Sleeping Together talk Britney mics, guilty pleasures and what’s next
From indie influences to favourite foods, take a peek inside Sleeping Together’s chaotic mind.
Photo: Lily Ajaib
From TikTok livestreams to packed UK shows, Sleeping Together have been steadily building a devoted following since 2021. Having already shared stages with the likes of The Royston Club, The Lottery Winners and Bayboards, the North West indie rock quartet – consisting of Alexander Lloyd-Jones (vocals/guitar), Amber Hughes (drums), Daniel Turton (bass) and Mike Corry (lead guitar) – have earned a reputation for high-energy, guitar-driven performances.
Their 2023 debut EP, I Won’t Tell If You Don’t, and 2025 follow-up The Essentials capture the band’s evolution and growing confidence in their sound. We sat down with Alexander, Mike and Alex Dorricott – currently filling in on drums while Amber undergoes chemotherapy – to chat guilty pleasures, songwriting spats, and why the dream piece of kit might just be a Britney Spears-style mic.
For anyone who’s not heard of you, how would you describe your band?
Alexander: I’d say like early Arctic Monkeys, Catfish [and the Bottlemen], The Libertines, that kind of vibe.
Mike: The Strokes. That’s what Louder Than War said – Arctic Monkeys and [The] Strokes.
Alexander: Yes, we’ll have that. Not to put yourself over there. Not to toot the old horn.
Are a lot of those artists your influences as well?
Alexander: Me and Mike have been in the band permanently for a long time, and we have massively different influences, especially with guitar.
Mike: Originally, for me, it was like 70s, 80s rock and then, when I was in college, I got into the indie scene. But it is mainly Dad rock, really.
Alexander: We sort of crossed over. I jumped in with Arctic Monkeys and then was like, ‘Right, I’ll look at stuff like [Jimi] Hendrix’.
Who’s your most embarrassing influence?
Mike: Sugababes. I didn’t say it.
Alexander: I’d say mine is My Chemical Romance. I used to want to be Gerard Way.
So valid, though.
Alexander: He was my absolute icon. I used to colour in front covers with pictures of him and stuff. So, I’m gonna go with him, which I say with pride.
Alex: I think P!nk’s good.
Alexander: Yeah, nothing wrong with that.
Alex: I’ve gone straight down the middle.
Alexander: It’s a good look for you, mate. The more you know – we’re learning about each other here.
And obviously you’ve got a track called ‘Always In My Head’, so of course I’ve got to ask, what’s something you regularly think about?
Mike: Mine’s guitar, man. Recently, all I can think about is music and guitar. I love it.
Alexander: What, like a new one or just playing?
Mike: A bit of both, but mainly just playing. I’ve played guitar more in the last three months than I have in my entire life.
Alexander: You know what? This is not cool, not that we claim to be cool, but I want a Britney [Spears] mic. If Sting has got a Britney mic…
Mike: That’s because he’s Sting, man.
Alexander: If I had a Britney mic, I could do whatever I wanted.
Mike: What do you think?
No comment… But, to move on, if you could only keep one song from your current catalogue (you have to get rid of the rest), which one would you pick?
Mike: I’m not allowed to say.
Alexander: Why? Is it Fever Dream? Fever Dream was never released; we used to argue about it a lot – and it appears we still do.
Mike: Honestly, I think Lovesick is the best song we’ve ever written.
Alexander: Yeah, it’s the newest one we’ve written. We’ve got a new lineup this year, and Lovesick feels like home again, like we’ve found a formula again. Maybe because it’s new, like a new relationship, you’re in the honeymoon phase.
Do you feel like your songwriting has progressed as you’ve been releasing more and more?
Alexander: It’s funny ‘cause there’s what you like and what you want. And they’re very different things. You might be able to appreciate somebody, like I don’t wanna sound like My Chemical Romance. I might want to be him, but I don’t want to sound like him. I reckon we’re getting closer to what we want.
Mike: But I suppose in terms of writing as well, you feel different every day, and you write how you feel.
Alexander: It’s like food, isn't it? You’ve got your favourites.
Mike: You don’t want to eat curry all the time, but you still love it.
Alexander: Definitely Chinese for me.
Mike: Yeah, Indian for me. Naan bread.
Alexander: This is why we get on so well.
In terms of songwriting, how does that usually work for you guys? Does someone take the lead?
Alexander: Primarily, I would say that I’m the songwriter. I sit down and hash them out, but I think if you’re the lyricist, it’s a bit easier cause I turn up and I’m like ‘I’ve got this’ and they’ll be like…
Mike: Get rid?
Alexander: And then they won’t like it, and four years later they’ll be like, ‘Oh, we should have released that. We should have recorded that’. Fever Dream.
Mike: That’s you, mate. That’s you! We all write our own parts. You come in with the bones and the skeleton, and then we all put everything else.
Alexander: We fatten it up, don’t we? Feed it nicely.
Have you got any new releases coming up?
Mike: Yeah, hopefully soon.
Alexander: Hopefully – we’ve got some studio time booked, but our drummer, Amber, is unfortunately undergoing chemo at the moment. So, it’s going to depend on whether she’s fit enough to hit the studio or not. There are a lot of variables in that, but she’s our priority. It’s nice to be a band rather than obsessed with music for a minute. So, we will see. Maybe release something this year, maybe not.
Mike: It’ll be very soon either way.
Alexander: Yeah, very soon. Fingers crossed.