Interview with Priestgate: ”Now’ is about coming to terms with making mistakes’

Priestgate, a 5-piece indie band from Driffield, East Yorkshire, unveiled their second single, ‘Now’ earlier this month (July), which is about ‘coming to terms with making mistakes’, according to the group’s lead singer and songwriter, Rob Schofield.

‘I wrote ‘Now’ bit by bit, jotting it down in practice,’ he said. ‘It’s about coming to terms with making mistakes. The more you accept that, the easier it is to make them. ‘Now’ is an ode to understanding that.’

The lyrics encapsulate that:

‘Now
Now that I see
See what you can be
To see what no one sees
And Now
Now that I see
See what you can be
To see what no one sees

When
When will I change?
I’ll make the same mistake
I guess I’ll never know
And that’s how it goes
Holding on to hope
Holding on too long
Holding on to hope…’

In addition to Schofield, Priestgate comprises Connor Bingham (lead), Cameron Sampson (bass), Bridie Stagg (drums) and Isaac Ellis (rhythm) and has been together for around two years, according to Schofield. ‘I knew Bridie from school and had approached her about starting a band and one day she said yes. I met Cam and Connor down the skate park and Cam knew Isaac from work and we’ve become really good friends.’

‘Now’ was recorded just before lockdown, along with ‘Summ(air)’, which is due to be released later this year, according to Schofield. An additional track, ‘Lucifer’, will be released after that, although a release date has not yet been set.

The band is also headed back to the studio next month. ‘We want to show people we can do more than a three-minute pop banger,’ Schofield laughed.

The band has been compared to The Cure by Far Out Magazine, although they’re not the chief inspiration for the group. ‘They’re a great band, obviously, but none of us are avid fans,’ Schofield said. ‘Personally, I really like Slowdive. They were around in the 90’s but then went 20 years without releasing an album. I think it took that long for people to get them.’

Schofield’s dream would have been to collaborate with Bowie: ‘He was so amazing, the track could have gone anywhere! He’s timeless, isn’t he? He’ll never go out of fashion.’

Next year, an EP is hopefully on the cards. ‘It’s something we want to do,’ he said. ‘It’s a big thing for a band, a massive introduction, but I’d like to say this will happen next year. This year has been a weird one, with lockdown, and gigs being cancelled but there’s nothing you can do.’