WU LYF
Manchester’s WU LYF vanished from the music scene in 2012, in the same elusive way they’d made their name. The band’s buzzy status was originally built on word-of-mouth, blog culture, and their refusal to engage in interviews or reveal much at all about themselves. After a couple of years, it was all over, leaving a generation of fans with one critically acclaimed album and the nagging feeling of great potential forever lost.
More than a decade on, in March of this year, cryptic messages appeared on their website. Were they really back or was this just further building of their mystique, as had happened more than once before?
All was revealed a few weeks later, with the announcement of three very intimate comeback shows in the band’s home city (well, technically in Salford – don’t @ me Mancunians!). Soon afterwards, amidst social media clips from the Salford shows, came hints of London performances. Predictably, these weren’t going to be in a conventional music venue but a three-night residency at The Horse Hospital – a Grade II listed independent counter-cultural art space in Bloomsbury – with a capacity of just 120. Tickets sold out almost instantly.
An unassuming back-street door led gig-goers down a gentle, curving ramp into the bowels of the eighteenth-century London stocks and red brick stables; a journey designed to be taken by exhausted carriage horses. Today, it would instead be gig-goers rejuvenated inside what has become a rare artist-led venue in central London.
The welcoming low-key setting proved perfect, as darkness enveloped the basement, with attendees silhouetted from behind.
Support was provided by Tiernan, the lead singer of masterful slowcore outfit deathcrash. His emotively delivered solo set of brave and deeply personal songs opened hearts for what was to come and could’ve only been matched by an all-timer headline set.
Attendance had been limited to 90 on the first night and anticipation was palpable amongst the lucky few. Everyone had a story about what the band’s music meant to them and the joint acceptance that they would never (again) get to see them perform.
With that, the four original members of WU LYF – front man Ellery Roberts, Evans Kati on guitar, bassist Tom McClung, and Joe Manning on drums – plus a new keyboard player, scarcely believably, walked down the horse ramp and launched into new single A New Life is Coming. With just a stable floor and no stage, singer Ellery perched himself on monitors and was illuminated by spotlight above the crowd in what surely must’ve been a deliberate extension of the band’s messianic themes. His unmistakeably rough voice and the reverb which characterised their cult classic Go Tell Fire to the Mountain album filled the room.
To members of the audience welcoming them back, Ellery was insistent “we’ve been here all the time” – presumably referring to other projects such as LUH, Francis Lung, and the band Los Porcos formed by the other three members after his departure. Tellingly, however, before new songs Letting Go and All is Forgiven, he seemed to be genuinely moved by their reconciliation and earnest in his gratitude towards his bandmates. In the words of Ellery, “if all is forgiven, we can start again.”
Another new track had its first outing and hinted at the process behind their reunion. Tib Street Tavern (working title) is dedicated to the pub in Manchester where the band first started jamming together again recently. This sprawling two-part song seems destined to become a stand-out feature of future shows.
If WU LYF’s return feels timely, perhaps one song epitomises this. Dirt’s lyrics of “no matter what they said, dollar is not your friend” feels more fitting in 2025 than ever and provoked a moment of release and collective joy from the buoyant crowd. Giddy smiles all around were the visual representation of how special it had been to hear these songs live once more. I felt privileged to have been in the room.
Whilst no encore of fan favourite We Bros was forthcoming on the first night of the residency (it would happen on night two), the euphoric crowd took Ellery’s words of “singing is good for your soul” literally and repeatedly sang the chorus long after the band’s departure, some even onto the streets outside.
Whilst WU LYF’s religious iconography and portrayal of Ellery as a saviour could be seen as pretentious, there is no doubt that their comeback shows are life-affirming spectacles. The resurrection of one of the UK’s most vital bands of this century is a very welcome one. A new album is apparently almost written and festival slots beckon, but it remains to be seen how long this chapter of the band will last. Catch them live whilst you can.