Marcus Mumford

0:03Hello and welcome to Table Manners. I'm Jessie Weir and I'm here with my mum Lenny. who needs dentures. No way. What happened last night? A double crown fell out. I promise you, all your inheritance is going in my mouth, darling. That's all I can tell you. Mum, I'm just saying, the front one came out like two weeks ago. It's fine. And now two are coming. Just get some false teeth. No? I have implants, darling. I've got... Well, they're not fucking implanted very well, are they? These are old ones. This needs renewing. It's fine. Anyway, how are you, Lenny? Well, I was fine till I spoke to you.

0:40Dentures. So usually we do the intro before the guest comes, but we love a slightly early guest. And the guest today was a little early. So now we're doing the intro after having had a fabulous evening with him. We have Marcus. Did you, sorry, did you manifest his early arrival? Because you want to go to bed early. I love it. It's my favourite. we have Marcus Mumford coming on Table Manners tonight and I'm very excited I'm looking at the camera because now we have cameras I don't know if I am I taking the camera seriously I thought someone was asleep no it's my dodgy eye one eye out the window one up the chimney one on my camera, one on my YouTube I don't know where you were I'm going to stop doing that, we're still working it's early days, Lani, let me flesh it out am I supposed to be looking over there I don't know.

1:34You mean like Blue Peter? Yeah. Okay, fine. I'm not going to look at the camera anymore.

1:43We have Marcus Mumford on, who is, of course, from Mumford and Sons. Where did they get their title from? Are you kidding, Mum? Marcus Mumford? Of course. But Sons. Oh, sorry, but Sons. Are you actually kidding? No, but Sons. And Mates. I don't know. Marcus Mumford and Mates doesn't work as well. Okay, sorry. it's not glad you didn't ask him that no I just the Suns thing Jessie I know the Mumford okay anyway Marcus Mumford is coming on to talk all things new music it's the new Mumford and Suns record that's coming out next year they've already had one out at the beginning of this year they're prolific big tour big tour that they've already started and we get to chat to him he's coming all the way from Devon yeah so he likes meat apparently so i'm on food duty today i have to give a shout out to rosie my gorgeous nanny who has helped with the zhuzhing of um and actually going and buying the steaks um today so thank you rosie you're the best i think she did it because she's a massive mumford and sons fan um but um i heard from emma freud who has been on our podcast before who we love who's really good friends of Marcus I said what does he like eating can you give me some tips and she said he loves a good cut of steak so I went to Proud Sal it's in Crofton Park it's lovely butchers and we got four gorgeous sirloin steaks I'm going to make taliata beef taliata which is really easy it's in our cookbook and it's really nice you just sear it well cook it on either side maybe three to four minutes on either side and then within that you take it let let it rest and you put crushed garlic, rosemary, lemon zest and lemon juice.

3:32And you just kind of let it sit for a bit and then serve it with some rocket and you slice it up and it should be just delicious. So I've had my sirloin steaks. That's what taliata means. What? Chopped. Oh, dessert. Okay. And so I've had the steaks coming to room temperature. They've been salted. They've been seasoned. and then I'm making this mob kitchen potato salad, which is basically a base of pea, artichoke, Dijon, lemon, and then you zhuzh that all up and then you put on top new potatoes with asparagus, sesame seeds, za 'atar, rocket, but I didn't put rocket because I had that with the thing.

4:16So I put some watercress in there and some feta and mint. So it's just going to be quite fresh and lovely with this quite rare steak. And then what have you made for pud? I've made a brown sugar and hazelnut pavlova with quince. Yum. Gorgeous. Bit of a disaster with the quinces. What happened? I burnt the syrup. I over bubbled it. So I had to start again. Have you ever cut a quince up? No. It's like cutting a rock up. Oh, yeah. but it's alright it's all worked out it looks really nice yeah yeah Marcus Mumford coming up on table numbers

5:03Marcus Mumford hi why have you been walking around New Cross for an hour because the Elizabeth line is unbelievable it was the first time I've been on it and the Windrush line as well yeah absolutely fantastic that's the first time you've been on either of them I haven't been on the Elizabeth line Where have you been, babe? I live in Devon. Oh, fair enough. So it's been a while. And it was unbelievable. I love that this is like your version of going on a double-decker open-top bus. You went on the Windrush. I mean, I've always been... I grew up in London. I'm a big fan of the Tube. But the Elizabeth line is a game changer.

5:34Yeah, but did it smell when you got to... Which is the stop where it stinks? It smells of damp. Have you not been on it? Anybody can help me out. Have you been on it? Do you know? Have you been on it? Yeah, of course I have. Do you not take the tube? No. You're too elegant. What? I'm lazy. I'm lazy. Yeah, exactly. Mum thinks that if I play Glastonbury again, she's going to do the helicopter like Shirley Bassey. As you should. Have you ever got a helicopter into Glastonbury? No. No, because I drive from home. It doesn't take very long. Oh, yeah. In fact, we took our youngest when she was four weeks, maybe three weeks old to go and see Pelton oh I thought when you were headlining no she wasn't around then no I know I got kicked out of our dressing room then I wasn't allowed back in because I tried to steal the furniture so I wanted a memento so I took the sofa tried to load the sofa into the back of her van hang on a minute so when you headlined Pyramid's Day what was it 2012?

