Exclusive: Yungblud hired The Molotovs for tour after a spur‑of‑the‑moment pub chat
Yungblud says he invited The Molotovs on tour after a spontaneous meeting in a Camden pub turned into an instant “I love your band” moment.
Yungblud’s decision to take The Molotovs on tour didn’t come from a label pitch or industry matchmaking — it started with a chance encounter at his favourite Camden haunt, The Hawley Arms.
The Molotovs — siblings Issey, 19, and Mathew Cartlidge, 17 — told ContactMusic.com that the whole thing unfolded like a scene from a rock biopic.
Yungblud explained: “Yeah, we met in the pub. His favourite pub is The Hawley Arms in Camden. I’ve got a couple of mates who work there.”
After hearing the singer might drop by, Mathew headed over — and the moment he reached the bar, everything changed.
He recalled: “Yungblud was there. He just looked at me. I looked at him, and he went, ‘I love your band.'"
What followed was even more surreal.
Yungblud pulled him behind the bar for a photo — one Mathew swears exists somewhere — before dropping the bombshell invite.
He said: “He said come up to the afterparty later… it was like, I want you guys to come on tour with me. And that’s how it happened. His manager was behind it too.”
Despite the rock‑and‑roll setting of their first meeting, The Molotovs insist they’re not about to fall into the cliché. Their debut album Wasted on Youth recently hit No.3 in the UK, and they’re determined to keep their heads straight.
Mathew said: “I doubt it’s gonna be partying every night. We take it seriously. If you go on stage hungover every night, you’re not gonna give a good gig.”
Issey agreed, shutting down the old‑school mythology.
She said: “We don’t buy into the whole rock and roll lifestyle. How are you gonna create music and rehearse if you’re p**** all the time? It’s just not gonna work. That whole rock and roll myth is exactly that — a myth.”
The Molotovs are no strangers to big stages, having opened for The Libertines, Sex Pistols, Blondie, Iggy Pop and The Damned. Now they’re gearing up to join Yungblud’s sold‑out arena tour with The Warning, kicking off April 11 in Sheffield.
Later this year, the band will hit the road for their own headline run, Welcome To Urbia, which has already added extra dates due to demand. Tickets are available at themolotovs.os.fan.
