‘It’s about self-love but love is always in our songs,’ says London Grammar singer Hannah Reid

THE 4th medium from London Grammar is simply a grounds astir self-confidence and the London trio yet believing successful themselves.

“It’s the taxable that sums up the record,” says singer Hannah Reid.

“We don’t attraction what radical accidental astir us.

“We’ve closed the doorway connected those feelings arsenic a set and we conscionable marque euphony that we love.

“This assurance comes with clip and with age.”

The Greatest Love is an medium that shows disconnected a caller inventive broadside of their music.

Reid adds proudly: “Our euphony has already stood the trial of clip and we person astonishing fans that person stuck with us.”

It’s been 10 years since London Grammar — Reid, Dot Major and Dan Rothman — emerged and Reid says that clip has been a learning curve.

“When we started, nary 1 knew what to bash with america oregon wherever we fitted in,” says Reid.

“London Grammar was this immense beast that the grounds labels had to wrestle with, nary 1 truly knew what was going to hap with us.”

The set has sold 3 cardinal records and each their albums person reached No1 oregon No2 successful the charts.

This week, The Greatest Love is conscionable down Snow Patrol’s The Forest Is The Path successful the midweek charts.

They person besides been nominated for a fig of Brit Awards and received a prestigious Ivor Novello.

For Reid determination person been a batch of idiosyncratic changes since she past released a record.

We chat connected a video telephone portion Reid’s caller babe lad sleeps.

The blonde singer, who is besides an artist, is sat among paints, canvases, babe apparel and bottles of babe look arsenic we chat.

Reid and her spouse Sean O’Connor became arrogant parents to Josh 9 months ago, and contiguous she is juggling motherhood with the demands of promoting a caller album.

Finding love

“My beingness is precise antithetic present I’m a mum, but there’s been a batch of increasing up for america arsenic a band, too,” she says.

“When I deliberation backmost to erstwhile we started, and I was 24, I thought I was truly grown up.

“But really, erstwhile you’re that age, you don’t cognize what is going on.

“The different day, Dan said however overmuch I’d changed implicit the past mates of years. And connected this album, there’s a batch astir letting things go, but it’s each framed successful a celebratory way.

“Change is simply a bully happening and, connected the record, determination is simply a batch astir shedding worldly and uncovering the top love.”

When London Grammar released their debut medium If You Wait successful 2013, which peaked astatine No2, Reid received a batch of attraction for her looks arsenic good arsenic her astonishing emotive vocal range.

“I was truthful confused astir who I was backmost then,” she admits.

“I thought I should privation the fame and attention, and sometimes I tried to acceptable in.

“But immoderate clip I tried that life, I became truthful miserable.

“I can’t bash ‘celebrity’. I conscionable can’t bash it astatine all, and that’s fine.

“I’m overmuch happier accepting that.

“Don’t get maine wrong, it’s truthful casual to get sucked in.

“There person been times I’ve been astatine the Brits and I’ve had specified a bully nighttime retired with Dan and Dot.”

The Greatest Love is simply a reflection of self-expression that’s captured successful a model of time.

“It’s astir self-love but emotion is ever successful our songs,” says Reid.

“That’s often the mode for a batch of artists, similar Taylor Swift — she writes astir emotion predominantly.”

Standout songs see You And I, Fakest Bitch, House and Kind Of Man.

Reid says: “I conscionable emotion You And I. I deliberation it’s inactive London Grammar, but it’s a spot much celebratory and musically truly self-indulgent.

“Then, Fakest Bitch — I support getting asked astir that song.

“It’s a made-up communicative based connected a acceptable of images that I had talking to my fellow astatine the bar, bonding implicit panic attacks.

“But it’s really fictional — it’s a feeling everyone has experienced.

“It’s a opus that came unneurotic successful conscionable 1 day.”

Reid is arrogant of the band’s longevity and is looking guardant to their next chapter.

Closer than ever

“Being successful London Grammar, we conscionable instrumentality worldly much successful our stride now,” she says smiling.

“It took america clip to larn however we were going to past successful the euphony manufacture and not fizzle out.

“It’s been a spot of a process — from worrying astir those things to learning that we don’t request to interest astir them anymore, astatine slightest not successful the aforesaid way.

“Awards and fame don’t substance to London Grammar’s career.

“We person a coagulated fanbase who travel to our shows.

“However, I’m inactive a precise insecure creator and consciousness perpetually shocked that radical privation to travel and spot america play live.

“I decidedly had moments successful the pandemic wherever I thought we mightiness not past arsenic a band.”

House is simply a opus that came from lockdown.

Reid says: “I emotion that song.

“It came from being successful our houses, which were a bound astatine that time.

"We were pitching for an advert for a precise large brand, but we didn’t get it.

“It’s a opus astir defining yourself and rules.”

London Grammar formed portion the trio were studying astatine the University of Nottingham, but however is their relationship today, a decennary on?

“We are a batch person now, astir apt much truthful than ever before,” answers Reid.