6:36yeah something like that you tried to steal the sofa a little memento have you played since? no Have you kissed Emily off? I know, I know Do you think you really have? No Oh maybe, no I don't think so No I saw Michael when we took our youngest to go see Elton And I saw Michael He was like when are you coming back? And I was like whenever you want me He's like you can come back when you give me back my sofa No I didn't succeed but they did kick me out of the dressing room and didn't let me back in Oh my god It's just the best festival on earth though It is Every other festival is trying to be Glastonbury Have you been to Coachella?

7:12Do you like Coachella? I've never experienced sand like that. Do you know what? It's too hot. Too hot. We did Stagecoach last year. Oh, I really want to go to that. That was really fun. That's so good that you can do that. I like that one. Versatile. All festivals in the world are trying to be like Glastonbury. It's the OG. It's the best. It's the best. So let's talk about, well, we're going to talk about Devon in a bit, but let's talk about Wimbledon. Udons. Sorry. AFC. Udons. Do you get to go and see them? I actually took my daughter to her first ever football game when we got promoted last season at Wembley.

7:50Congratulations. It was fantastic. Are we doing quite well? Are you based in Milton Keynes still? Absolutely not. No, we're going to have to clear this up immediately. So Wimbledon were the first ever and only team sold as a franchise to a different city, different town. And they were sold to Milton Keynes. So we don't really like those words in our house. so we tend not to play Milton Keynes very much so where are you back? so the fans set up their own club which is called AFC Wimbledon which is very different to the Milton Keynes team and do you get to still play at Selhurst Park? no we built a stadium at Plough Lane so you're back down Plough Lane again?

8:29yeah why didn't I know that? I don't know because they built all houses there and the dogs went that's it they built the stadium on where the dogs were Did you ever go to the dogs? I loved the dogs. I never went. We loved Wimbledon dogs. And stock car racing. I grew up in Wimbledon, but my brother was at school in Battersea, and then I went to primary school in Battersea, so we used to drive past Plough Lane every day, and always go past the dogs, and I never went. Oh, mate, it was so good. I think it was good for my birthday. Is that where Blur shot the cover of Park Park? No, they were Walthamstow.

9:00So let's talk about Wimbledon. But I was in Wimbledon when you were in Clam. Clam, yeah, yeah. And my husband was in St. Reetham right up the road, yeah. And so who was around the dinner table and what were you eating? Around the dinner table most nights was after the six o 'clock news. After I delivered my father a glass of red wine and maybe some nuts. Then we'd eat at 6.30 and it was normally just the four of us. I've got an older brother and then my parents. And they'd try and get us to eat together as much as we could once we were six or something. Do you eat with your kids? I love it. But I like eating at like five in the evening.

9:38I love it. Do you eat with your kids? Yeah, we just started to. Are you trying to do this? Who delivers you? Sushi night the other night? Yeah. Well, sushi. How old is your eldest? Ten. That is the sushi time. And it's a girl. It's the eight-year-old. She's not that into it. She had a chicken nuggets. She had a giri roll. But no, the eight-year-old is obsessed with it. And he, yeah, we did it for him. Oh, so the ten-year-old doesn't like it? No. But no, we've just started eating with our kids. And it's a different phase. Who cooks? I do the cooking, actually, most of the time. Do you? You're the main chef in the house.

10:10Yeah, we've all been in denial about that for a while. But the truth is, like, I heard my wife confess to it the other day as well. I do the cooking. What's your best dish? Well, we eat a lot of salads. I am married to an actor and I like them now as well. She's changed me. So we basically go about trying to burn vegetables. I should tell you, that's not really cooking. We burn it. Well, no, wait till you hear this. Wait till you hear this. we'll burn as much vegetable content as we can and then we'll do my go to is like butternut squash almost burnt so it's almost like it's caramelised pine nuts toasted, feta chopped up small, avocado and sweet corn, fresh we grow sweet corn and it's absolutely amazing it's super sweet and then balsamic olive oil, that is good, there's quite a lot cooking that goes into that.

11:08Okay. And then chicken breast or something. Okay. I will eat. Well, it sounds delicious. Are you going to judge me? No. Not at all. For the fact that I've just gone air fryer. Oh, we love. Okay, good. What's working for you? Well, it's just bang out salmon in eight minutes. I know. And it's a total mood changer. Chicken tastes delicious. Have you done chicken thighs in there yet? Yes. Chicken thighs are great. I think that's the best. Game changer. and then we do for our sort of roasting vegetables situation we've got going on constantly tender stem broccoli oh do you do it in there six minutes gorgeous and like proper crispy now are you spraying a little bit of oil on there no do you know what I'm doing I'm tossing are you I'm pre-tossing you toss it before it goes in always pre-toss yeah so I don't know that's probably more indulgent than a spray I still haven't got your Wimbledon dinner yes sorry okay so yeah yeah Yeah, I'll get distracted.

