"There are so many special reasons as to why I love him," said vocalist Lily Fontaine English Teacher have spoken to NME about their love for Sheffield songwriter R ichard Hawley and his Standing At The Sky’s Edge musical – watch the interview above. Speaking at Glastonbury 2024 , vocalist Lily Fontaine, alongside guitarist Lewis Whiting and bassist Nicholas Eden, told us about their experience of seeing the show, which is currently playing in London’s West End. The production interpolates a slew of tracks from across Hawley’s discography, including 2006’s Mercury-nominated ‘Coles Corner’ album.
“After our recent New York show, I went outside and a guy came up to me and said, ‘I really enjoyed the set. I live here but I’m from Sheffield’,” Fontaine said. “I told him I went to see [ Standing At The Sky’s Edge ].
It was pretty crazy...
he then told me this mad story about him. I was like, ‘What am I doing in New York, and why is this guy talking to me about Richard Hawley?’ “I loved it, I cried,” she continued. “I wasn’t sure if Richard’s music would translate into a musical but it was really special.
I don’t want to give the story away, but [in the show] there was this mixed-race girl from Yorkshire and the story was all about home. I really related to a lot of the themes in it. To have Richard’s music soundtracking it too – it all felt really personal and special.
” She added: “He makes really classic, timeless music. Unless .
