Public Service Broadcasting: 'The Piece Hall is a gig we’ve had our eye on for many years now'

“It was remarkably the same in so many ways,” frontman J. Willgoose, Esq. admits. The singer and frontman is in the process of putting the finishing touches on summer plans for the London alt-cult favourites when he speaks to the Yorkshire Post. “It’s still trying to make that connection with people. It’s strange how little changed. There’s an established circuit for a successful side career over there.”

Matters will be more domestic this week when the group play their biggest headline show yet to a crowd of devotees in the sloping valleys of Calderdale. Ahead of a blockbuster homecoming in September at Alexandra Palace, PSB will head to Halifax for a headline show at The Piece Hall – and with it, tick off a long-awaited dream for their ambitions.

“It’s a gig we’ve had our eye on for many years now,” Willgoose says. “We’ve been offered it as a support act twice, but it’s something we haven’t been able to do for one reason or another. To make the step up this year and actually headline… it’s a very satisfying development.”

When did the band find out they would be part of the summer season in West Yorkshire? “It was the week after we sold Alexandra Palace out. I think a lot of people sat up and took notice after that. We’re all excited – it’s an amazing venue, with a great series of gigs.”

Not that PSB are resting on their laurels. Two years have passed since previous album The Last Flight hit shelves, and the band are well into the next phase of their career as they plot a course for new adventures – even if, to the outsider, it appears to be relatively calm on the surface.

“Things are winding down in some respects,” Willgoose states. “But it’s a big year for us. We’re doing a lot of things behind the scenes. It’s a fallow period, but we’ve got some stuff hovering - even if it’s the cause of a few anxiety dreams.”

He pauses. “It’s a massive cliche, but genuinely, the biggest pressure does come from within for us. There’s times where we’ve not had the best night on stage, and while ninety-five percent of the crowd may not have noticed, we have. That drive for higher standards and better shows has to come from us. People are trusting us to put on an entertaining evening, and we take that trust very seriously.”

PSB have long been recognised for their conceptual approach, matched with a formidable live reputation. It is an element that Willgoose believes has only been refined with further years on the road, especially in a post-pandemic landscape where they have sought to further finesse matters.

“We’ve played a lot more,” he notes. “We’ve got five more years of touring under our belts now. We’ve got more songs. Hopefully, people come to our shows and get something out of it that leaves them in a better place than they were before. But I don’t think there’s been any drastic changes. We’re still our old boring selves!”

Certainly, for The Piece Hall, Willgoose hopes it will be a match made in heaven. “I mean, The Piece Hall is a gorgeous venue, but it’s got a reputation for being a great place to catch a show. You benefit from that as a band, because people want to see you there. Hopefully, we can get them onboard!”

Public Service Broadcasting play at The Piece Hall, Halifax on August 23. https://www.thepiecehall.co.uk/event/public-service-broadcasting/