12:06After the nuts and the red wine at 6.30, who was cooking? My mum. And was she a great cook? Great cook. What's a very memorable meal? I mean, her roast chicken would probably still remain my last meal. Okay. If I had to choose one. You know that's a question on this. Oh, yes, is it? Okay, great. Well, I've got another option. Okay, fine. Her roast chicken with roast potatoes, some sort of greenery, which was basically irrelevant because it was just a vehicle for gravy and red curry and jelly. Good gravy. I love red curry and jelly. Always quite a lot of booze in the gravy. Really? A lot of booze.

12:43Yeah. Yeah. And like a deep, dark brown. Because of red wine? Because of red wine and Marmite. She always puts Marmite in her gravy. Do you love Marmite? I like Marmite. Yeah, I do, I like. Do you like Vegemite? Yeah. I've got a lot of time for Vegemite. Me too. I only put Marmite in lamb gravy. Yeah, see, I think so traditionally chicken gravy is paler. Yeah. She always went dark. Yeah. I think because of the red wine Marmite combo. Okay. Gorgeous. And it was always very rich. Right. And I was a fat child. So was I. Yeah. Yeah, but it was worth it. I dessert. Always. Every evening. Which has also been a problem for me.

13:23So you didn't have, you weren't made to have just an apple after you had dinner? No, no. We changed that after I had a heart-to-heart with her when I was about 16 and was like, I'm quite fat. And she was like, maybe there's some things I could be doing to support you in not being quite so fat. We did. We had that conversation. We had that conversation. And so my snacks changed. I started taking, I think instead of chocolate bars like Kit Kats and Mars bars, I would take in those brunch bars, which is still chocolate-covered Gorilla bars. Yeah, they're like masking, like they're basically. Yeah.

13:55And like baked Walker's crisps instead of the full. Me too. It was the 90s. What was your favourite sandwich? Cheese and ham. With some sort of niche chutney in it. Love a niche chutney. My favourite chutney now is Mrs Balls. Have you had that one? No. It's a great name, but it's also a great chutney. Mrs Balls. What's so good about it? South African relish. It's a South African one. I know it is. Because it's in my apricot chicken recipe. So what are you getting in your local farm shop in Devon? Well, we're quite close to the Devon chilli farm and I really like their chutneys. Chilli jams. Yum.

14:31Hot sauces. Gorgeous. They're really good. And then we get given a lot of chutney. Because we don't drink, right? So when, yeah, we don't drink. So when people come to our house, they'll bring niche things. And most of the time that means they bring chutney. What would you prefer them to bring? No, do you know what? I'll take chutney. Candles. Candles, always good. Yeah. I like a candle When did you move to Devon? Just before Covid Oh wow We bought a place there in 2013 but then made it permanent in 2019 And do you like it? Prefer it? Yeah we love it It's just home now Yeah And do you surf there?

15:15Yeah Is it near enough? Yeah it's about an hour to the south coast surf breaks and then an hour and 20 to the north coast What's the earliest you've got up to catch a wave? Four. Have you been on a WhatsApp group with all your mates and they're like... Surfline. We spend quite a lot of time on Surfline. Surfline. Surfline is like the app that gives you the wave predictions and stuff. How about a dry robe? I don't have a dry robe. I use those hoodie towels. That's a good present. I use those hoodie towels. Or just... You can just use a bathrobe. I know. So how high are the waves that you're catching?

15:51I'm not a good surfer. I'm a keen surfer. I'm the same with lots of different hobbies. I'm not particularly good at them, but I love. Is there an etiquette in Devon? Because there's definitely one in Malibu we learned. Yes. We have Minnie Driver on. I've surfed with Minnie. In Malibu? Yeah, I have. I hope you stopped your turn. No, I did. She gets angry. I've come across people who have come across her. Diplo. Yeah, she doesn't mess around. Now, Diplo is a rascal, though. Yeah, this is what she said. He's an absolute rascal, and I've surfed with him as well, and he is a rascal. He was a rascal.

16:25Yeah, they all surf at this place. He pushes in. And, yeah. They all surf at this place. Near where she's got her. In Pointe Doom, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Or Paradise Cove. And there are some amazing surf breaks around there. And Malibu is so busy, but you have to have a key to get to the beaches, which seems like a very strange thing. You have to have a key now. You have to have a key fob to get into the beaches. I wonder if you still have to now, since all of the... Oh, yeah, I don't know if she... But yeah, I lived, because I was born in California, and then I lived off and on in the States all my life, really.

16:55But I went and made a record in LA, a solo record in LA, and I lived in Topanga. And so we'd surf Topanga a lot. I think that's when we hung out. You were on your own. I think your wife had just gone to make a film in New York. She's always doing that, yeah. And I think you had just done it with Blake. Yes, that's right. I think you were just finishing it. That's right. Yeah. Yeah, and so I was surfing every day. That was the best thing about it. But they get really crowded and it gets really, you know, surfers are supposed to be cool and chill and kind of there's very much not that. Many years.

