Who are you again?
Phoebe Green.
Shit, yeah… What can I get you?
Half pint of lager. Any lager.
So what’s new?
Over lockdown I went to my mum and dad’s for AGES. I got so inside my own head I stopped writing. Now after doing my first festival I’m back on it.
What was that like?
Doing the lateral flows was scarier than getting on stage!
I dunno – I wasn’t expecting anyone to know who I was but so many people asked for a photo. The more drunk I got the worse it became: I was like Phoebe, you gotta stop drinking or you’re gonna be dead behind the eyes in these poor girls’ selfies.
Talk to me about the colour orange.
I did that one song ‘Easy Peeler’ then I dyed my hair and that was that. It’s not like yellow – really FUCKING obnoxious – it’s happy, but chilled too.
Do your lyrics come back to bite you?
ALWAYS. Oh my god, I’ll play a demo for my band and they’re like are you gonna tell us who this is about or do we have to guess?
I’ve bumped into ex-boyfriends in bars and they’re like I heard that song, and I’m like SHIIIIT… So awkward. I hate it.
What’s it like being a woman in a space [indie music] that for so long has been dominated by dudes?
It’s gross. I feel like it’s gotten to a point where I’m so preoccupied with getting slut shamed or yelled at or whatever that I don’t know how to dress on stage.
Have you had that experience?
For sure. People just shout shit and it’s like you wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t… me. The older I get the easier it is to deal with.
Damn. What advice would you give to a young Phoebe?
Stop trying to be the people you look up to. You’re not them. It’s daft.
Give me names…
Fuck. This is so embarrassing!
We don’t judge here.
So like… Wolf Alice. They’re a female fronted band in the same scene as me so I thought I needed to imitate them.
It’s the same with Big Moon: now I’ve worked with Jules [Juliette Jackson], I realise the reason we’re all good at what we do is because we all bring something different to it.
If you could have a drink with anyone – alive or dead?
Oh my god… me but in 30 years. That’s so narcissistic. But I want to give older me therapy, be like, babe, I’m sorry I fucked up – tell me how I can reroute.
London or Manchester?
Manchester is home. I can’t go anywhere without bumping into someone. It’s a blessing and a curse, but you never feel lonely. And I literally live next door to The Hacienda so… that’s sick.
I like London but I can never see myself moving there.
Describe your dream pub.
Oh my god. It would be queer-run, and dimly lit because everyone wants to have a deep conversation (and that wont happen if it’s too light).
The drinks would change every week and there’d be slushy machines. It’s probably all orange… except at christmas.
It sounds like a migraine, doesn’t it?
Yes.
…
What’s next for Phoebe Green?
Hmmm… I wanna release an album that encapsulates who I am right now. I get sick of my old shit. I want loads of new songs that I love and to see other people connect to them.
