Little Man Tate: ‘We were always about playing live’

All 1,800 copies of their first single, The Agent, sold out as pre-orders, and shortly after, What? What You Got? made the UK top 40, prompting a bidding war amongst record labels. In March 2006 the band signed with V2 Records and further hits followed with House Party at Boothy’s, Man I Hate Your Band, and Sexy in Latin. After extensive tours in Europe and Asia, as well as playing on the main stage at Leeds and Reading Festival, the band parted ways 2009.

In April they announced they were reforming to play a one-off gig at Sheffield’s O2 Academy on September 18 – the same venue where they bowed out with back-to-back shows in 2009. Due to demand they added an extra night. However due to the pandemic they have rescheduled the dates for 2021. Singer Jon Windle says: “We thought it would sell quite well; we didn’t expect it to sell out in three minutes, especially in this climate. I know the venue were buzzing about it. They asked us to do the following night and we thought if we are just coming back for this brief period we can’t let people down who have missed out on tickets.”

“We were always about playing live,” guitarist Edward ‘Maz’ Marriott explains. “That’s why what we are doing now is so important. The live experience is so much better for us and our fans than the experience of putting on a CD. The live feel of LMT is completely different to what is on a record. We will always look back with regret, but whenever I think about the gigs and atmosphere, that’s what gives us the fondest of memories.”

In their early years, the band became disillusioned with the music industry and got caught up in “playing games” with record labels, Windle says. “The minute we signed a record deal, the decisions weren’t our decisions any more. I remember getting the What? What You Got? video and seeing some bits in it and thinking ‘why is that in there?’ There was a bit in the video where the music just stops and there was a massive fight that didn’t need to be there but the producer felt it should have been. It was difficult being a young band and dealing with a massive company. I’m sure they go in with good intentions, but I remember thinking if it was going to give the right impressions of us as a band with that video.”

The band developed a dedicated fan following and utilised Myspace to help promote their upcoming gigs. Many of the same fans took to social media to share their delight at their reformation.

Windle says: “What’s so brilliant about the upcoming gigs is we know when we come back to do these two shows we can’t be anything other than as good, as energetic and exciting as we were when we were 26 when we stopped.”

Little Man Tate play at O2 Academy Sheffield on April 16 and 17, 2021.