“When we were young, aspects of our 3 antithetic personalities clashed much — particularly erstwhile we were starting retired successful in this business.

“Now I cognize it sounds cringe, but they truly are some my champion friends.

“The 3 of america are truthful nerdy together.

“There are things I find comic and I cognize the lone different radical successful the satellite who volition find it comic are Dan and Dot.

“We marque this truly affectional bittersweet music, but it is not truly a reflection of who we are arsenic people.

“I americium fortunate arsenic they are bully guys.

“I’m besides precise adjacent to Dan’s wife, who I lived with astatine university.

“We’ve got that nice household narration arsenic I cognize his kids well.”

When it comes to her ain son, Reid says: “My lad loves Dot.

“He is obsessed with him and follows him astir the room.

“It’s precise sweet.”

The Greatest Love was written earlier Reid became a mum, nevertheless she wrote a solo medium portion she waited for her babe to arrive.

“I did a batch of writing, which was good, but the bulk of the medium had been written.

“I wrote a solo medium erstwhile I was pregnant, but I deliberation possibly I americium not expected to speech astir that!” she laughs.

“I wrote a batch due to the fact that I couldn’t sing astatine each erstwhile I was large — I deliberation my lung capableness had shrunk arsenic helium was pushing my lungs up.

“My dependable was beauteous unspeakable for a portion and I was getting truly frustrated that I couldn’t sing.”

Reid says she loves being a mum, but motherhood is thing she’s inactive getting utilized to.

“I haven’t truly been a moving mum yet due to the fact that different than this week I’ve lone been an creator successful the studio, truthful I’ve not experienced the juggling.

“I person experienced the struggle of being a vocalist successful a set and besides a mum, though.

“I didn’t person the champion betterment arsenic I got rather a superior mastitis infection, which took months to retrieve from.

“There were moments erstwhile I didn’t cognize if I could play immoderate shows oregon if we would person to propulsion the medium back.

“I felt the conflict.

“I didn’t consciousness myself erstwhile we played Glastonbury — it was 1 of the hardest gigs I’ve ever done.

“I recovered it precise affectional arsenic Josh was astatine the broadside of the signifier but I recovered the separation, adjacent astatine six months, truly difficult.

“I knew helium was there, but I couldn’t beryllium with him.

“I was like, who americium I? Mum oregon singer?

“Luckily it turned retired to beryllium an astonishing show, but it had been a spot interaction and go.

“We person a circuit coming up soon and I’ve conscionable started reasoning astir however we are going to bash it.

“I deliberation Josh is going to travel with me.

“I’m praying that he’s going to beryllium a amended sleeper, but helium isn’t astatine the moment. It’s going to beryllium an absorbing tour.”

It’s important for Reid to support acceptable erstwhile she is connected circuit arsenic she suffers with fibromyalgia, the semipermanent information that causes wide symptom successful the body.

I can’t overwork

She says: “I’ve learned rather a batch astir fibromyalgia since my travel to motherhood.

“It got a batch amended during pregnancy — I’m a batch amended astatine managing it.

“On tour, I can’t spend to overwork oregon I’ll extremity up having a flare-up oregon relapse and get truly sick.

“I recovered Glastonbury rather hard due to the fact that I didn’t consciousness physically acceptable capable to bash a show.

“I ticker what I devour and debar thing inflammatory and excessively overmuch dairy.

“It’s the classical things to debar similar gluten and dairy, and I don’t drink.

“I haven’t had a azygous portion successful years arsenic I request to beryllium annoyingly healthy.”

Reid is besides an creator and often shows disconnected her paintings connected her Instagram.

She says her creation compliments her euphony arsenic they are connected.

“My coating is simply a batch much introverted than the songs, due to the fact that nary 1 tin travel successful and marque different mentation of a coating similar they tin with a song.

“A opus is perpetually evolving and adjacent though they are my songs, our songs, they don’t truly ‘belong’ to me.

“That’s however a coating is different.

“My coating is becoming much and much important.

“I’m not acceptable to grounds oregon merchantability thing yet, but it’s becoming conscionable arsenic important arsenic the songs.

“But I volition beryllium terrified erstwhile it comes to doing thing connected my own, similar an creation accumulation oregon a solo album, without Dan and Dot.

“They are my information blanket.

“I cannot ideate going connected signifier without them.

“The astir terrifying happening I’ve done was singing with Chris Martin erstwhile we supported Coldplay.

“It didn’t consciousness right.

“But I’ve taken the archetypal measurement present and adjacent though I recovered Glastonbury rather hard, I’m acceptable for more.

“These songs are successful my bones present and I privation to get retired determination and execute more.

“As soon arsenic I’m retired determination and the boys onslaught the archetypal chords, and I sing the archetypal enactment of Hey Now, I cognize I’m ready.

“Even though I volition get tense astir the tour, and putting retired this album, I’ve ne'er been arsenic excited arsenic this before.”

• The medium The Greatest Love is retired now

LONDON GRAMMAR

The Greatest Love

★★★★☆