17:29Like everyone gets into fights all the time. Fights? Yeah, I've dropped more sea bombs in the ocean than I have anywhere else. It gets quite eggy. Why is that? Because people won't take their turn. Yeah, when it's overcrowded, everyone's got, you know, in LA, everyone's got like an hour to surf whenever that period. So if someone gets in the way of their wave, they get very upset. Because they're not in Bali where they can just surf all day. I do think Malibu is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's really tragic. I do love it. Yeah. I'm going to try and deal with this steak. Can I do anything to be helpful?

18:01No, you can't. You can just answer the questions, Marcus. Okay. I'm very excited. I still, besides the roast chicken, what did she do about your dinners in the evening? Because you didn't eat roast chicken every night. No, we ate a lot of lasagna. Did your mum work? Yeah, both of my parents are vicars. They're both vicars? Yeah, and they work together all the way. But are they still working? Yeah, they still work. Yeah, both of them. So, look, I'm Jewish, so we're Jewish, so I don't know anything about the Church of England, really. Yeah. So did you have a parish? Yeah, so they were in the Church of England, then they left the Church of England, moved to California, joined a church called the Vineyard Church, which is kind of pretty similar to a bunch of the Church of England churches around here.

18:50And then they came over here and planted the first vineyard church in our front room in Wimbledon. How amazing. And so a lot of it was based out of our house. So she would entertain like three nights a week. So we'd have people around all the time. And she'd always cook and she'd make appetizers and then lots of stews and things that are easy for 20 people. When you were little, they had their own church and then you had the house attached to the church. No, our house was the church. The bickering. Yeah. Oh, your house was always the church. Yeah. So when I was six months old, they came back from California and they started the church literally on back room with like us and two other people.

19:33And then it grew and grew and grew. And then they planted a bunch of others. Yeah, it's really cool. So we just had people around. So religion's always been a huge part of your life. Yeah. Yeah. And you're still? Yeah. You're still religious? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And does that mean all your children are baptised? No. I only got baptised a few years ago. Really? Yeah, because our church didn't do infant baptism. Okay. They left it to be, they'd dedicate kids and then they'd, in a kind of ceremony, but then they'd leave it up to the kids and then they grew up. Okay, that's the goal. to do yeah um so no yeah and does food feature massively in the vineyard church yeah massively they used to do donuts at half time how funny yeah keep the kids and hospitality was a huge part of the whole concept of church because a lot of it was based on sort of the early church models of people gathering and sharing things and you know a bit more diy than the higher church stuff which we loved and had respect for but and had friends in but this was a different kind of way of doing it and is your wife part of that church now as well no she grew up in a catholic church okay so is she catholic i don't know what she call herself now we haven't kind of fiddled with names for a while okay but we both grew up with faith backgrounds okay and um both still have of faith although it was probably quite different to what we grew up with and yeah i mean for me growing up it was a privilege because we're just surrounded by people all the time and people who were trying to be kind mostly that's good with some rotters along the way but yeah mostly people who are trying to figure out how to be kinder so that's why i love religious communities so the Vinyard Church, where did that come from?

21:29California. Wine. Was wine involved? Yeah, I guess there's lots of stuff in the Bible about wine. Yeah. I don't actually know where it comes from. Is Harvest Festival a big thing still? Not at all? No. Well, not for us it wasn't. Okay. But they'd have like groups three times a week. Okay, so it's not like a regular church service. And then Sunday services as well. Sunday service, okay. Started in a local school. Well, it started in our house, then it went to a local school and was in a school hall for a long time, basically. So how big would the congregation be? A couple of hundred. Oh, it's quite big.

22:03Yeah, yeah. And then they planted, out of that church, they planted 100 different churches around the country. Fantastic. Yeah, it's cool. And then they took over the more international stuff. So are they head of that, of the Vineyard Church in Britain? In the world. In the world? Well, they're like the UN Secretary General for the Vineyard Church, yeah. So do they travel around the world a lot? Yeah, they do loads of travel. still yeah yeah they're amazing people god they sound amazing they're really cool you'd like my mum you and my mum would get on very well do you think yeah do you cut from the same clock

22:39right

22:46we have the food it's beef taliata and then this is a mob kitchen do you have like yes yes The app. No, not the app. Oh, the app's really good, babe. Oh, is it? Yeah. No, I haven't done that. It's really good for like, they do loads of like protein pack things. Eat like you give a fuck. Isn't that the tagline? Is it? I don't, I think they've changed that now. But anyway, help yourself. Look at this, darling. Help yourself. But this is a mob kitchen. It's kind of whipped. No, darling, you start. Whipped pea, artichoke, something or other with new potatoes, sesame, asparagus and feta. So please help yourself.

