A Handstamp Interview with Chartreuse
Busted, Birmingham, Iceland and Andre
Hi. Handstamp is a weekly music newsletter created by me, Josh Coyne. In each edition, I talk to a creative person about live performances that have meant something to them. Previous guests include Anna B Savage, Cassandra Jenkins, Chastity Belt, Chet Faker, Christian Lee Hutson, Courtney Marie Andrews, Craig Finn, Gold Panda, Holy Fuck, Idlewild, Jasmine.4.t, Jason Stewart, Madi Diaz, Mat Baynton, NoSo, Public Service Broadcasting, Rio Kosta, Searows, Uwade and We Are Scientists.
I saw a show last night, in a wildly over-allocated venue. It was a beautiful, but imperfect experience.
A friend and I were quite casual in our approach to the show, dragging our heels outside a nearby pub beforehand. Upon arrival, we found that we had to become circus-level contortionists to catch a peak of maybe a metre of the stage, due to extreme overcrowding. Ultimately, we landed on absorbing the music blind, occasionally catching glimpses through the superfan in front, whose arm will ache this morning in a way that only the irresistible YouTube clout he is probably receiving can soothe.
Can we stop encouraging Lord of the Flies free-for-alls in general admission sections by overselling? Call me crazy, but I believe you should at least have a chance of seeing the stage from any section of a music venue, without camping at the barrier all night.
Before the show, on the walk to the venue, I listened to the album Bless You & Be Well by Chartreuse, a jazz-inspired alternative rock band from the West Midlands of the UK. Unlike what laid ahead of me, the music sounded spacious and unhurried.
A few months ago, I had the chance to speak to Hattie Wilson and Mike Wagstaff of the band, starting with their introduction to live music.
Mike: “It was alright, but the transport links are quite bad in the Black Country, so it was more difficult than it should be to get to Birmingham, where all the shows would be happening. Also, a lot of major bands just miss Birmingham out when they tour, because people just can’t be bothered, because it’s too hard to get to shows.”
Hattie: “That’s happening more and more now. We used to go to Wolverhampton sometimes, rather than Birmingham, to see stuff. Our access to live music wasn’t amazing. My parents were into music, but not THAT much, so I wasn’t going to shows as a kid. Then when I found myself wanting to go to shows with friends, I realised how tough it could be.”
Handstamp: The Civic Hall in Wolverhampton?
Hattie: “That’s the one!”
Handstamp: I’ve seen some incredible shows there. Great room. Do you remember what your first ever live shows were?
Hattie: “I don’t want to tell you..”
Mike: “What was it?”
Hattie: “[laughs] Busted. I guess everyone my age at the time was pretty into them. Mike’s different, his parents LOVE music.”
Mike: “Yeah, mine was Jethro Tull, which is a pretty niche start. It was honestly amazing. I saw them The Symphony Hall in Birmingham. For a first show, it was incredible.”
Handstamp: Do you think that show had a major impact on you wanting to play music?
Mike: “I do. We used to listen to the album Aqualung all the time in the car. I still love that band, in a way. I don’t think it made me want to balance on one leg or play the flute like them, but it definitely generated some excitement in me.”
Handstamp: Let’s not limit ourselves. Maybe your one-leg era is yet to come. Sorry Hattie, but can we revisit Busted?
Hattie: “I saw them at an arena in Birmingham and I loved them at the time, so my mum took me. It was great. It was definitely Busted first, but I can’t completely remember my second proper gig. I think it may have been something like Hadouken!, which was equally as awful.”
Mike: “When did you see…what’s his name?”
Hattie: “Peter Andre? I saw him after Busted, when I was in school. Saw him in a shopping centre.”
Mike: “Didn’t he have an accident or something?”
Hattie: “He fell over, yeah.”
Handstamp: Obviously this would have been post-‘Mysterious Girl’, but was it before the I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! appearance?
Hattie: “Honestly, I’m not sure. I was around 13, so I only remember seeing him play in the middle of a shopping centre and there was hardly anyone there, it just felt really strange. I don’t think I went to see him, he just happened to be there, when we were shopping.”
