The Lottery Winners & The Revival of the Guitar

The Lottery Winners & The Revival of the Guitar

There were once claims that guitar bands were a dying breed. The formulaic way the music industry was once going would indicate those doomsday merchants had a valid viewpoint. But there has been a great revival in recent times. The demise of the guitar seems to have been greatly exaggerated.

The indie boom of the 00s was quickly fading away. Tom Clarke from The Enemy holding up his guitar at a festival reminding Radio 1 what a guitar was, was a pivotal moment of the times. A dying art. The so-important playlist was moving in another direction. Guitar music being left behind. Or so it seemed.

Most of the bands of that time became a footnote in history. Swimming against the tide. Without airplay, nobody was listening. Very few bands from that era kept going.

But there is now a renaissance of indie music. Clarke and the rest of the Enemy boys are back on the road. Hard-Fi are giving it another go, as are the Sheffield band Little Man Tate. There are others also. Even the Gallagher brothers look set to end their never-ending feud and rejoin the party in 2025.

But it is the new breed of talent that is driving the new revolution. Jamie Webster and his voice for the voiceless music have found a place far beyond his native Liverpool. The Lathums, Only The Poets, Wings of Desire, Red Rum Club, Sea Girls. I could go on. And on.

Sitting quite nicely amongst those bands are The Lottery Winners. Formed in 2008, it is anything but an overnight success, but the Leigh band are certainly making up for lost time.

With three studio albums to their name, including their number one album from 2023, Anxiety Replacement Therapy, the four-piece outfit are seemingly only heading in one direction.

Headed by the charismatic Thom Rylance, the band is building an extensive and impressive body of work. But as good as they sound on record, they really come to life on stage. Rylance finds his ‘happy place’ and his words find even greater life. The energy he brings adds another little dimension to their work.

Some bands just have it. That little bit of something. A little bit of tinsel that makes them stand out from the crowd. The Lottery Winners are one of those bands.

With so many wonderful songs to choose from, creating a set list must be incredibly difficult. Hidden gems that rarely get an outing in a live setting. Times Are Changing and That’s Not Entertainment are personal favourites of mine. But with their deep back catalogue, there will always be really good tracks that don’t make the cut. Always a sign of a good band.

Bass guitarist Katie Lloyd adds depth and meaning to Burning House. Her vocals perfect for that already live mainstay. Start Again, Much Better, Letter To Myself, Worry and many more formulate an hour or so of live entertainment that is more than value for money. That is entertainment.

The band have studio album number four on the way. Rylance has said it blows everything they have previously done out of the water. Quite a statement. But an exciting one also.