23:25This just looks amazing. Wait, what's going on here? This is some crust. I thought it was potato salad. So it's potato salad, but it's... But there's lots going on down here. Yes, there's like a kind of puree, pea, artichoke thing. It's pretty healthy. Really healthy. I need to know. You're married to a brilliant actress. Yeah. Actor, Kerry Mulligan. Yes. You must be so proud of her. I'm very proud of her. Yeah, I am. She's remarkable. She's seriously... I mean, she's way cooler than I am. Yeah, yeah. She's amazing. How are you with doing, like, you know, when she gets a script? I mean, I'm sure she doesn't have to audition for anything anymore because she's just fantastic and probably people are knocking at the door trying to, you know.

24:08But do you ever have to do, you know, the back and forth for her to learn her life? The Notting Hill thing. Yeah. We do that far less than I was anticipating. Were you quite up for the cosplay? No, it's not so much that. Bradley Cooper well actually I don't know if you'd want to be maestro would you because he wasn't very kind to well he wasn't very kind used it no I did early on we did a bit but no she tends to learn her lines like quite late so they're really fresh she's really I mean I can't oh she's a crammer she can remember yeah she's a crammer yeah but she's really excellent at her job she is and I I remember that every time because I didn't watch a couple of her films in a row.

24:52I can't remember why. But like she said in The Dig, I never saw. I loved it. And then I felt bad. Hold on, you didn't see it? No, but I did see one. Have you seen it, Jessie? The play that she'd just done before that, I watched ten times. So I was like... Was that when she cooked spag bol on stage? Yes. That was unbelievable. That was Skyline. That was really impressive. That was Skyline. And she makes a mean spag bol. She went to a whole cooking lesson to learn how to make fast, delicious spag bol because she has to eat it every night as well. She was chopping that shit on stage. She was pregnant too.

25:22It was a bill night. Yeah. It was brilliant that thing. What was the name of the film? Skylight was the play. Oh, yeah. Was it The National? The National. It was fantastic. And that spag bol will look wicked. So she's really good at spag bol. And she did that thing with the onion where you can... Yeah, yeah, yeah. Chop it really fast. And I was just stressed out for her because I was like, she's got to stay alive. She's looking at her dad. I know, it was multitasking. It was amazing. So, Last Supper, Starter, Main. Pud. Drink of choice. I should have prepped this, shouldn't I? Yeah. You had a long journey.

25:57Yeah. But I think he knows what he wants. The start is going to be, my mum makes at Christmas mushroom puffs. Which is quite 70s, I think. Like voluva. Yeah, sort of. With kind of creamy mushrooms. I bet you they're Delia Smith. Okay. But it's that mushroomy, you know, chopped up mushrooms and shallots. With a creamy sauce, yeah. and then folded over in half pastry unbelievable does she put any herbs in like tarragon thyme and maybe tarragon yum they're really good and those I associate with Christmas so that'll be your starter that'll be my starter and then beef wellington because I just love pastry it's foraging season now isn't it like mushroom foraging will you be doing that are they delicious do you trust your knowledge on mushrooms I'm a bit nervous about that apparently you can't get them from the woods they have to be from the field I bought some mushroom thick book but I still wouldn't be complimented you'd prefer to take the other ones it's unclear to me which ones will kill you and which ones will make you high and which ones taste nice in the toast just be careful it does feel like a roll of the dice that's quite a high stakes game exciting though no well could kill you so okay we've got a beef wellington sides i'm thinking are they what do you have as you don't need much with a beef wellington it's almost a complete meal on its own which means that you could do a double portion so maybe it's just a double portion yeah gorgeous let's straight to the potatoes we got the pastry yeah you got vegetables with mushrooms oh okay so we're not going to go cream spinach no we're not going to do any of that i mean i'll take it yeah fine yeah okay um a salad No, no, not for my last meal.

27:45He's still had enough of them with his wife, hasn't he? Okay, pudding. I will always, if I'm in a restaurant, I will always order, if they have it on the menu, a chocolate fondant. Always. If you'd have told us, I'd have done one. Do you remember I did them? I just, I like being able to compare and contrast. Where's your best chocolate fondant? I think it was in my house growing up. Your mum made those as well? In about 1990. Your mum's a godless. And it was like in those trays with the hot water in it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Van Marie. Van Marie. And I don't think. And then that company Goo. They're pretty good.

28:26They're good. They're pretty good. Yeah, they're really good. They're pretty good. And they came in their little ramekins. Ramekins, yeah. And we all had all the glass ramekins, yeah. But I think the best one was my mum's one. Oh, that's lovely. And what do you have with it? Everything. Double cream? I think double cream and ice cream. Gorgeous. That's what Jessie likes. Ice cream with ice cream. What's your ice cream of choice? You had a bit of an addiction to ice cream, didn't you? I did. You kind of replaced drinking with ice cream. Yeah, I did, yeah. I went big on ice cream for a while. I love ice cream.

