In Conversation With Later Youth

Musician Jo Dudderidge has already been a few times round the musical block with Manchester indie outfit The Travelling Band. And while all members have meandered down different paths for the time being, Jo has more to say. And as Later Youth with his wicked juxtaposition of melody and meaning and the mighty use of a Wurlitzer, he’s making himself heard.

His 2025 debut album Living History has all the evidence of the skilled and experienced musician he is, yet there’s an openness and honesty to his lyricism that is disarming, at times funny, bleak and vulnerable. It’s a brave album taking on pain in different forms - nostalgia, isolation, rejection and fear and is wonderfully visual. The images he creates are seen not starkly as in a mirror, but elusive and fleeting - uncertain memories and doubts sung with vocal strength against solid and irresistible musicality.

Album opener ‘Arcane Love’ with its beautiful looping melody contains the darkest of lyrics yet the acceptance heard in the vocal evokes the smallest of sad smiles. The clarity of Jo’s voice brings an immediacy to the track and each painful word is heard exquisitely clearly. It’s a guilty guilty pleasure indeed to dance to the joyous outro after singing to lines like this:



You can't help but revel in the boldness and baldness of his words, the ingenuity in the duality of lyric and melody and, as runs through the entire album, that painful pang of recognition.



‘Nuclear Love’ is tight and slick in its delivery. Supremely confident in the leisurely arrangements the track is another plea accompanied by a lyrical wink. The swift twist of the phrase “not in my back yard” serves as another example of how comfortable Dudderidge rightly is with his creative ability.

And then the reeling pain in ‘Hollow’ is tangible. A stream of consciousness written following the news of his ill mother, the track is a barely contained spiral into helplessness. Its very emptiness onomatopoeic. Musically surreal, white noise and slurred sound, ‘Hollow’ perfectly captures musically the chaos and horror of shock and is the most stripped and emotionally raw track on the album.

Standing out alone has to be terrifying, saying ‘this is who I am, this is how I feel’ to a world that can dismiss you with a click or a symbol - takes some guts. With this album Later Youth has done just that. I can take an educated guess you'll say you’re glad he did.

Jo took the time to talk to us about his journey from then to now via a pandemic and parenthood, plans for the future, and the magic of that beautiful Wurlitzer.

How was the transition from The Travelling Band to Later Youth?

Sadly there was no rock n’ roll fall out or anything! I like to joke that TTB went on a “I hate us” rather than a “hiatus” but the reality was that after 12 years on the road together we were all ready to focus on other things for a bit even though we were arguably at our best when we took an extended break. Our studio ‘Pinhole Sound’ in Manchester had been set up by the band to be a home for our future music creation and that’s where I started recording the Later Youth album with the help of various musicians, including some of the newer members of TTB. Later Youth is very much still in the family but it’s all on my terms I suppose.

What, if anything, do you miss most?

The camaraderie and performing together. There’s nothing quite like being in a van with your mates and playing music that you know inside out every night. We had to make a lot of sacrifices to make that happen for so long and it took its toll and we ran out of road. I get to play with a lot of other great people now so if anything the family just got bigger and I'm grateful for the community we had.

How would you describe Living History?

Thematically it’s somewhere between a eulogy and an elegy of a particularly reckless part of my life when I wasn't quite ready to settle down and was still a bit haunted by the ghosts of previous relationships. Musically it’s largely upbeat and fun with a wistful undertone if you listen hard enough. If you like early 70s music and a bit of Brit-pop thrown in you'll probably dig it.

Where does your relationship with the Wurlitzer come from?

Great question! I grew up with a Fender Rhodes in the house that my dad had picked up from an auction at a steal. It was ace but a bit hard to play so when I first tried out a Wurlitzer at The Kinks studio ‘Konk’ in Crouch End, I completely fell in love with the sound and the action. There’s 50 components in every note on a Wurli so it’s truly an engineering marvel. They play beautifully and can sound very sweet and pretty or opposingly completely unhinged and raw if you want it to!



What was and is your creative process?

I might catch a melody on the wind or a turn of phrase which just comes out in song. I also often dream up songs a lot. I then have to jump out of bed, run to the piano and capture the moment before it leaves my brain. Once an idea is established I try to stop whatever else I'm doing and focus on it to make sure the raw material gets set in my mind. I used to have half finished songs and bring them into the studio but it got me tied up in knots not knowing what I was trying to say. These days I have the lyrics mostly finished before I record. I then arrange and direct the whole thing - ideally with other musicians in the recording studio - skipping out the rehearsal room. It helps to make recording sound fresh and unlaboured.

Which track are you most proud of, or would recommend to someone who has never heard you before?

‘Enabler’ seems to have resonated with a lot of people but one of my personal favourites on the album is ‘Hollow’.

What can you tell us about the creation of ‘All That Remains’, its content, and the reason for releasing this particular track? It seems more direct than others on your album.

‘All That Remains’ is a song of frustration and confusion in a world that is increasingly divided and filled with misinformation. At the same time the song pleads to embrace the world everyday even if you wish things were different. It's worked out quite fittingly that the song is coming out 10 years after the referendum. You can probably guess how I voted!

The COVID pandemic seems to influence your work. How did it affect you personally and professionally?

The first year I ate and drank too much and caught up on 15 years of TV shows I’d missed over the years. I wrote a load of songs. Apart from missing family and friends it was weirdly enjoyable! The second was like the Tsunami had finally reached the shore as all the pressures of the pandemic started to affect everything. Professionally I tried to stay active but it was a pretty stressful time for everyone in music as there was hardly any work.

How did it impact your writing?

It gave me the space and time I needed to reflect on a lot of my past that I just had tapped into at all. It was very therapeutic.

Can I ask you about the lyric 'not in my back yard'? It means one thing to many but you have switched it (very successfully I might add) in ‘Nuclear Love’.

Yeh just a bit of fun with words really. The original title was NIMBY but I thought it was a strange title for a yearning summery love song. I liked the idea of turning a negative phrase into a positive.

What does the next few months hold for you?

I’m really looking forward to these gigs as since I’ve become a father I’ve not been able to do my headline shows until now since the album came out. After that I’m planning to release music regularly across the rest of the year whilst continuing to write and record.

And dare I ask, long term professional goals?

Just to stay in the game, really. In this climate it’s a matter of surviving as an artist despite the challenges. Can I maintain the enthusiasm to keep working on my craft? I hope so. I’d like to take Later Youth to some more festival stages, into Europe again and further afield. Like everyone else, I guess?! Maybe another TTB album”

Whatever Later Youth does next, with his wit, wisdom and the magic of the Wurli, he's set to take us all with him. Humour and pathos, uncertainty and vulnerability expressed lyrically, over highly skilled musicality, that's a combination you can't ignore.



Later Youth’s debut album ‘Living History’ is out now via Sideways Saloon, distributed by Kartel Music Group. Stream/buy it here: lateryouth.com.

LATER YOUTH FULL BAND HEADLINE TOUR DATES
Fri 12 Jun - MANCHESTER Kamera Ballroom
Sat 13 Jun - WINCHESTER The Railway Inn
Thu 18 Jun – ST LEONARDS-ON-SEA The Piper
Fri 19 Jun - LONDON The Lexington