M.A. // FRONTING YOUR CITY: JAMES GILMORE

Ahead of their huge home-town show at New Century Hall we invited frontman James Gilmore to kick off our new series Fronting your City. We talked to James about his love for Manchester United, his influences on his current style and what we can expect from his band in 2025.

Q. Let’s start from the beginning — what made you fall in love with manchester united, and who was the first player you idolised?

A: it would have to be my grandad dave, he was a massive united fan, always watching the games at the pub or at home and he would try get tickets whenever he could and i remember going over to my grandparents for games and that, yeah some real fond memories from my childhood are from watching united at their house. I think the first player i idolised was probably beckham, he was my grandads favourite player at the time too.

Q. You’ve worked at the bishops blaze, right next to old trafford — any standout stories or moments that really stuck with you from those matchdays?

A: i never really work that many match days because i’m away on tour or doing shows with the band, but one game i did work was the game against rangers at the start of this year in the europa league, they equalised in the 88th minute, but then bruno scored the winner in the the 92nd minute, the place went mental, we had to close the pub early in the end because it started getting that mad.

Q. Where are your go to places before kick off and after the final whistle?

A: i love watching the games at my local you know, they do a great pint of guinness and always have a great atmosphere, but i’d love to get to more games at old trafford, especially now the new stadiums on it’s way, but yeah probably the bishops blaize, always bouncing in there.

Q. From your perspective as a fan, what do you think united need to do to properly rebuild — on and off the pitch?

A: i think this probably goes without saying, glazers out. I also think the club needs to think about the match going fans a bit more, hiking ticket prices, long time season ticket holders being prized out their seats for minimal reasons, just not good for the club at all.

Q. If you could bring one ex-united player back into the current side in their prime, who are you picking and why?

A: i’m gunna say roy keane, we need that grit and mentality back that he brought when he was captain, every game was a war with him and i think thats pretty much lost in the whole of the game today. Yeah proper footballer keano.

Q. You picked out some strong pieces from the marshall Artist ss25 collection — what drew you to those particular items?

A: It’s the overshirts man you cannot go wrong with them. I love how versatile they are, you can pair them with a set of levis or a pair of shorts oreven smarten them up with a nice trouser or something you know really can wear them however you like and they look the dogs.

Q. There’s a real blend of terrace culture and modern cuts in the ss25 range — does that reflect your own fashion influences growing up?

A: Yeah i think when i first started to really get into clothes and all that, it was the terrace culture that influenced it, adidas jackets and trainers, clarks wallabies, stone island and cp all that. I think my styles changed a little as i’ve gotten a bit older but those roots are most definitely still there, especially when M.A. bring out a new collection like this ss25 range.

Q. Would you say your style on stage is different from how you dress day-to-day? Or is it one and the same?

A: I think it’s very similar, i do tend to go for an all black look on stage but the clothes are very similar to my day to day, it’s what i like init, although i am partial to a bit of a mad jacket on stage every now and then.

Q. How important is style to you as a musician — do clothes help you get into the right headspace before a gig?

A: Super important, look is half the battle being in a band for sure. I think it does help too, if your getting on stage in something that isn’t you and doesn’t make you feel mint wearing it then i think thats going to come across in your performance, so making sure you’re looking deadly and feeling good before a show is a must.

Q. Are there any people you go to for style inspiration or That one person no matter what they put on you think, he tooks the business?

A: One person has to be serge of kasabian, especially on stage he’s always looking top. I think day to day i take inspiration from my mates, if one of us gets a new jacket or pair of shoes it’s like “were’d you get that?” get a bit jealous if anyone finds a gem hahaha.

Q. New Century is a huge milestone — how are you feeling ahead of the biggest headline show of your career so far?

A: Really looking forward to it, everything’s been on the up for us over the last year or so and new century hall feels like the right place for us to do our biggest headline yet. We have been working super hard all day everyday getting the set list right, rehearsing and working on the whole production, so yeah if you’ve got tickets you’re in for a proper treat and showcase of how far we have come. If you’ve not got tickets, get yours now!

Q. What can fans expect on the night — are you planning anything different or exclusive for this show?

A: Its gunna be huge, the best we’ve ever been, everything has stepped up for this show, it’s going to be really special, we are also going to be doing a limited run of vinyls for the show, that will get you access to some unreleased remixes and a limited double sided signed poster. So grab your tickets and come see us in all our glory!

Q. Rolla’s sound has been growing with each release — how would you say your new material is evolving right now?

A: The new ep ‘we owe you nothing’ has definitely grown on the live side, people singing back every word at shows makes it a forever changing beast. We have been writing new material too, we’ve been playing around with new structures and sounds we’ve not done before all while keeping our big sound and the early demos are sounding really really good, so hopefully we will be back in the studio soon.

Q. Has playing bigger shows changed the way you write or perform at all? Or do you still approach it like you’re playing in a basement venue?

A: Yeah for sure, it takes a lot to play big rooms especially the size of new century hall so we have adapted in ways to that, but our sound and songs have always been built for these venues, it’s where they’re meant to be played at so it’s been a fairly easy transition for us and it really does sound
Mega.

Q. Looking ahead — what does the rest of 2025 hold for Rolla?

A: We have a few shows and festivals over the summer, we are at truck fest again this year which is always a great weekend, a show down in london in-between the oasis shows and then hopefully we can get out for a uk headline tour towards the end of the year and take the new ep out across the country, so keep eyes peeled for that!