Forget them Wendy are a musical duo that prioritizes their collaborative efforts in their song writing and dedicates their advocacy to those with disabilities. We get to deep dive with them on their songwriting inspirations, how the two of them met, and what fans can expect from their upcoming album.

Where are you from?
I’m from Edinburgh, Laura is from Newcastle.

How has your hometown influenced yourself and your art?
Edinburgh is such a culturally intense place with all the history and the Festival which has blown my mind many times. It shows you that when it comes to performance art anything is possible, and it also shows you that American tourists can be really annoying!

How did the two of you meet?
We met when our mutual music compadre Lewis Fieldhouse threw us together in the studio.

What was your first impression of one another? Why do you think you work so well together?
We had a lot of fun writing a song together called “Best of Friends,” you can probably find it online somewhere. Anyhow it’s only natural that we would actually become best of friends after that…

What inspired you to get into music?
Cliche alert — The Beatles. Specifically The White Album. I was force fed it by my parents on long car journeys and got obsessed with it.

How would you describe your sound/genre of music?
‘90s influenced guitar indie pop grunge singer songwriter rock bossa nova, obviously.

We love your new song “Apple Pie.” Can you tell us the story behind this song?
Thanks — yes this started out as a song about the long days of summer stretching on forever and felt beautifully positive and sweet like an apple pie, but as we wrote it we realised there was this other dimension to it, that summer doesn’t last forever, the apple pie gets eaten and all things must pass. Hence the abrupt ending of the song and the reference to Paul Bowles's “The Sheltering Sky,” a novel about chaos and the brevity of life.

As someone who just celebrated their 21st birthday, "Wise Guy” really resonated with me. What does this single mean to you?
Awe thanks — then next year you will indeed be 22 — I bet you think this song is about you! This song is actually a bit of a tease — Laura was staying with me to write some songs and it also happened to be my birthday and an old friend of mine was staying. I had a stupid argument with my old pal and we fell out partly because I may have been behaving just a wee smidgen like a bit of a “wise guy.” So it’s about me. I hope it’s affectionate, mostly…

What do you think it is about our society that makes people want to grow up too fast or act like they know more than they do?
I think that’s human, probably always will be and always has been, if you fake it and you luck out and make it, the juice is worth the squeeze, but if you come-a-cropper then you have to reflect on being a wise guy and maybe you grow a bit towards real wisdom and then you gradually grow up and get better at stuff … I hope.

“Wise Guy” joins “Plug It In” as the second single off of your upcoming debut album. What made you want to put these songs out first?
Everything we’ve put out so far will be on the album, we are putting things out as soon as they are ready. Wish there was a grand strategy but that’s all there is to it! Although it was nice to release “Apple Pie” when we did because it was timed with the end of summer.

What can you tease about the album? What are you excited and/or nervous about?
I can’t wait for people to hear “Grounded” it’s my fave track on the album, it’s the emotional fulcrum, Laura’s magnum opus. But everyone will probably like “Next Big Thing” because it’s a silly song and after we play it at Glastonbury in 10 years everyone will walk off to see the new next big thing before we get to “Grounded,” but that would be a nice problem to have.

Please tell us about your work with Daylight Studios. What does this organization mean to you?
I’ve been making music with people with learning difficulties, head injuries, strokes and autism for a few years. At one place I was doing this a guy who worked there called Jack came up to me and played me some music he’d been working on with some of the guys there. I thought there were some incredible hooks and got very excited to make them into songs so we jumped in together on the project.

We started releasing the stuff because we thought it was unique and catchy and believed the songs were bona-fide bangers. At first they slipped by without much of a trace, but it turned out someone was paying attention because Snoop and Dre sampled our track “Watermelon Fantasy” and it became the lead single “Outta Da Blue” on their latest album “Missionary,” which was nice!

Why is advocating for those with disabilities important to you?
I think we proved that they often have a lot to offer if given the right chance. It’s one part of the human experience that is hidden from most people and I think people feel awkward around, but it needn’t be the case. We can have a lot of fun together.

They’ve also had a lot of funding cut for various reasons over the years. It’s important to remember that some people genuinely cannot earn for themselves and rely on our charity and welfare, and if they get what they need it can benefit everyone.

How does music have the ability to heal and help people?
Music is one of the great mediums for congress and communication. It can bring people from all walks of life together and equally it can console us when we are alone. It speaks to us on a profound and primal level, and participating in creating it can be both cathartic and exhilarating.

It has been a crazy past few years, how have you been staying positive?
I’m generally an optimist, if I was on the Titanic in the final minutes I’d be excited to go for a wild swim. So maybe I’m not the best person to ask!

What is your motto in life?
The pen is mightier than the sword.

To learn more about Forget Them Wendy, please check out the links below:
Instagram: @forgetthemwendyforgetthemall

Daylight Studios: daylightstud.io

TikTok: @forget.them.wendy

Photo Credit: Carmen Delemos