Source: Gemma Bell
Let me get this out there from the start, I am obsessed with Bring Me The Horizon. Not in the kind of way where I would become a gibbering wreck if I spoke to the guys, because they are just normal guys, albeit incredibly talented ones at that, they were just one those bands who came into my life at exactly the right time. As I grew as a person, they grew as a band.
Back on Saturday December 9th 2006, I was queuing outside the Hammersmith Apollo as a 16-year-old girl. 2006 was the height of the ’emo’ subculture and I was dragged in hook, line and sinker. Think three belts – none of which were holding up your jeans – unable to see out of one of your eyes due to an excessive fringe and jeans so tight you had to wiggle to get them off (some things don’t change). I was just starting to properly get into the live music scene and had queued since 8am to see a band who we don’t speak of any longer. Supporting them were Bring Me the Horizon; a bunch of children given a support slot to a crowd of people who had no interest in the type of metal they were playing at the time.
Count Your Blessings had only been out a few months and, in all honesty, their set was a chaotic mess of teenagers being thrown in at the deep end, playing to a crowd who were so disinterested. For some reason I was drawn in though. In a world where my music collection consisted of anything spawned by Fuelled by Ramen, or anything sounding similar to My Chemical Romance, Bring Me The Horizon were new, they were different and they were heavy. I got a copy of Count Your Blessings for Christmas and would play it all the time, even though it sounded awful. It was rebellion. I knew my parents hated it and it made me feel exhilarated.
Source: Graham Berry
It took a while before I started seeing the band live more as, of course, none of my friends were interested in seeing a band fronted by a pretty boy who sounded like a squealing pig. But that changed when I finally met a gig buddy and a girl who is now such a special part of my life.
In January 2009, Bring Me The Horizon were on the Kerrang Tour alongside headliners Mindless Self Indulgence, Dir En Grey and Black Tide and we headed to Ireland for the Belfast and Dublin shows. It felt like such an adventure travelling so far for a show and when people knew who we were going to see, they’d turn their noses up like BMTH was some sort of dirty phrase. This was something I faced for years, right up until There Is Hell… when people started noticing the bands talent. I would tell them who my favourite band was and instead of just nodding or saying something like ‘oh I’m not a fan, but cool’, I’d get people questioning me and almost demanding to know why.
Since the Kerrang Tour, a BMTH tour wouldn’t happen without me travelling across the UK, determined to feel the thrill of seeing this band as much as I could. Norwich, Birmingham, Brighton, Oxford, Leeds, Sheffield and more clocked up my miles. In January 2011 the band toured with Architects and I did my first EU show in Amsterdam. Bonding with the crowd through our love of music, despite the language barrier between us, was a magical experience
Source: Jemma Dodd
I’ve been to Paris to see them. I went to Germany to see them crush a festival slot. I’ve seen them at hometown shows, the Camden Barfly, at an awards show, playing Glastonbury, the incredible Royal Albert Hall show; everything from tiny clubs to huge arenas. Before this I’d never have thought of jumping on a 4 hour coach on my own, but my connection to the band surpasses all that and is why I did that exact trip last weekend when the band played a hometown show at the Sheffield Arena.
While the band are no longer the same band I fell in love with, we have grown together. It took me weeks after its release to listen to Sempiternal and I cried the first time I heard That’s The Spirit. That isn’t to say that I haven’t grown to love both albums with a fierce passion now, but it’s like your first-born babies first words being “fuck off“; how can something so perfect have changed so much?
My 50th show fell on Friday November 4th at the Birmingham Barclaycard Arena and I could not have picked a better show. Having seen so many crowds in my time, I stand by the fact that the Midlands crowds are hands down the best. Even the hometown show two days later didn’t compare to this. Perhaps I’m biased as it was a milestone show but who knows; it’s a night I’ll never forget.
In the last 10 years I have loss my virginity, left school, graduated from university, bought a flat, had some questionable romantic endeavours and become who I am today. In the past 10 years the band have grown alongside me from scrappy teenagers who just wanted to get drunk and play loud music to accomplished musicians playing arenas and getting their music played on main time radio. It’s been quite a journey and one I honestly can’t imagine having done without the band. Bring me the Horizon didn’t save my life but they certainly made it one worth having.