28:54Because I wasn't losing weight and I was like, well, I stopped drinking, so obviously I should be losing weight. You replaced the sugar with the sugar. What was your ice cream of choice? Anything? Haagen-Dazs. Pralings. My favourite. I don't think you can beat it. I think it's the perfect ice cream. Can you return back to it and still get joy from it? I haven't for a while, actually. I had a couple of ice creams on holiday in Devon last month that were pretty great. While Mum is sorting out the food, you have a new Mumford album coming out next year. But you're touring... How much music are you touring of the new stuff now?

29:34And you also have a beautiful single with Hosier. Yes. Is he lovely? He's amazing. He's unbelievably tall. I thought you were going to say talented, but yeah. No, no, no. First things first. The guy is so tall. You're pretty tall. Because he's... I know, but he's like six. He's like a basketball player. Yeah. He's absolutely massive. So because he's kind... Yeah. You just feel like he's like a big walking... How did you meet each other? We met a really long time ago. I mean, he came on tour with us. We played... Was that after Take Me to Church, kind of? Yes. We met him around then. Early on. Your voices suit each other, so it's beautiful.

30:14I mean, he's one of my favourite people to sing with in the world. Really? And is just monstrously talented, but monstrously kind. I did his podcast. He did like a kind of compassion-focused podcast for a while. And I went on that to talk about War Child and Grenfell. And we've just been mates ever since, really. I mean, we don't see each other a huge amount because he's very busy. So is that why you had to do a song together? As an excuse to hang out. has he come on stage yet we had him out in soundcheck when we were in the States before the song came out and we got to sing it together on stage there so maybe it's prepped the live performance is prepped he could pop up at any time he played with us last time we did Austin City Limits he came up that's a goodie yeah it's a really good one but yeah I just love him to bits he's amazing so how does it feel what album will you on now for Mumford that's a great question I think it's number six yeah we put five out earlier this year and then six is coming beginning of next year so it's two within a calendar year which we've never done before which actually I'm really excited about we just went through this period of time where we just wrote loads of songs yeah we met together in January 23 and said like let's just try and write as many songs as we can and and move around the world until we find the songs and then just keep going until we find more.

31:40So we started in LA, then we went to Devon and Dave Cobb came along with us, who produced Rushmere. Then we went to Nashville with him for a while, Savannah, Georgia. Then we went to Paris and New York with Pharrell and just started writing songs together, which one of the songs we put out called Good People. And he really like breathed inspiration into me personally in a massive way. It was like a complete breath of fresh air. Have you worked with him? No. And I was obsessed with NERD. He's just so imaginative and endlessly creative, but also like thrives when he sees other people thriving. You know, like that's when I think he's the best version of himself, when he's watching other people like shine, come out of their skins.

32:28He's just unbelievably generous, creative. and so and he sort of gave me a few pep talks where he was like look you know don't be afraid of writing what you really think what you really feel and writing loads as well it's like you've got more capacity in you than you're allowing yourself was there a conversation that happened that you talked about your fear yeah yeah i mean i was being quite i mean it was kind of like therapy sessions that turned into songs he's like let's just talk before we start writing Oh my lord. Well, this is quite seasonal. I mean, I get overwhelmingly tempted to just be like...

33:05Have you ever done a cake smash? Yes. And did it end horribly wrong? No. I mean, it did what Bugsy Malone would want it to do. So it was great. OK, great. Yeah. When did you do your last cake smash? It's been a good ten years. OK, fine. Would you ever do it to one of your children? Yes. Which one? We have a forfeit scheme rather than a punishment scheme in our house. this sounds great well you know if you tell tales you have to do five star jumps snitches get snitches yeah normally like the person being told tales on also has to do five star jumps for the thing that they did like he punched me okay give me five star jumps for telling tales but also you punched her you gotta do five star jumps so hold on how would I'm interested in this parenting technique because kids are always telling tales would you prefer them to just sort it out themselves then yeah and I think this encourages them too actually because most of the time they don't they know that there's a forfeit not a punishment but a forfeit included if they do it so it makes them think twice I'm gonna Marcus maybe you should start like a parenting podcast we have a forfeit if you leave your liquids in your bags at the airport so that nothing pisses me off more than that yeah but you're allowed them now in some airports oh well then maybe that changes the game but you never know are you like that oh there's a really good one we thought of a good one with if you um are bragging you have to instantly give 50 % of whatever it is you're bragging about to the person you're bragging to.

34:30So what's an example? So I've got 10 M &Ms and I'm like, straight away, yeah. And do you... Five away. And that absolutely has to happen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a consequence. Darling, would you like some of that? Yeah, absolutely love some. It looks phenomenal. It's hazelnut and brown sugar pavlova with quince. Oh, you're cultured. Yeah. Do you have quinces at the moment on the farm? No. we've got apples and pears and blackberries still gorgeous blackberries felt like we've got them forever you're a bit done with them well no it's a real it's an activity yeah that is true can I have half that amount please yeah I'll have the other half actually it's going on tour mum come on it's got to be a nice so much look at that that's amazing I'm getting another extra quince though I feel like quince isn't quite big are they what's a quince related to Is it like a crab apple?

