lokbe, she knew a lot of people in the audience as well, and Connie had like freshly met all these people and had all these good impressions of all these people. And it was just so magical. We’ve never played to a number like that where it feels like we’ve earned that. We’ve played to bigger numbers, but they’re not there for us. They were.
M- It was the effort that you put into it that really made it pay off. What does that mean to you, like going forward? Has it, has it influenced the way that you see gigs and see crowds and like, like numbers for selling out? Like, how has that influenced the way that you want to go forward gig-wise?
T- I think it’s a bit of a reality check because we’ve got a bit of a taste of how we could make money and put on gigs. But also the thought like does replay in my mind of all of those people in that room were my friends. And it was my birthday, and it was a very special night. And not every gig will be like that. There will be gigs where there will just be three people in the room, and those three people will be my mom, my dad, and my friend. But yeah, I think it is a very, it was a very special night, and we cherish it. I want to get them back up to Leeds to do another gig. I think we could definitely do another gig whilst everyone’s at uni. Whilst we can make the most out of the crowd.
M- I mean, that kind of leads onto another question I’ve got here, which is about venues in the north. Are there any venues or cities that you want to take on? There’s a lot of renowned venues in the north.
T- Mm-hmm.
M- Like in Manchester, a lot of artists like Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, a lot of them started out in these grassroots venues, across the north. Are there any in particular that you can think of or like any cities that you want to take on?
T- I would love to take on Manchester. I’d love to take on Liverpool. I’d love to go up to Scotland. Um, I don’t have any venues in particular. I mean, a dream venue in Leeds would be Brudenell. Yeah. Um, that would just be the dream. Um, but yeah. Definitely Manchester, Liverpool, and either Edinburgh or Glasgow. It would be incredible. I think Sheffield could also be quite cool.
M- I mean, that’s where the Arctic monkeys started out.
T- There’s a lot of great venues there, so that would, yeah. Yeah. No, I think that’d be really cool. Yeah. I mean, I would love to play in every city if I could. Yeah. But it’s just more of a thing of what’s realistic.
M- What’s the difference between, for you as a performer and also going into the gigs and whatnot? Compared to the London music scene and the more Northern music scene, what have you experienced that’s different? What would you say is a different thing in audiences?
T- Yeah. I’d say with the Northern music scene, it is very what I’ve experienced, very studenty.
M- Mm-hmm.
T- Which is better, I think. London is such a big place. There’s so many venues, there’s so much going on. It’s so difficult to get people to places. It’s so expensive. Um, and it’s the same thing of us just trying to get our friends to come. We don’t have a fan base; it’s just that we’re getting our friends to come currently. But in Leeds, it feels like there’s more room for connections.
M- More community, would you say?
T- Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s a big thing that the North is like, um, proud on.
M- Mm-hmm. And as an audience member of seeing you guys live in London and in Leeds, I can feel the difference, you know what I mean?
T- Yeah, absolutely. In the community.
M- Well, you put on the gig to announce your debut single, “lady”.
T- Mm-hmm.
M- What was it about Lady that Made You want it to be Shut Up Sally’s debut Single? You performed a lot of other songs that night, a lot of originals, which were great by the way.
T- Thank you.
M- What was it about “Lady” that stood out to you as being a debut Single?
T- With “Lady”, It was the first song that we wrote where we felt like this is our sound. This is what shut up Sally, is. We wrote “the whale” first, then we wrote “something to do”. Then we wrote “Lady”. And then we proceeded to write “Giant Town” after that. And I think “Giant Town” and “Lady” kind of go hand in hand because both of those show our sound. When we were writing “Whale” it was just, “let’s write a song”. And then we kind of had reasons and different reasons for each song. We wanted “something to do” to be more of like a classic song and for everybody to know, “Everybody knows” to be more of a commercial song. With “lady”, that was just purely like, what is our sound? What are we hearing? So we definitely want to release that first. Yeah, I think it’s also it for me, it’s my favourite one. And I think Connie’s favourite one as well.
M- What was it about, how did it come about?
T- It started with a riff that I wrote. And it, uh, I had this kind of vision with the drums where I played Lokbe, a song by Knit and Sony called Nadia and I said, Lokbe, can you play something similar to this? I like the stops. I like how it’s jungly, and there are stops. I think it’s really impactful. And she did it, and we worked on it for so long, trying to get the stops right and the pattern right and the bass, like coming hand in hand, stopping at the same time. And yeah, it was just, we kind of felt very free when we were writing it because it is just a very long intro. It’s all over the place. There’s no sort of set structure when you hear it for the first time.
M- Mm-hmm.
