WHO ON EARTH IS ANDY GOODWIN AND WHY SHOULD YOU BE SEEING HIM AT NEIGHBOURHOOD FESTIVAL 2024?
Who on earth is Andy Goodwin and why should you be seeing him at Neighbourhood Festival 2024?
Rising to fame at the start of the year, Andy Goodwin is one of the most anticipated artists in the indie genre – accumulating over 1 million streams on his debut single ‘Fred Perry Girl’ and releasing his first body of work ‘Tales Of A Likely Lad’ all in under the space of a year. Whilst his success may be questioned by some, Andy’s accomplishments were bound to be inevitable with his cheeky charisma, songwriting capabilities and overall charm.
We caught up with Andy ahead of his headline slot at YES Basement for this year’s Neighbourhood Festival – talking all things Manchester and music!
Holly – ‘So you’re back up in Manchester headlining YES Basement for this year’s Neighbourhood festival. What is one thing you miss most about living up here as a Mancunian?’
Andy – ‘My mum… Manchester town centre, Northern Quarter? Everybody actually speaking to each other and actually being sound – rather than snubbing each other and thinking you’re cooler than everybody.’
Holly – ‘Haha is that why you moved down there?’
Andy – ‘Is that why I moved down there? (Jokingly) Yeah just to snub everyone else haha. But yeah, without sounding like a dick – the community in Manchester, everybody lives their life with their blinkers on in London, they’re too preoccupied with their own lives.’
Holly – ‘What is your fondest memory of one of your own gigs – could be a headline a support?’
Andy – ‘Supporting Master Peace at Scala, which was our first gig as a full band. Like I’d always done gigs just me and a guitar, and they were a bit naff. Then I started playing with a track and they were even worse.’
Holly – ‘Haha like Ian Brown’s karaoke?’
Andy – ‘Ah it was so shit, worse than that actually. But like with Scala, we got the date and I wanted to try a bit harder and get a band. So our first gig as a band was like 800 cap.’
Holly – ‘That’s insane to be fair.’
Andy – ‘Yeah but like baptism of fire.’
Holly – ‘Scary?’
Andy – ‘Yeah obviously. Lit a bit of a fire beneath my arse.’
Holly – ‘Moving on from that, what’s your fondest memory of any gig you’ve been to?’
Andy – ‘Watching Peace at Academy 2, with my brother and my cousin when their second album ‘World Pleasure’ had just come out. And it was a fucking unreal gig. I think I was like 14, it was so good – the first ticket I’d bought with my own money.’
Holly – ‘What’s your favourite Manchester music venue then?’
Andy – ‘I’d say Deaf Institute or The Castle. Castle because you can go in on any random weekend and there’s always a gig on and it’s always gonna be pretty decent. Then Deaf Institute because every band under the fucking sun has played there, and it just always looks good.’
Holly – ‘If there were 3 bands you could choose to play a festival with, who would they be?’
Andy – ‘Babyshambles, they reform just for that gig. I’ll be at the front playing, back to back with Pete.’
Holly – ‘Would you not have The Libertines, just Babyshambles?’
Andy – ‘No I prefer Babyshambles, they’re just better. Better tunes.’
Holly – ‘Do you think Pete’s got it in him to be Babyshambles anymore?’
Andy – ‘Yeah of course he has haha. He looks fitter than ever. I’d probably say Babyshambles, Amy Winehouse and Suede. I’m happy with that.’
Holly – ‘People are going to think you’re really cool now.’
Andy – ‘Haha that was not thought through at all. I actually have stuff saved on my phone for questions like these though. I’ve got one for ‘What’s a song you wish you’d written?’ and it’s Squeeze ‘Up The Junction’ as number 1 haha.’
Andy – ‘Haha there’s a note I’ve just found from 1 a.m. saying “steal chords from Up The Junction”. Fucking brilliant haha.’
Holly – ‘How would you describe your sound in 3 words then?’
Andy – ‘2008 rip-off.’
Holly – ‘Haha you can’t have that, that’s only two words.’
Andy – ‘Sleazy X3 haha.’
Holly – ‘So how did it feel when your song Fred Perry Girl went viral?’
Andy – ‘Bizarre haha. I wasn’t expecting it. Now I mainly just get people shouting Fred Perry at me haha which is good fun. It happened the other week, I asked someone for a lighter and they turned around and went “Fucking hell! Fred Perry Girl!” And that’s about the extent of my fame haha. The thing is, it was just a demo I’d put on Instagram and had no plans of releasing.’
Holly – ‘Did you play it the first time I saw you?’
Andy – ‘Yeah, I played it but with just me and a guitar. Back in the good old days.’
Holly – ‘I remember just walking in and being like “Who’s this guy standing on stage with his guitar?” haha.’
Andy – ‘Who is this dickhead? haha’
Holly – ‘What’s one thing you love about your EP Tales Of A Likely Lad?’
Andy – ‘That it’s honest. It’s my first body of work that I’ve put together, and I can never change that and I’d never want to. It crossed my mind at one point if I should write something new, maybe put that in, maybe leave that out but then I had a conversation with myself and was like, if I hadn’t put these songs in I’d feel like I’d have cheated myself. But like now I’m thinking a lot more about what I’m writing and I can’t wait to share more stuff with people. You can expect another EP that’s going to have the same elements as the first one with everything just a little more mature. Like some of the songs I’ve released, I’ve had since I was like 20 and I felt like I owed it to myself to release them, but now I’m in a position where people expect it to be good, so I want it to be the best it can be. I’m focussing more on making it better I guess, more indie, more energy but also keeping it cheeky-chappy, whilst not portraying myself as a pretentious c*unt.’
After making his debut festival appearance at Neighbourhood 2024, Andy is set to perform at his biggest headline to date at the Camden Assembly on the 8th of October. Limited tickets are still available for this show, yet will most likely sell-out.
If you aren’t in London, you can catch Andy headlining the YES Basement Stage at Neighbourhood 2024 at 8pm!
See you in the Neighbourhood!
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