There isn't a huge amount of memorabilia this month, and nagging doubt has taken up residence in many fans' brains. Here's the highlights.
Tom started off July in the right way by giving fans an impromptu acoustic take of Cold on Instagram. Then on the 2nd July the good folks at Hidden Jams found out more info on the two unreleased Editors tracks from the Jacknife Lee sessions, one of which appears to include Andy Burrows as an author. That makes him an Editor, which is kinda mind blowing. There really does seem to be a flexibility to the definition of who this band are now, but more on that later.
Tom started off July in the right way by giving fans an impromptu acoustic take of Cold on Instagram. Then on the 2nd July the good folks at Hidden Jams found out more info on the two unreleased Editors tracks from the Jacknife Lee sessions, one of which appears to include Andy Burrows as an author. That makes him an Editor, which is kinda mind blowing. There really does seem to be a flexibility to the definition of who this band are now, but more on that later.
There were 5 live shows this month including Down the Rabbit Hole on the 5th, Main Square on the 7th and Gurtenfestival on the 20th. The VI OLENCE campaign officially came to a stop on the 22nd July in Bucharest at Rock the City, and fittingly the band were playing with The Cure. It was so good to see Rahi back onstage at DTRH stalking the band with his camera again (that's his snap above).
Where is Justin?
Before I go on I should preface this with the usual disclaimer; I don't know anybody in Editors and I have no access to insider information. I'm just a shady bootlegger with a fixation. Pleased to make your acquaintance ;)
The usual question to ask once we ascertain that he's doing OK, of course, would be is Justin still a member of Editors? He's been away for quite some time, and although there was never an official announcement as to his whereabouts, as there was in the past, it was suggested by the band informally that he was on paternity leave. That was around the 24th April this year, and he never made it back to the stage for any of the summer shows. Actually, maybe "Is he still an Editor?" isn't even the right question to ask given how this band appears to be structured now.
I think Editors has evolved into a very informal setup where people can come in and work under that identifier and then leave again, making the group seems to be more of a collective rather than a rigid format. If you think of U2, for example, you think Edge, Bono, Larry and Adam. Nobody else. That's the band. With Editors, it seems to be far more relaxed. If you're participating in either a recording or a live show, you're a member of the group. If you leave, then Editors will continue in your absence. No drama, no pressure.
It's allowed for Justin, Tom and Elliott to have their own side projects, as well as leaving space to incorporate a world renowned photographer in Rahi and great musicians in Nic and if the info found by Hidden Jams was correct, Andy Burrows. Comparatively speaking, the same thing happened with The Cure, with Robert Smith being the principal song writer and only consistent figure for the 40 years they've been doing their thing. We're almost at that point now with Editors, as Russell and Tom are the only two musicians who have been there from the very beginning.
That there's been no word from the label or Team Editors about his current status is congruent with the informality theory; he's just not around at the minute. The recent Tape Notes podcast that was released at the beginning of August raised my spirits slightly because I thought it was recorded recently. If that was true then any lingering doubts about Mr Lockey would at least be temporarily eased. Unfortunately it was put together during the rehearsals for the summer shows earlier this year which places it outside the time frame of his departure.
It could very well be that Justin is in fact away being with his family, and that any other theories are way off base. But if it were true that he was no longer happy working as an Editor and has walked away to do other things, even temporarily, then that's totally fine. In truth my only concern in any of this, and I suspect it's the same for most of you, is simply that he's alright. It's not even primarily as an Editors fan, just as one human animal looking out for another.
The usual question to ask once we ascertain that he's doing OK, of course, would be is Justin still a member of Editors? He's been away for quite some time, and although there was never an official announcement as to his whereabouts, as there was in the past, it was suggested by the band informally that he was on paternity leave. That was around the 24th April this year, and he never made it back to the stage for any of the summer shows. Actually, maybe "Is he still an Editor?" isn't even the right question to ask given how this band appears to be structured now.
I think Editors has evolved into a very informal setup where people can come in and work under that identifier and then leave again, making the group seems to be more of a collective rather than a rigid format. If you think of U2, for example, you think Edge, Bono, Larry and Adam. Nobody else. That's the band. With Editors, it seems to be far more relaxed. If you're participating in either a recording or a live show, you're a member of the group. If you leave, then Editors will continue in your absence. No drama, no pressure.
It's allowed for Justin, Tom and Elliott to have their own side projects, as well as leaving space to incorporate a world renowned photographer in Rahi and great musicians in Nic and if the info found by Hidden Jams was correct, Andy Burrows. Comparatively speaking, the same thing happened with The Cure, with Robert Smith being the principal song writer and only consistent figure for the 40 years they've been doing their thing. We're almost at that point now with Editors, as Russell and Tom are the only two musicians who have been there from the very beginning.
That there's been no word from the label or Team Editors about his current status is congruent with the informality theory; he's just not around at the minute. The recent Tape Notes podcast that was released at the beginning of August raised my spirits slightly because I thought it was recorded recently. If that was true then any lingering doubts about Mr Lockey would at least be temporarily eased. Unfortunately it was put together during the rehearsals for the summer shows earlier this year which places it outside the time frame of his departure.
It could very well be that Justin is in fact away being with his family, and that any other theories are way off base. But if it were true that he was no longer happy working as an Editor and has walked away to do other things, even temporarily, then that's totally fine. In truth my only concern in any of this, and I suspect it's the same for most of you, is simply that he's alright. It's not even primarily as an Editors fan, just as one human animal looking out for another.
So as the month drew to a close and we waved goodbye to the VI OLENCE promotional marathon, there was a horrible feeling of kenophobia that we're not used to. If you look back over each successive Editors album, there was always some sign that confirmed further adventures. Whether it was a new unreleased song being played live, or at least being hinted at in part, or a definite statement of intent in interviews you always knew the train would keep rolling. Things were heading...somewhere. This may be the one time since Chris got fired that we can't be sure what's next, and it's scary.
In the absence of tangible evidence all we can do is speculate. We know about the two unreleased Jacknife Lee songs, the greatest hits at the end of the year but nothing more. There are no shows lined up and no evidence that there are new songs being recorded. Tom's recording the new S&B album over the summer, and it's unclear whether there will be a tour to go with that release when that happens.
I would of course concede that Editors are very, very good at maintaining a poker face and keeping secrets (did you see Frankenstein coming?), so there may be a lot we don't know. Fiendish hidden plans. But it's still a very unusual space that we occupy as fans right now. Enjoy the few photos and videos we have from July and ponder on what August might have in store ;)
In the absence of tangible evidence all we can do is speculate. We know about the two unreleased Jacknife Lee songs, the greatest hits at the end of the year but nothing more. There are no shows lined up and no evidence that there are new songs being recorded. Tom's recording the new S&B album over the summer, and it's unclear whether there will be a tour to go with that release when that happens.
I would of course concede that Editors are very, very good at maintaining a poker face and keeping secrets (did you see Frankenstein coming?), so there may be a lot we don't know. Fiendish hidden plans. But it's still a very unusual space that we occupy as fans right now. Enjoy the few photos and videos we have from July and ponder on what August might have in store ;)
Editors Instagram July 2019
download here or download here
For all of Editors' previous Instagram posts, go here.
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