T- Uh, but it’s about a kidnapping. It’s about a girl getting kidnapped and trying to escape, which is quite dark. And I don’t think the song is that dark, but it’s like three voices and three different perspectives of it. It’s very broad, like nobody would be able to tell. You can interpret it anyway, but that’s just what we wrote about. We were like, let’s write about something scary. Um, Connie came up with the first line, which was. “I wanna go, I wanna stay”
M- Mm-hmm.
T- Um, and then I came up with my vocal part and it just kind of, it just flowed.
M- Yeah. We didn’t think about it too much, but we did have meaning behind it. And in fact, we, we reworked the song so much with all the sections and figuring out how long everything should be that months after, when we’d finally finished the song. I, me and Connie like had to remind ourselves, oh, do you remember this is about kidnapping? *laughs*
M- *laughs*
T- Because we just forget about it. Um, because I don’t think the lyrics are the most important part of it. It’s definitely the music for that one.
M- I have a question more about the recording process.
T- Mm-hmm.
M- Is there any part of…Well, any song, not just “Lady”, that you think takes priority when recording? Is it the vocal layering? Is it the guitar tone? Is it the drums?
T- Mm-hmm.
M- Is it a certain mix of it? Like, what is it for you personally that you think is the priority that makes the shut up Sally sound?
T- I think it’s a lot of different things for me and my, my part in the band is making sure my, the tone on my guitar is exactly how I want it to sound. And I want it to sound more like live sounding. My pedal effects need to be just right. I’ve got certain Treb sound and it’s very reverbed.
M- Like Madison Cunningham?
T- Kind of. Kind of, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Um, and just trying to use all my pedals, really get the most out of it so that, that’s my personal priority. But making sure Lokbe’s snare is really tight, and me and Connie’s vocals blend really well together. We’ve got all of the effects. I think the effects really bring it to life.
M- Mm-hmm.
T- But the process of actually recording “Lady”, for example, was we did a reference track where we played it the whole way through live, and then we recorded the drums. So for Lokbe, that would be easier. And then we recorded the guitar. We just recorded it separately. We did want to do a live recording, but it is quite tricky considering how many times we switched with the pedals and section changes. And we just did it that way for that one. And it’s just always been the process of doing a proper studio recording, not live.
M- Would you say that you focus more on feel?
T- Yeah.
M- When recording these things, you know, you mentioned doing a live recording of it first as a demo track.
T- Mm-hmm.
M- To keep the, like, original feel of it. Is that like a priority you’d say?
T- Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. To keep like the live show. Yeah. And we recorded “something to do”, but we don’t want to release that one yet and we want to re-record it because we tried to do it with a Metronome the whole way through, but we realised we can’t do that because the feel of it is, parts of the song are slower than the others. So it is about feeling.
M- Yeah.
T- We want it to sound well-produced…
M- But it’s finding that balance.
T- Yes. The balance of, we want it to feel like when you are listening to a recording, you are hearing it fully and like you are hearing a live experience of the levels that we would set on stage.
M- I have some questions about your previous management.
T- Mm-hmm.
M- Um, you recently left that management. Can you tell us a bit about that?
T- Yep. They’re called KS Music. Um, and I don’t know, I don’t know why we joined them, to be honest. It was a nightmare. We thought it would be really exciting.
M- Mm.
T- We signed a contract, we made sure we were safe with it all, and we would be able to leave. Within six months. We had, uh, we were on a…
M- Like a trial period.
T- Trial. Yeah. Trial period. Yeah. Um, for six months and. They basically just promised a lot of different things, but didn’t pull through with it. And for this gig specifically, we kind of came to terms with the fact that it wasn’t working out because they just didn’t help us at all. Managers should be there for you, especially when you’re putting on a gig, and they should really contribute to the planning, but they were just refusing to do that. It just wasn’t working with them, we just felt like they weren’t doing anything for us. And if anything, they were kind of holding us down again.
M- Yeah.
T- Because they had all these big ideas and they definitely had a vision of like, we’ll do this, but they’re very old-fashioned and there’s three of them, and there definitely wasn’t a balance of what they’re all contributing.
M- Mm-hmm.
T- It was more like we were just speaking to one of them. Then the other one was just very unprofessional and stuff. It didn’t work, and we’re really glad to have left them now.
M- Yeah?
T- It does feel a bit strange because it feels like when you leave management, you’d be losing a big support just behind you and in your corner, but it doesn’t feel like at all. It feels like nothing’s changed because they did not reach out to us for months.
M- Yeah.
T- It was like they hadn’t reached out for, for two months.
M- I think that was a big thing of, in 2026, specifically, not just with management but with labels as well, there’s a big shift in the industry to go solo and do your own thing. Artists like Raye, Kesha. 50 Cent owns his own label.
