Rollups: “No one cares what genre we are. If we like it, it doesn’t matter”
The band are making a name for themselves in the local Manchester music scene.
Photo: Daniel Johnson Gray
The interview began like most Rollups stories do, less like a formal interview and more as if we had met in a smoking area ourselves, happy to let me into the band’s everyday world. As I sat down with bassist and backing vocalist Jacob Ainsworth, one of the band’s founding members, at Fuel Café (a regular haunt for the group) talk turned to the early days of the band, how the line-up slowly fell into place, and what comes next.
Formed in Manchester, the four-piece has been categorised by their unwillingness to sit comfortably into any genre. When asked to describe the band’s sound, Jacob sits back, laughs and delivers the line, “the middle ground in-between a heterosexual goth and a homosexual stoner.” Continuing to laugh, recognising the pretentious nature of it. “I said this line when I was drunk, and this photographer messaged us saying it was the most original description of a band he’d heard in fifty years of doing this.”
On a more serious note, Jacob explains that Rollups sound is “an amalgamation of all our influences.” Currently, those influences lean towards dream-pop artists like Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins and The Cure, alongside the softer side of My Bloody Valentine. “Music is the one thing that doesn’t need rules,” Jacob remarks. “No one cares what genre we are. If we like it, it doesn’t matter.”
While the Manchester music scene is often neatly labelled, with post-punk dominating the city at the moment, Jacob takes pride in the fact the band can’t be pigeonholed. “I like how journalists don’t know where to place us.”
Rollups began when Jacob met drummer Louie Oddey during fresher’s week. The two quickly bonded over a shared love of music and became inseparable. The rest of the lineup didn’t fall into place until years later, when Jacob met Ruth, the band’s lead singer and rhythm guitarist, on a bus to a film society event. Dressed head-to-toe in a bold all-blue outfit, Jacob laughs as he recalls the quirks that drew him over to start up a conversation.
Photo: Daniel Johnson Gray
“She didn’t even tell us she played music,” he reminisces. “Months later, she picked up a guitar and started playing this amazing rendition of Blackbird by The Beatles. I knew I was going to have to step down as the lead singer.”
Recently, the band has welcomed a new fourth member after years of dipping in and out of having different lead guitarists. Darren McDowell had previously been playing in a Clash tribute act and had been looking to move into an originals band for a while, hoping to find the right group. After coming along to a few Rollups gigs, he eventually approached them in the smoking area and asked for an audition. Evidently, one audition was all it took to complete the band’s four-piece.
Darren’s arrival had sharpened the band’s focus. “He really cares about the music. He is our first guitarist who’s not obsessed with smoking weed.” Jacob continues, “His kind of obsession is infectious.”
In the early days, the band rehearsed wherever they could, collecting noise complaints from the letting agents below Louie’s flat. Admitting that, at first, the sound of the band was a bit scrambled. “I think a lot of groups are like that. You’re trying to learn how to play as a collective, we’re all different people and different musicians. We were swapping instruments, swapping vocals on every song. Eventually, when roles were defined — Ruth on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, me on bass and backing vocals, Darren on lead guitar and Louie on drums — the band fell into place.”
For Jacob, the classic four-piece lineup felt essential to the band’s identity: “I’ve always thought five looks weird on stage. Four feels right — like a football team, you have a striker, left-winger, right-winger and forward. It’s that classic diamond shape, and it looks right.”
The name came about just as casually. While watching Atonement, Jacob and Louie latched onto the line: “Will you do me one of your Bolshevik roll-ups?” Initially adopting the full name, they soon found it caused confusion, and was often misspelt or left entirely out of posters, leading the band to shorten it to just Rollups.
“Ruth hated the original name,” Jacob jokes. “But she was too shy to say anything. Still, what Ruth wants, Ruth gets.”
Like many grassroots bands, Rollups’ growth has been driven largely through gigging. Open mic nights and support slots for the likes of Yasmin Coe, Dirty Nice, and Dutch Mustard helped them build a steady following. “Performing is the best natural advertisement. It’s all about whether people watching you like you.”
That philosophy has carried through into their new cassette release, Rollups Omnibus: Singles, B-Sides & Rarities. Born partly out of necessity, giving the band something tangible to sell and hand out at their growing gigs. “It’s frustrating because obviously you don’t want to talk about finances and material gains when you’re in a band, but you kind of have to if you want to keep doing it.” Shrugging, he continues, “It’s financially tough starting out because of Spotify, and promoters don’t want to pay you. Most of the time it’s coming out your own pocket.”
The tapes aren’t just about sustainability. They’ve given the band a place to collect recordings that had been sitting around, including unreleased studio tracks, live recordings and alternative versions, alongside fan favourites like Chakra Scoliosis and Sticky Tape.
Photo: Graphic by @maybeadesigner + Artwork by @bluemaloo
Jacob also made a point of telling me to include who the tapes are really dedicated to — a familiar face in the crowd and the band’s biggest supporter. “There’s this one girl who’s been to every show. She’s always right at the front, wearing a cap, filming us. I’ve got no clue who she is, but she’s the life and soul of Rollups, and the cassettes are basically just for her.”
Looking ahead, the band are gearing up for their first London show, finally pushing into Southern territory. “We got annoyed seeing other Manchester bands playing London,” Jacob admits. “So, we just started annoying people until we got somewhere.” With the excitement of playing bigger gigs, the band have also started to rethink their image, steering away from the cliché of bands looking hard done by. Instead, they’re planning a photoshoot in the Peak District. “Photoshoots are so posery, all full of guys hanging out in the roughest areas as if their dad hasn’t just brought them a nice guitar. We’re more interested in the whimsy.”
As for the future, Rollups are realistic. An album would be ideal, but money and resources remain obstacles. Still, Jacob is clear about what he wants. “When I was younger, I wanted to be in the biggest band in the world. Now I just want us to be interesting — a cult band with a steady following.”
Tour Dates:
February 27th — Hallamshire Hotel, Sheffield (Free Entry)
March 19th — The Eagle Inn, Salford (Tickets here)
May 16th — The Washington, Sheffield