Chosen by Monk
My latest dish of the day has something of a double edged significance, as the Lancastrian rockers serve up the third single from their forthcoming seventh studio album ‘Earth To Grace’. The boisterous pop-punk-infused track features guest vocals by Colin Doran from Hundred Reasons.
At its core, ‘The Good Die Young’ is about what I personally refer to as “the GOD complex” – that is: Growing Old Disgracefully. It’s a sentiment with which Wagons frontman Barry ‘Baz’ Mills seems to agree:
Getting old is (hopefully) guaranteed… growing old is optional. I’m no expert and certainly no doctor, but, as far as I’m concerned, they can take my body but you ain’t getting my mind or my sense of humour!!
My dad always said to me when I was younger ‘I might be 50 on the outside son but I’ll always be 10 upstairs!’ And that always got me. [It’s] hard to understand until you start to get some miles under your belt yourself, but when you do you start to know exactly what he’s on about, God love him.
Stay young folks, stay hungry, stay motivated, keep dreaming, and keep moving forward – coz as soon as you accept it’s over… it’s over. Grow old, do not get old.
The song’s title, however, takes on a different meaning given the announcement last week that the band will be teaming up with men’s suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club for their upcoming run of headline shows at the end of November. Andy’s Man Club – named after Andrew Roberts, who was just 23 years of age when he took his own life in 2016 – offers free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups for men over 18 going through storms in their lives, with approximately 225 clubs meeting weekly across England, Scotland and Wales, as well as online.
The charity will have a stall in the foyer of each venue, with facilitators from local clubs at each date, roaming as welcoming “sweepers” amongst attendees, handing out wristbands and sharing details of their local club meetings for more support. There will also be on stage talks during band changeovers and an interactive installation posing the five questions each meeting is structured around, for gig goers to answer.
Guitarist Adam Thistlethwaite told us:
We couldn’t be more onboard with what Andy’s Man Club stand for and their message. Their team are lovely people and it’s a real bonus for us to spread their word along with our music.
It can be hard for anyone to admit they are having a difficult time, but focusing on breaking down the social and mental blocks that make it especially difficult for some men to come forward, that has been sorely needed and is highly commendable.
I just hope that our involvement with Andy’s Man Club further spreads this message and encourages more people to take that first step, and speaking from personal experience it really does help.
NOTE: AMC will not be present at the December shows in Dublin and Belfast, as they do not have representation in these areas. For those in Northern Ireland seeking assistance with the issues which AMC address, ÜR recommends reaching out to Metal 4 Life, the charity founded by the parents of Dani Kansanaho, guitarist with extreme metal band Shrouded, who sadly took his own life, also at the age of 23, in 2017.
- ‘Earth To Grace’ is scheduled to be released on 8 November via Earache Records.