Initially, I believed that September would be a very quiet month indeed given that Editors are now officially on a pause of indeterminate length. I envisaged 30 days which would offer us photos from Elliott and Justin but not a lot else, and I was partially correct. What I hadn't accounted for was that Tom would drop by the Radio 2 studios on the 14th to help Dermot O'Leary celebrate 20 years in his post at that station. He brought his trusty acoustic guitar and performed Papillon, as well as giving a very brief interview, all of which you can check out here.
September saw Elliott was in a celebratory mood as his burgeoning noodle empire, New Wave Ramen, turned 1 year old. Congratulations, Sir. As predicted, Justin was busy but his actual level of activity means that any accusations of occupying a life of unfulfilled potential can never be levelled at him. There's a trend to viewing any band as being the sole, stabilising force to all the members who act as satellites around it. They are that group, it's bigger than them (for better or for worse) and aside from it they are civilians living more sedate lives.
In 2005 I imagine that Editors was just that monolithic connection between all four of its members. They worked, rehearsed and played in the service of advancing the group further and reaching their audience. All waking hours spent, and presumably some that should have been used for sleep but ended up being repurposed, were to a singular goal. Outside of that was "normality", light and shade/black and white. In 2024, however, Editors has really grown into an entity with a much more varied palette. It's become a collective of individuals, the majority of whom may now only view it as one of several ongoing projects. Justin Lockey is the embodiment of that ethos.
As well as travelling, photographing, writing screenplays, playing music etc etc, Justin actually co-runs an independent record label and co-manages a band on said imprint. I reached out to Physical Education Records just to be sure that was the case and sure enough, Justin is still very much involved and particularly in the career of October Drift. For a human that struggles with anxiety his output is remarkable. A schedule that would finish off lesser men seems to be the very thing that keeps him closer to sanity. I remember reading an interview with Henry Rollins in which he was asked about his own aversion to standing still too long:-
"I'm always kind of doing something — there's never really any downtime," he said. "And I'm not trying to impress you with my workload."
Unfortunately, and yet unsurprisingly, there is no Editors news. Dermot did say he was trying to work with Edith to get Tom and Andy Burrows back together for a Christmas thing, a suggestion that was not dismissed by the man himself. We shall see.
Editors Instagram - September 2024
For all of Editors' other Instagram posts, go here.
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