Handstamp: So, you weren’t conscious of just how low of an ebb it could have been for his career at the time, to be performing to an empty shopping centre?
Hattie: “[laughs] no, I just stumbled into it and didn’t think about it much until now.”
Handstamp: Okay, so outside of the shopping centres, where are the best places to see shows in the West Midlands?
Hattie: “In Birmingham, Hare & Hounds is wicked. I also recently went to one, which is a bit more unconventional, called Pan Pan, which was really cool and they have a great soundsystem in there, even though it’s basically just in an old archway in Digbeth.”
Mike: “I need to go there. Then there’s The Night Owl, where they put on a really great jazz night once a month. It’s brilliantly curated, they get amazing players in.”
Handstamp: Speaking of Digbeth, what’s the New Orleans themed bar, where they sometimes put shows on. It’s a pretty unique place.
Mike: “Mama Roux’s?.”
Handstamp: That’s the one. I think it might usually be more of a club, but it’s got character.
Hattie: “That’s still there and they are putting more and more good bands on. Before that, people only went there to go clubbing.”
Handstamp: You recorded the latest album in rural Iceland. How did that solitude effect the process?
“It sounds dramatic, but I didn’t know if I’d even be able to fully return. So, when I was sat on the stage again, it was strange but exciting.”
Mike: “Well, we’ve never done any kind of residential trip to record. So, the ability to just wake up and start recording right away was amazing. Beyond how beautiful Iceland is, the fact that we were able to be there and all get stuck in just changed everything. Then, add in the Iceland factor and it made it pretty surreal.”
Handstamp: Being in one of the most beautiful places on earth is a pretty great bonus. I’d guess you weren’t short of visual inspiration.
Hattie: “The landscapes are incredible, we just couldn’t believe it.”
Handstamp: Now, I hope you’re ok with me asking this. As somebody who has been through some health stuff in the last year or so, I personally have used the opportunity to return to performing music live regularly as a bit of a source of inspiration, just because I enjoy it so much. Hattie, I know that you’ve been through some surgery that you took a while to recover from, have you been similarly spurred on by returning to gigs?
Hattie: “It did help, for sure. I had no idea how long we’d be out of action. When I had my operation, they told me it would be 3 months of recovery, but we had 7 months off and when we went back to playing, that first gig was absolutely mad. I had to go back on stage, still wearing a crutch and it was the first time we played anything from the new record. It was wild. I definitely thought about how that would feel, while I was trying to recover. It sounds dramatic, but I didn’t know if I’d even be able to fully return. So, when I was sat on the stage again, it was strange but exciting. The main thing I was worried about was people seeing me limp on stage, but I can’t hide it, it’s happened. It felt so great to get back to it and now it feels like nothing really happened.”
Handstamp: Well, I’m happy for you. Now, you can take it turns, but what is the most personally impactful show you’ve ever attended?
Hattie: “I have to say, it may be a show I was recently. The band Caroline at KOKO, in London. I don’t know why, but I just wanted to cry. At the end, even though it’s not a particularly emotional ending, you could just see how much they love each other. The show blew me away, absolutely incredible.”
Mike: “For me, we played SXSW a few years ago. One of my favourite artists was playing, a Canadian artist called Sam Tudor, who played twice and I went to see both sets. It was exactly what I was hoping for, he was incredible. He is really special.”
Handstamp: After such a long wait, you’ve been able to play the new music now. How has it been to share that material in a live environment?
Hattie: “These songs are easier to play as a band.”
Mike: “In a way, yeah. Honestly, they make our older songs seem a bit boring now. It’s been great. Everything feels a bit more upbeat and a little less avant garde, if that makes sense. It feels like we’re a real band on stage now and people seem to be responding well.”
Hattie: “We have quite a small fanbase, but we’re finding that the fans we have are welcoming and getting behind us. It’s a really nice feeling.”
The latest Chartreuse record, Bless You & Be Well was released in August 2025 via Communion Records. Subscribe to Handstamp Substack for future interviews, follow @itshandstamp on social media and just bloody listen to Chief Springs on your chosen platform, will you? Illustrations by Alice Bowsher.