The Last Dinner Party
The Last Dinner Party are a British indie rock band from London, formed in 2021. The band consists of Abigail Morris (vocals), Lizzie Mayland (vocals, guitar), Emily Roberts (lead guitar, mandolin, flute), Georgia Davies (bass), and Aurora Nishevci (keyboards, vocals). They have no permanent drummer, and are currently joined during live performances by Rebekah Rayner.
The Last Dinner Party
London, United Kingdom
2021–present
- Abigail Morris
- Lizzie Mayland
- Emily Roberts
- Georgia Davies
- Aurora Nishevci
The band signed with Island Records before releasing their debut single "Nothing Matters" in April 2023, which became a top 20 UK hit. They were awarded the Rising Star Brit Award in December 2023, subsequently winning the BBC Sound of 2024 poll. Their debut studio album, Prelude to Ecstasy, was released on 2 February 2024 and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart.[2]
History[edit]
Morris, Davies and Mayland met in 2020 in London before starting university and decided to form a band after frequently attending gigs together at The Windmill, feeling inspired by being part of the scene around the venue, with bands such as Black Midi and HMLTD.[3] Their original name the Dinner Party was "inspired by the idea of a huge debauched dinner party where people came together to celebrate with a hedonistic banquet".[4] A mutual friend recommended Roberts as a guitarist to Morris and they then brought in Nishevci.[5]
The band initially struggled to find time to rehearse together because of the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, and they did not perform live until their first gig at The George in London in November 2021.[6] They signed with management group Q Prime in early 2022.[7] They spent the following year honing their sound and building word-of-mouth support on the live circuit in London, including playing a set as the opening act (while still called The Dinner Party) for the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park in July 2022,[8] along with supporting BENEE on her world tour for the London show.[9]
After signing with Island Records as 'the Last Dinner Party' (to avoid confusion with the jazz supergroup Dinner Party),[4] they released their debut single "Nothing Matters", which was produced by James Ford, on 19 April 2023.[10] The song was later announced as being part of the soundtrack for EA Sports FC 24.[11] During the summer of 2023, the band supported Hozier,[12] and played several festivals in the UK, Ireland, and Europe including Glastonbury and Latitude.[13][14] They were also invited to play a live session on the BBC Radio 6 Music show, New Music Fix Friday.[12]
They released their second single "Sinner" on 30 June 2023,[13] and their third single "My Lady of Mercy" on 9 October 2023, both of which were also produced by James Ford.[15] They made their first appearance on the BBC show Later... with Jools Holland on 21 October 2023, performing "Nothing Matters" and "My Lady of Mercy".[16] In January 2024, they followed up with a performance on the BBC’s The Graham Norton Show.[17][18]
They were the winners of the BRITs Rising Star award at the Brit Awards 2024.[19]
Musical style[edit]
"Nothing Matters", was described as "art-rock bombast" by Rolling Stone UK,[13] while the Evening Standard described their music and live shows as having a "distinctive baroque-pop sound and look".[20] The band have been compared to Kate Bush,[13] Siouxsie and the Banshees,[21] Roxy Music,[22] ABBA,[23] Queen,[24] Sparks,[21] Florence and the Machine,[25] and Warpaint.[1] The band's members cited David Bowie as a leading influence.[5]
Live members