Leigh’s Lottery Winners are having the kind of year most bands can only dream of. Their second number one album has cemented their place in the British music scene and this summer, they’ll be sharing the stage with some of the industry’s biggest legends at TK Maxx presents Lytham Festival.
For lead singer Thom Rylance, it’s still sinking in. ‘It might be the best festival lineup of the summer,’ he says. ‘We’re on Alanis Morissette’s day, but you’ve got Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Kings of Leon, Texas, Manic Street Preachers… To even be on the same poster as those names, it’s honestly surreal.’
When we speak over video call, he’s in the thick of album promotion and rehearsals, but there’s no rockstar ego. Just a warm, down-to-earth guy who seems genuinely grateful for the chance to do what he loves. When I thank him for taking the time to talk to me, he responds with: ‘Thank you for being interested about what I’ve got to say,’ and you can tell he means it.
This won’t be the first time the band has performed at the annual five-day music event held on Lytham Green. Their first gig was an intimate one, at a small church, with just a handful of people in the crowd. They returned in 2022 to support Paul Weller on the main stage. This summer, they are back again, supporting Alanis Morissette on July 4.
‘They have a Hollywood stars type-thing in the town and there’s talk of us getting one. If we do, I want it outside Greggs,’ he jokes.
Being the first band from Leigh to top the album charts – twice over – feels huge. ‘We’re proud of where we’re from. It’s part of who we are. That community helped raise us and we carry that with us everywhere.’
To celebrate the release of their second album, the band opened a pop-up shop at Spinners Mill, turning it into a buzzing hub for fans and bringing a wave of footfall to the local businesses around it. ‘It was just mental, so busy. People came from as far as Hungary and Denmark,’ Thom exclaims.
Lottery Winners aren’t a manufactured group, their story is one of real friendships. ‘I met Rob [Lally], our guitarist, at school,’ Thom recalls. ‘He was picked to show me around on my first day because he was a bit of a swot. We became best friends and obviously now we're inseparable.’
Kate Lloyd and Joe Singleton, the other two bandmates, were best friends at school too. The four of them came together at a jam night in a local pub and haven’t left each other's sides since. They have a small, close-knit team of friends working behind the scenes. ‘Our logo was designed by my friend Pete who I've known since I was 15. He does all our music videos too. It’s like this shared dream we’re all living out together.’
Their rise might seem meteoric from the outside, but the truth is anything but. ‘We’ve been doing this since 2008,’ says Thom. ‘We had to sacrifice for a lot of years but I'm so glad we did.’
Like many indie acts, they juggled full-time jobs, late-night gigs and endless DIY admin. ‘There were so many times we thought it wasn’t going to happen. But I think the best thing about us isn’t our live shows or the songs. Our biggest talent is just being brave. We've been scared so many times that it wouldn’t work out but just done it anyway and that's what’s got us where we are today.’
For Thom, music was never just a hobby. It was a lifeline. ‘School was really hard for me,’ he says. ‘I didn’t know it at the time, but I had ADHD. I was labelled a naughty kid and always felt broken. I honestly felt incompatible with the rest of society. Writing songs became the only place I could process what I was feeling.’ The title of their second album KOKO is an acronym for ‘Keep On Keeping On’, a phrase used by Thom’s grandmother to comfort him when he was excluded from his first school.
One person who saw Thom’s potential early on was his music teacher Mr Asbury, who changed his life with a simple gesture. ‘He saw something in me that no one else did. He gave me the school guitar and told me to take it home and learn it. He said, “You’re in the school band now”. That was it. That moment changed everything for me.’
A late ADHD diagnosis in adulthood finally helped Thom understand himself. ‘I spent years thinking I was lazy or stupid. Realising I just learn differently, that was huge. It has taken a long time for me to accept myself and love myself, that’s a recent thing.’
Now, he uses his platform to speak to kids going through similar struggles. ‘We go into schools and talk about ADHD and creativity. I just want young people to know there’s a future, even if the system doesn’t suit them. That school doesn’t define you.’
Among the many surreal twists of the past year, one stands out: a friendship with non-other than Robbie Williams. ‘He found us through some covers we’d posted online,’ Thom recalls. ‘Then he messaged me, said he’d done a deep dive and watched every interview.’
The two now talk regularly, with Robbie offering advice and support, particularly around navigating ADHD and fame. ‘He’s become a mentor figure for me and he really looks out for me. He knows what it is like because we've both got ADHD. He knows when things can be overwhelming with the schedule, and he’ll check in and make sure I'm doing okay. He really is one of the loveliest people I've ever met.
‘Kate has been around when I’ve done some of my calls with him and she’s just like: “You are literally the same person”, which is a huge compliment. I think I’m probably the Temu version of him though.’
Later this year, the band will join Robbie on a five-month tour, another surreal milestone in a year already filled with them. Thom is excited for what’s to come. ‘We’ve got a lot of flying around, a lot of festivals, it’s going to be pretty non-stop. I’m going to feel like a proper famous person, jumping off stages into cars and onto planes. Proper rockstar stuff. It’s going to be the best summer without a doubt, and I can’t wait,’ he grins.
But the real reward for Thom isn’t the fame or the chart success, it’s the personal connection. ‘We get loads of people reaching out saying they relate to our songs, that they’ve helped them through something, and that’s genuinely the best bit.
‘Number one albums and playing with all these amazing artists is great, of course it is. But when someone says something I’ve made is important to them… that means everything. Because that’s how I feel about music too. That’s why we do it.’
For tickets and more information, go to lythamfestival.com
Share