After an action-packed 2024 for Newcastle punks Fast Blood – a year that saw them release their (amazing) debut album Sunny Blunts, and touring with the likes of Fucked Up and Honey Joy – the band are now making their Manchester Punk Festival debut.
Read on to see what frontwoman Abi Barlow has to say…
Firstly, how did you all meet and when was Fast Blood formed?
Fast Blood is: David Hillier (guitars), Kris Brunsden (bass), Dave Allen (drums), and me, Abi Barlow. I write the lyrics and shout my head off!
Me, Kris, and Dave H met through mutual friends in the local DIY scene in the North East. The two Daves met whilst they were both living in Leeds, again through playing in bands. They’ve probably been mates for 20 years or something!
As the band was starting out, I knew Dave Hillier a bit, but hadn’t met the others yet. Dave posted a couple of rough practise room videos on Facebook, and asked if any friends might be up for giving singing a go. I was into it. I must have been feeling brave that day, so I put myself forward! I want to say we officially formed in November 2018? The first gig was with our friends and local legends, Martha in Newcastle the following April.
For anyone not familiar with your music, how would you describe your sound?
Fast-paced, energetic punk rock with a nod to 90’s midwestern indie/emo, hardcore, and garage punk. We’re often compared to bands like Amyl and the Sniffers, White Lung, Pretty Girls Make Graves, High Vis and Descendents. If you could imagine those bands combined somehow, we would probably sound like that… I dunno, would that even work!?
You released your debut album Sunny Blunts last year. How has the response been to that?
It’s been fucking great actually! Since the record came out in May last year, we’ve had such a nice response, and loads of positive press. We have been really shocked and excited witnessing the momentum gathering at speed, and we’ve started to get some pretty exciting gig offers of late. Fucked Up got wind of the album and asked us to play a couple of gigs with them on their UK tour in October last year. Dave H was particularly buzzing about this, as he is a fan of nerd-level proportions! We’re also blown away to be asked to play Manchester Punk Festival! We’ve been trying to blag our way on the line up for years! We’re honestly absolutely made up to get to play the best DIY festival around!
The album was a hell of a long time coming and the process was really stressful at times, but we’re really proud of what we have accomplished. It’s lush that is has been received so well. People seems to be really enjoying it! It’s been particularly nice to see it show up in loads of people’s end of year lists.
If you had to recommend one of your songs to a new listener, which one would you choose?
Probably ‘Sexual Healing’. It’s a total banger. An empowering and unapologetic feminist anthem, and a celebration of sexual independence and equality. It’s an anti-“slut-shaming” song.
What can we expect from your set at MPF?
An intense, energetic, performance. We’re gonna blow some fucking faces off.
Are there any other bands on the line-up you’re particularly looking forward to seeing?
Onlooker, Dillinger Four, Supermilk, Bruise Control, Grafteoke, Misfortune Cookie, ONSIND, Other Half, Single Mothers, Stress Positions, The Chisel, The Slow Death, Trust Fund.
What else are you up to this year – any tours/festivals/releases you want to tell us about?
We’re currently in the process of writing some new songs for a collaborative project. I won’t say any more than that for now!
Other than doing Manchester Punk Festival, we’re actually a bit quiet on the gig front at the moment.
If anyone would like to book us, please drop us an email at fast.blood@outlook.com or find us on Instagram. Don’t bother with Facebook though. It’s shite.
And finally, is there anything else you’d like to add?
We’re running low on vinyl copies, of ‘Sunny Blunts’. If you want to pick one up, please check out our Bandcamp page. They won’t be around forever, and we don’t know if they will be re-pressed. Also, come check us out at MPF! We won’t bite!
Thank you so much to Abi for answering these questions.
Manchester Punk Festival takes place 18-20 April 2025 – full details and tickets here
You can find Fast Blood on Instagram // Facebook // Bandcamp
