Sawbridgeworth indie-pop band Lock-in got a real kick out of playing live on Sky Sports TV’s premier football magazine show – even if lead singer Benjy Leak was accused of wearing his pyjamas!
The five-piece’s guest spot on Soccer AM came after a busy end of 2022 when they supported North East band Komparrison on a tour of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Brighton.
And their latest single Sweet Lovee, which they played on Soccer AMhas been getting airplay on BBC radio and earning rave reviews.
But for the football-crazy band – who were spawned from an earlier Leventhorpe School line-up and are now made up of Benjy on vocals, his brother Joe (lead guitar), Angus Moore (guitar), Sam Collins (bass) and Ollie Stacey (drums) – appearing on the nation’s most popular football show left them buzzing.
“I’ve been watching the show since I was seven or eight,” said 21-year-old Benjy, who explained how the jibe about his “pyjamas” came about.
“When we arrived at the studio [at around 6am] the guy on the front desk asked me if I was still in my pajamas.”
Benjy, who is known for his dress sense, was wearing a white two-piece. After the earlier comment, the band started joking about his attire. And after a blistering performance of Sweet Love to kick off the show, Soccer AM host John ‘Fenners’ Fendley joined in the banter.
“Those pajamas,” he said. “It’s 28 days, Benjy, if you’ve not got the receipt!” Co-host Jimmy Bullard was a fan of Benjy’s clothes though, adding: “What a boy, I love the get-up!”
Benji then took part in the Shocker Saturday parody of the channel’s results show, “reporting” from the Arsenal v Newcastle game with a cheesy joke about tangtastic sweets. “That was more nerve-racking than playing live – reading off an autocue,” he said.
His outfit did not help when it came to the band joining the Soccer AM team in a volley contest at the end of the program against a team of Brentford fans.
Benjy missed all of his shots as the team lost 3-2, but bass player Sam has been reminding the rest of the lads that he was the only one to score.
The band hope 2023 will see them continue to break new ground and they are eagerly anticipating their biggest gig to date, headlining The Garage in Islington on April 8.
“We’ve already sold loads of tickets – they’ve been flying out,” said Benji. “But with a 600 capacity we’d love to sell out.”
Besides that gig Benjy has outlined how he’d love the year to pan out. “I’d like a summer full of festivals, to build on our body of work and then play our next big headliner.”
He’s still keen to stay in touch with his roots and his home town, despite now living in London.
“We’re one of the few bands to come through from the local area so we know where we’ve come from,” he said.
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