T- Mm-hmm.
M- What do you think, and what have you experienced of the pros and cons of this? Of, you know, taking it upon yourself to leave the label, which is great, I think it’s a great move, but what have been the negative sides of that that you found and what have been the positives?
T- To be completely honest with you, Mel, I wouldn’t really be able to tell you because it doesn’t feel like we’ve had management. I couldn’t say anything about what experiencing a good management or a successful management would be because they didn’t help us with anything.
M- Mm-hmm.
T- They didn’t, they literally didn’t do anything. So there’s only been pros of being an independent artist. Yeah, because we’ve done it all ourselves. That whole gig was just us. They weren’t involved. It would’ve been amazing if they had done something, just being able to say that they promoted the single or the gig or introduced us to people, made connections for us, was speaking to venues.
M- But you didn’t reap those benefits?
T- We didn’t get those benefits at all.
M- Yeah.
T- We’ve always done it ourselves. It’s just always been the way I think, having good management would be really good. It would help the drive of the band. And when an issue does arise, we would be able to go to them. And it’s always nice to have somebody in your corner, but we had to remember that we were giving them 20%. And in a position where we are at now, where we are not making money from being in a van, we can’t really. Afford management, especially if it’s bad management.
M- Yeah, I find that really interesting about like grassroots artists not making enough money, but being asked to pay 20%. Is there any advice that you would give to upcoming artists say, coming out of schools like Brit
T- mm-hmm.
M- Or BIMM or any music colleges that are being approached by management like this, is there any advice that you would give to them about how to go about that or work out if it’s worthwhile?
T- Yeah, I think, I think a manager needs to prove that they can help. And they need to prove that a lot in order for you to sign, because the management would say things like, “once we sign you, we’ll do this. This is our plan, this is our plan for the year.” And they didn’t really help us. We were, we’d been part of like their team for about a year. Before we signed, we thought that was enough time and we were asking them a lot of questions about things they were answering. But you know, it’s also very exciting to be approached by somebody.
M- Yeah.
T- And there’s definitely red flags that people need to look out for and that’s just someone needs to prove that they’re good with money. If they’re manager…
M- More actions than words.
T- Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. You know, they just, and I mean, at this point right now, we don’t need management. And so for any other bands that are kind of on the same level, you can do it on your own. You only really need management when it becomes too hard.
M- Yeah, it becomes, it’s too much.
T- But even that, like. Some things are too much. You don’t need to seek management for like, you could get somebody to help you with the finances, and that would be a weight off your shoulder. You could get somebody to help you with the marketing. You could get a marketing team. You don’t necessarily need a manager, especially in this position that we are in.
M- Would you say that taking advantage of the people you have around you, rather than management, would be a better source? Like using the people that you have around you?
T- Yeah.
M- Would you say that’s more beneficial at your level now?
T- Absolutely.
M- Than funding a manager to do something for you?
T- Absolutely. And if any bands are, you know, at uni and doing the same sort of thing, there are so many people around that have specialities in those things and they can help you. And it’s all about making connections at this point in life right now.
M- Mm-hmm.
T- You know, we got, I got a friend to do the graphics for the gig. I had friends helping me organise. Equipment issues, and all of my friends were promoting it like crazy and telling all of their mates to come. Mm-hmm. It, it, it wasn’t just me, it was all my friends as well.
M- It probably felt like the biggest community ever because everyone there was rallying.
T- Rallying for it, yeah, absolutely. Right now in this time, people will do things for free. If anybody asked me to help them out, I would do the same.
M- A student making the most of that student community.
T- Absolutely. Yeah. Making the most out of the network is absolutely important.
M- Well, it’s been lovely talking to you. I just have one final question.
T- Yeah.
M- What can we expect from Shut Up Sally for the rest of the year? Obviously the single release, do we have a date for that yet?
T- Yes. 29th of May. So. Quite soon.
M- Put that in the calendars.
T- Yeah, put it in the calendar, 29th of May release of lady, and expect more releases after that. Um, we’ll be probably writing more.
M- Hmm.
T- Hopefully make a music video for it.
M- Yeah. Cool.
T- Don’t know if we should follow the lyrical themes or not, but, um, depends. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, yeah. Expect to see a lot of tiktoks and yeah, just content.
M- Content.
T- Yeah. I think it’ll be really exciting to see what people think of “Lady” and see how it goes. Um, hopefully people like it.
M- Well, I’m really excited to see how it goes.
T- Thank you so much.
M- Thank you for having me
T- Anytime, thank you for having me.
M- Thank you for the cup of tea!
T- Thank you!
