Jamie Irrepressible on new song ‘Will You’: ‘I felt the need to put the sexual into homosexual music’
Exclusive: As he returns with queer sex positive indie anthem Will You, Jamie Irrepressible chats to Attitude
The Irrepressibles is the creative guise of Manchester artist Jamie Irrepressible, who’s been singing songs of the gay experience since his debut album Mirror Mirror back in 2009.
Known for his fearless exploration of themes of identity, desire, and human connection, his biggest songs ‘In This Shirt’, ‘Two Men in Love’, and ‘The Most Beautiful Boy’ – which became the soundtrack to Netflix’s hit series Young Royals alongside collaborations with the likes of Royksopp have helped him grow a huge international LGBTQI audience.
He even became of part of LGBTQ history in 2014 when he performed ‘Two Men In Love‘ at the UK’s first ever gay wedding.
2024 sees him entering a new era and new sound, and today he releases his new single, ‘Will You’ taken from his fourth album, due later this year.
It’s a queer sex positive story about that familiar thrill of meeting a man in bar and wanting to take him home. A sensual slow builder ‘Will You’ quickly grows into an anthem full of pent up sexual tension as he sings: “Oh homo! Will you take me home?”
Its lyrics are matched with an evocative video capturing the intimacy and passion shared between a real life dancer couple getting sweaty in the afters of a gay bar, alongside other queer performers from the London scene. It’s made by director Will Kennedy whose previous queer videos for the likes of Anna Calvi & Hercules & Love Affair resonated with Jamie inspiring the collaboration.
” It’s a track that lifts from intensity to abandon” – Jamie Irrepressible
Speaking about the inspiration behind the single and this new era for his band, Jamie emphasised the importance of creating a safe space for queer sexuality and putting the ‘sexual’ into homosexual…
“The project’s focus is always about telling the homosexual story and with the next album I felt it was time to get visceral with The Irrepressibles with a return to my indie-rock roots.”
“I felt the need to put the sexual into homosexual music. Contribute something to that soundtrack of our lives. With the tracks and videos on the forthcoming album we wanted to create a safe space for queer sexuality. ‘Will You?’ Is about an encounter: the homosexual allure, the intensity of desire… the fear is in the strings… the sexual tension in the drums… and the drive in the bass and distorted guitars. It’s a track that lifts from intensity to abandon.”