35:23Like a pear crab apple. Okay. So, okay, so you've got the bragging. I'm going to try this and I'm going to let you know. I'm going to get your number and I'm going to let you know how it goes. I'm trying to think what else. Bragging. Oh, yeah, if you... Telltales. Yeah, if you ask where something is and I find it within 10 seconds, you've got to give me 10 star jumps. So it's always star jumps? Or press-ups. Wow. Changes, yeah. Yeah. This is a genius idea, dude. Now my wife and I do it with each other as well. Like if I'm like, babe, where's my phone? And she's like, and she walks in and it's on the side where I'm standing.

36:01It's 10. It's 10 press ups. How's your relationship with having this? Better than ever. And how are your star jumps? Better than ever. They're really good. They're really strong. Wow, this is, this is, I'm going to, I'm going to try this. Oh my Lord. That is unbelievable. That is unbelievable. Is this one of those where you had it somewhere and were like, did you make it up? Mum, this is good. Also, the meringue is really good. And the hazelnuts are amazing with it. The quince is very sweet. I associate quince with being a bit bitter. Am I wrong? I don't know. Enough about quince. Let's talk about the music.

36:39Let's talk about all these different places that you wrote and were inspired. This sounds insane. Actually, Noel Gallagher talks about songs like everyone knows they fall from the sky but you've got to have your hands out ready to catch them otherwise fucking Bono or Chris Martin are going to catch them so I like that because I saw Noel actually a few years ago at a bar and we were off the road for a minute and I was just taking a minute and he was like what are you up to I said I'm just taking a minute I'm knackered we've been touring he's like no sorry mate I don't are you a songwriter? I was like yes he was like well then you should be writing songs every day because it's a muscle that will go into atrophy unless you're writing.

37:17Jesse. And he was really right, actually. So then in January 23, when the band got back together, I told them the Noel Gallagher thought. And we did. We started just writing every day. Like whatever came out didn't care about the quality, just cared about the quantity. And we just started writing and writing and writing and writing. And then over the course of a couple of years, we had, you know, whilst we were mixing Rushmere, Aaron Desner was in the studio next door. Love him. working with Gracie Abrams. And we were just all there in this electric lady in New York, sharing this kind of creative space.

37:52Aaron came in and was like, this is what I've been doing. Something that he and Justin Vernon had been working up. And we heard it and instantly were like, we've got to write the lyrics to this one. So we started with that. And then we wrote another and another. And the same week we were mixing, we were like four songs onto the next record. That's so exciting. Having done all this work with Pharrell as well. So we just kept rolling. And then so it's been a really prolific period for the band. And I'm really excited. This is the most proud of anything we've ever done. Really? That I am of anything we've ever done.

38:24Did you need that time away to do the solo record? Did you need to scratch that itch to be able to then kind of get back together? Yeah, you know, COVID was weird. And then, yeah, I did. I had this kind of urge to go off and make something a bit weirder. And it was beautiful. Your solo record was beautiful. Yeah, I loved it, but then come back home, which is the band. And so we've really just attacked it since then. And we're like forced to think like, what really are we as a band and what makes us? Do you collaborate when you're writing songs for TV shows like Daisy Jones? Yeah, I did. I did that with Blake.

39:02Well, a bunch actually, a bunch of his friends as well. Did you meet Riley Keough? We did meet her, yeah. Was she wonderful? She's amazing. Yeah. And she sang your song. Yeah, she's an amazing producer and director and writer and all those things as well. She's really kind of... And of course, Rhys produced it, Daisy Jones. Yes, she did, yeah. That was Hello Sunshine, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah, that was really collaborative. The Ted Lasso thing that I did was really collaborative with an amazing composer called Tom Howe, who's a real hero. And yeah, I love writing songs with other people. How exciting.

39:36Hint. Hint me? oh my god I'd love to write with you I never did it to start with in the band I never did it and then I've started doing it more recently and I really love it it's fun so okay have you got another album in the tank now that you've liked will you write on tour or do you feel like that's just pressure I find it hard to write on tour but I'm being more disciplined about carving out time to write because Noel Gallagher said that to you because I've got to have my hands up I better get me on Joanna tonight do you write on the piano no I don't fucking write on the piano No, no, I go. Do you in the shower?

40:13No, I can't. You know what? I had a funny one on this record where, and it doesn't happen to me that much because I don't play any instruments and I hate myself for that. And that's why my daughter's playing three instruments so she can play for me. But yeah, no, I go in the studio and I collaborate and I am going to learn the piano. I'm going to relearn the piano and I'm going to sit. But I'll think of things like on a bike. I always find it when I'm riding on a bike. I find movers for themselves Swimming Trains Trains Sky The sky Yeah Maybe it's because I've had a few glasses of wine But there's something You've got the space Yeah And I find like kinetic energy Often Like first poems I ever wrote Were on a train So excuse me When are you collaborating?

