The Lottery Winners have clarified comments made yesterday (November 29) about BRIT School and privately educated artists.
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Yesterday, the band took to X to voice their concerns about artists who attended the performing arts school or private schools attempting to speak on behalf of working class musicians.
“I don’t mind if you went to private school and Brit School, that’s cool, I’m happy for you. But when did you become the spokesperson for the ‘working class musician’. No thanks mate,” they wrote.
“If you want to talk about how ‘broken’ the music industry is, should we address that 8/10 best artist nominees at the Brit Awards last year went to YOUR SCHOOL.”
The comments followed Kate Nash‘s recent Butts for Tour Buses campaign, which saw her join OnlyFans to protest the music industry and help raise money for her UK and European tour which began on November 21.
She then took her “bum on the back of a fire truck” protest to the London offices of Live Nation and Spotify as well as the Houses of Parliament to highlight the challenges facing artists and those working in the touring industry.
In a statement to NME, Nash reasserted that “the cost of presenting live music has gone up by 30.3 per cent over the past two years. There were 125 venues that closed last year in the UK. And, the value of recorded music is extremely low.” She went on to say: “The industry is in crisis, the music industry has failed artists, and is completely unsustainable, and my arse is shining a light on that.”
Nash, like Adele, Amy Winehouse, FKA Twigs, Loyle Carner, did attend the BRIT school, and won British Female Solo Artist of The Year at the 2008 BRIT Awards following the release of her 2007 debut album ‘Made Of Bricks’.
However, contrary to The Lottery Winners’ initial comments, of the 10 nominees for Artist Of The Year in 2024 only two, Olivia Dean and Raye, attended the BRIT School. In 2023 five artists were nominated: Harry Styles, Central Cee, Fred Again.., George Ezra and Stormzy – none of whom attended the school.
Now, the band have apologised for the mistake in their earlier posts and asserted that they weren’t taking aim at Nash, writing on X this morning (November 30): “Alright, I’ve mouthed off, made it into an NME article (which must mean I’m getting pretty famous) and got my facts wrong.
“I’m sorry about that. I do want to say that I’m not pointing the finger at anybody, and that tweet wasn’t about one person, like the article would lead you to believe. I was having a particularly bad morning after having a conversation with somebody about my band and kicked out.”
They go on to clarify their comment about BRIT award winners, writing: “To correct my point, more than half of the nominees for last year’s Best Artists at the Brits were educated in schools that require fees to attend. Yet only 5.9% of the population attend those schools. An anomaly!”
It echoes research earlier this year that showed only 16 per cent of the music and performing arts workforce come from working class communities, as opposed to almost 65 per cent from middle or upper class backgrounds.
“I would like to add, I have no problem with people that are privately educated, I think it’s an amazing luxury to be afforded, and if I had the choice, I certainly would educate my kids that way.”
They continued: “However, if we’re raising a conversation about ‘working class musicians’ and their struggles, it would be nice if it was being represented by working class musicians.
“I’m in no way meaning to start a beef with anybody! I love all kinds of music made by all kinds of people. Only love.”
They also added that they’ve reached out to Nash privately.
Alright, I’ve mouthed off, made it into an NME article (which must mean I’m getting pretty famous) and got my facts wrong.
I’m sorry about that. I do want to say that I’m not pointing the finger at anybody, and that tweet wasn’t about one person, like the article would lead you…
— Lottery Winners (@LotteryWinners) November 30, 2024
In 2023, it was announced that a new branch of the BRIT School would open in Bradford in 2026/27.
Lottery Winners have previously been vocal about the challenges working class artists face in the music industry, opening up to NME last year about the lack of mainstream attention they’ve received despite being a working class success story.
Thom Rylance told us: “I think it’s because we’re just not very cool, and I’ve got no intention of pretending to be cool. I’m not bitter, but what music execs think is cool and what people really want? The only way we’ll get mainstream attention is by proving this is what people want, by selling all the tickets we do and selling all the records we do.
“I always knew we’d do it the hard way. We’re from a working class mining town in the north west of England. We’re not from London, we don’t have famous dads. We’re just trying our best, and if people connect to our music, that’s authentic.”
Class inequality has been a major talking point in the creative arts in the UK in recent years, with Garbage’s Shirley Manson recently telling NME that music is currently dominated by artists who are “independently wealthy”.
The Lottery Winners recently announced their new album ‘KOKO’, out on February 21 next year, along with the single ‘You Again’ featuring Reverend & The Makers frontman Jon McClure. They’ll also be heading on a UK tour soon – you can see a full list of dates below and buy tickets here.
Lottery Winners’ UK headline tour dates are:
DECEMBER 2024
27 – Manchester – Academy 1
28 – Manchester – Academy 1
29 – Manchester – Academy 1
FEBRUARY 2025
20 – Bristol – O2 Academy
21 – Bournemouth – O2 Academy
23 – London – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
26 – Glasgow – St Luke’s
27 – Leeds – O2 Academy
28 – Liverpool – O2 Academy
MARCH 2025
01 – Birmingham – O2 Institute
