July brought us chances to look forward as fans, and also back to where everything started. Tom continued to slowly reveal his plans as a standalone Editor, and a certain album hit a milestone.
When the dates for Tom's upcoming solo tour arrived, the comments sections of various Editors related social media were peppered with people asking Tom to play their own cities, towns or countries. This is not unusual at all, and it happens with virtually every post they put out. There were also some folks bemoaning the fact that he's chosen such small venues. I felt like looking at why it may be that he decided to approach this on such a reduced scale. There's the usual disclaimer that I don't know Tom, or any of the band for that matter. Distance, I'll keep my distance...
When you're in the protective bubble of a band, surrounded by people who will help to dissipate the glare of public attention, I would imagine it could be quite a comforting experience (assuming you all get along). There's a travelling support network. Going out on the road purely by yourself, standing or falling based on your own merits and abilities and nothing more, is going to come with all kinds of extra pressures. He'll be walking into these situations with Editors' back catalogue as a safety net, but there's also a new album of unfamiliar, unheard songs to promote which means the tightrope will still have to be walked. That, in itself, is going to be a challenge.
When it came to venue selection, he could have taken the traditional route of just piggybacking on Editors' success and booking Academy sized venues both here and around Europe. That brings with it an immediate sense of expectation, especially if you have to front-load and pay up front for the tour, and hopefully recoup on the back end (as is my understanding). The choice of small, intimate shows based within England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales tempers those stressors considerably. There may be further dates added, but it seems like these are to be the base upon which Tom's new album will be set. He may have been a professional musician for two decades but this really is like starting over, and this is what bands who are just getting going have to do; they build.
Editors have always been a fairly closed-off unit when it comes to what goes on within. We learned through candid revelations about some of his own personal mental health challenges, that Justin does not do well being part of the tour-bus culture, and has taken some necessary steps to make an uncomfortable situation more manageable. One thing we don't know, is just what touring does to any of the other people in the group. Specifically, what does the experience of being away from home and family for prolonged periods of time have on Tom? Has it changed, for better or for worse, given the amount of time that has passed since he first began? We can infer, but unless we are within the group he calls his confidants, we cannot be sure.
I was scrolling back through the Archive and I noticed that when he ventures out to begin his in-person appearances, there's a dubious anniversary. It will be
ten years almost to the day from when Editors cancelled a string of dates that ultimately ended with their American Tour being called off. Tom was out of action for 6 months that time, and although the details aren't clear as to what the exact cause, it is worth noting that he'd been on tour with the band for over 10 years by then. Throughout music history, there are few bands or artists that undertake protracted travel in the name of promotion that remain unchanged by it. The majority seem to leave pieces of themselves on the road until they figure out how to navigate it intelligently. Some never do, while others just remove themselves from that situation entirely. It's my hope that through being in Editors for the last 20 years, and having people around that are looking out for him, Tom's been able to determine of the best way to remain sane and intact through all of what's coming next.
The other big news of July 2025 was that
The Back Room turned 20 years old. On the day of the anniversary itself, there was very little on social media. Not really that surprising, given that Editors have always been more firmly focused on what is to be done that what was achieved. As an example, I recall from interviews that they weren't 100% sold on the whole
Black Gold greatest hits idea when that was being put together. Someone who did mark the occasion was Ed, who posted some words on his Instagram profile:-
20 years of The Back Room. I still love it. Thanks to my mates @thmssmth @rleetch @chrisurbanowicz for letting me join in the fun all that time ago. So many people involved, but all the love to @robz00t @jackiewade3659 @stevezapp1 for getting us through it (still are). Jim Abiss for showing some very green people how to put a record together. The new Eds @justinlockey @elliottlion @blanckmass @nicholaswilles for their freshest of vibes. @_clairelay_ for unlimited support and Bantz. Pour yourselves a drink and stick it on the stereo. 🤍🖤 Ed.
Elliott commemorated the occasion by posting a short clip of Distance, saying that the album had "aged like a fine wine". It definitely has. There was a certain nervousness in playing that record for the first time. The singles from it had all been so immediate, so one possibility was that the rest of the music would simply be a pleasant bit of monochrome buffering between them. As it happened, The Back Room is 11 varying aspects of a singular personality. It begins with a statement of having a million things to say, and ends with the realisation that what got broke here won't go back together again. It was a trip, in the way that albums used to be before the advent of selective listening rather than a total immersion or commitment to a mood or idea. As a statement of arrival, The Back Room succeeded and converted some of us to a new life of misery in the best possible way. To Tom, Chris, Russell and Ed...thank you.
There still appears to be rehearsal work going on for Editors' new album, with Justin's daughter providing a snap of Tom playing guitar and Justin at the desk. I wonder if this is a throwback to times past, in particular the recording of Editors' 5th album. 11 years ago they
locked themselves away in a Wedding venue in Crear, Scotland to start throwing ideas around for what would become
In Dream. The intention was to just rehearse and see what came out of those sessions, but as Tom himself said at the time:-
"I'm not sure if we're rehearsing, demoing, recording or producing here....but the vibes are very strong E5"
This was the record that saw the group taking the step of self-production, with Alan Moulder be the final stop for mixing before it officially went to market. Could it be that they want to revisit that creative freedom/control again? Also, if Blanck Mass is all but a silent partner in this, assuming he's still in the band, what does that mean for the musical direction they're heading in?
By the time the next "Editors Instagram" rolls around we will no doubt have a name and release date for Tom's album so there's lots to look forward to.
Editors Instagram - July 2025
For all of Editors' other Instagram posts, go here.
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
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