40:55Oh We're about to actually make a We're going to go on it We're going to go on holiday aren't we? Exactly yeah With no children Now I'm so much away from all these places Yeah right To work Jessie Mumford and sister There we go. That's really sweet. Mums for the mums. That's good. Aaron Desner was really inspiring to me on this because I watched, you know, he's been a friend for a long time. He helped us with the demos for our third record. And then The National remained one of my favourite bands ever. And then he started producing more and more, including all those Taylor Swift records with Jack Antonoff.

41:32Folklore is one of our faves. It's amazing. Beautiful. and just watching his journey as a collaborator and as a producer has been really inspiring to me so then are you going to start producing then i have done a little bit i've just done something with maisie peters which is really sweet she's got great voice i'm not sure have you got a studio down on your farm yeah yeah in fact aaron called me during covid at the end of covid when it was legal and said i've got someone i'm working with that needs a studio in the uk do you know this story no and i was like cool well if it's one of your homies then i'm sure it'd be fine like what is it beyonce or something and he goes because he was looking for a discreet studio yeah i was like i don't think there really are any no because everyone's interested yeah and he was like well can they come and use yours and i said well you know and it was taylor swift wow and um she came down right at the end of covid and was the most phenomenal house guest burned a lot of vegetables for her and she brought a killer candle actually I bet she bloody did her camera game was excellent and she finished the second half of Evermore in our studio and then she asked me to sing a one and I said yes so it's got that Devon it's got a bit of that wholesomeness I love that but it's very sweet so let's talk, you're touring in the UK not next year, this isn't like the UK run start in December December we're going you've already done the US you've already done the US leg what date I mean this is obviously a national everyone can listen to this podcast but what's the London date just so I know I think it's the 10th and the 11th at the O2 okay amazing two nights December two nights yeah we love that place I've always remembered like when you played Red Rocks and just thinking like that looks like we did that again this summer is it so beautiful we basically said like what are our favourite venues that's what you can do when you're a big time baby.

43:30Like the Gorge, Red Rocks, Hollywood Bowl. Amazing. And O2 London is up there. Is it? We love it, yeah. I really love that room. I think it's a really good arena. Before you go, nostalgic tastes that can transport you back somewhere, happy or sad. Nostalgic tastes that transport me back. Or one taste or smell. Mmm. Mmm. You're going to think I'm a one trick pony here, but roast chicken. I love the smell of roast chicken. Very distinctive. Look, Louis Theroux said congeal cat food. Oh, wait. Yeah, that's pretty vivid as well. And it took him three minutes to come out with that. We sat there waiting.

44:16That's pretty good. What else is nostalgic? Wood smoke. Yeah. My wife and I met when we were kids at Bible camp. and there were a lot of fires. And then when we re-met in our 20s and fell in love, it was around a fire as well. And the first email she wrote me was, I stink of wood smoke. So wood smoke is... Sweet. It's like her perfume. Yeah. I like it. That's very romantic. So I like the time of the year where you're able to start lighting fires again. That's my jam. So does Sam. I love this one. Whack on a jumper and light a fire. Let's go. Marcus you've been absolutely brilliant I can't believe that food dream guest like really really good food thank you I know you do this a lot but like would you say that was a good meal wise that was a good one yeah it was delicious yeah I think that was a very good meal thank you good luck with the tour good luck with the next record thank you and just like yeah definitely thank you thanks babe

45:35Well, Marcus Mumford may have the most twinkly eyes I think I've ever seen in my life. What a handsome man. What a fabulous guest. Fabulous, fabulous guest. Appreciate the food. Like the food. Gave us all the answers. Information I'd never heard about before. He was lovely. He's always been nice, though. Whenever I've met him, he's lovely. Down to earth, gorgeous, kind, honest, open book. Yeah. Big fan. Lovely, lovely man. Can't wait to go and see him on tour. Invited me, Jessie, personally. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Prizefighter, Mumford & Sons' sixth record is out in February 2026. And the new single with Josie A, Rubber Band Man, is out now.

46:15It's gorgeous. I'm sure they're all sold out, the tour, but... I should think so. Yeah, I'd say. but if you can go and see them go and see them and i will be trying that parenting technique about star jumps for bragg the bragging thing i'm wondering i know which one of mine would be getting all the star jumps which one number two does he brag oh he's a big bragger he rates himself but i like that but he's deserves to brag he's very clever mum will be giving him more sweets i'll give him pussy pigs for bragging that achievement that pudding was gorge mum was it It was gorgeous. I ate all of it.

46:49It was lovely. And actually, I'm going to go and have another slice. Are you a fan of quince now? To be honest, I'm not mad about the consistency of it. It's a bit between a pear and an apple. Yeah, too. More on the pear side. I kind of like the... But I like the taste. Me too. So, yeah, I'll eat the quince. Yeah, it's a bit grainy, isn't it? It's a bit grainy, yeah. But it was delicious. And with the hazelnuts, it was just gorgeous. Judith Quince. Judith Ishwarovitz, you are the best. The quince queen. you are the quince queen thank you for listening and we'll see you next week see you next week