As Editors' fans, we finished 2021 in much the same state of mind as we commenced it; what's going on with this band? The unpredictable interventions of our not-so-new and unwanted worldwide neighbour have once again taken 365 days of possibilities and painted them a dull, unappealing shade of disappointment and paranoia. Some times, however, those worries are warranted. Just ask a certain keyboardist and vocalist. More about that in a bit.
When I wrote the first Editors' Instagram post of 2021 in January, they had 3 concerts lined up, and Tom confirmed in a chat with Jo Whiley that there was writing ongoing. A full 365 days later and all those proposed shows were nuked, with 2021 having become more about Smith and Burrows than Tom's primary pursuits. He actually came back around to play This Ain't New Jersey on Instagram on the 18th of December, which completed a circle of S&B activity that began 10 years ago with their first album.
On the 17th of December Elliott announced that he'd tested positive for covid on a PCR test, but negative on a lateral flow. I said it at the time and I'll repeat it here, I hope that Elliott and all of those around him are OK and that he recovers fully. I remember that at the beginning of the pandemic it was rare to actually know someone who had it, whereas in 2022 it's been completely flipped the other way. Now you're lucky if you haven't had it, and even the people who confidently think that they skated around it can't be sure if they did but were simply asymptomatic. Statistically it's likely that other members of the band have experienced covid, they just haven't gone public with it.
That was 2021, and this is the complete collection of Instagram posts from the past year. As Editors fans, I hope 2022 brings us contact, answers and new music.
