Lottery Winners have today dropped brand new single, ‘UFO’ in honour of their upcoming support slot on Robbie Williams‘ massive 2025 EU and UK stadium and arena tour. The tour will see the band perform at major venues such as the Emirates Stadium in London, Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, the Royal Crescent in Bath, and the Co-Op Arena in Manchester. ‘UFO’ is the latest track from their much-anticipated studio album KOKO (which stands for ‘Keep On Keeping On’), scheduled for release on February 21, 2025 through Modern Sky.
This exciting opportunity to support Williams arose through an unexpected twist of fate. Their previous release, “You Again,” featuring Reverend & The Makers‘ Jon McClure (with its lyrics about a song coming on the radio and catching you off guard), caught Williams’ attention after being featured on the BBC Radio 2 A-List. In response, Williams reached out to the band on Instagram to show his praise, ultimately setting the stage for this once-in-a-lifetime tour collaboration.
Commenting on how the sonic stars aligned, frontman Thom Rylance explains: “He heard a tune and reached out and we bonded. Making each other laugh, and discussing life with ADHD. Now, we have pillow talk almost nightly on FaceTime … He’s become a friend and a mentor. He’s always been one of my idols. Just an incredible command of an audience. The first song I ever sang in public was at primary school – it was Robbie’s hit ‘Strong’. I remember being really nervous before but loving doing it … This tour means so much to us. It’s absolutely massive – look at the venues! We’re going to throw everything we have at it and it’s going to turn us into superstars in our own right. We’re very grateful to Robbie for the opportunity.”
“UFO” dives deep into Rylance’s own lived experiences, unpacking his complex and often tumultuous relationship with a pervasive sense of not quite fitting in. Beneath the infectious musical backdrop lies a poignant and honest self-reflection on how music became a transformative force in his life, with the stage emerging as his sanctuary. Despite the challenges he faced growing up in Leigh, including two high school expulsions, Rylance ultimately found solace and purpose in music and through the act of creation and performance, he was able to rise above his feelings of alienation and cultivate a valuable sense of belonging with his fans. “The only time I don’t feel an alien is when I’m on stage,” says Rylance. “UFO is about how I felt when I’d go to a new school after I’d been expelled. My UFO was my bedroom, playing guitar, as that was how I’d get into outer space: my weird zone of playing guitar and writing songs … My alien friends in my headphones – Nirvana, The Smiths, Oasis – they took me away to another world, one that was so separate to feeling like an alien no-one wanted to talk to in a new classroom.”
A music video will land on YouTube this evening at 7pm to accompany the new single, and the band have already shared it with a select group of people to get a few early responses to it. Based on the reaction video that surfaced on Lottery Winners’ socials (see below), it looks like they’ve come up with something really special and we’re in for an incredibly stirring ride. Be sure to head over here to watch it later on.
‘UFO’ shares a spiritual kinship with the poignant fan favorite “Letter To Myself” from the band’s 2023 chart-topping album “Anxiety Replacement Therapy.” In “Letter To Myself,” frontman Rylance pens an emotive letter to his 12-year-old self, with the song striking a powerful chord with both the band and their fanbase through its cathartic resonance.
Lottery Winners announced their forthcoming album KOKO last September which will feature “You Again” with Reverend & The Makers, as well as last month’s release “Superpower,” which opens up about Rylance’s struggles with ADHD. Produced by Tristan Ivemy (Shaun Ryder, Boy George, KT Tunstall, The Holloways), KOKO also boasts an more-than-impressive array of guest vocalists, including Nickelback‘s Chad Kroeger, Shed Seven‘s Rick Witter, and Frank Turner, the latter making his third consecutive appearance on a Lottery Winners record.
The band will wrap up 2024 with three shows at Manchester Academy in December, before embarking on their own headline tour of the UK and Europe in the new year. In addition, they have supporting slots scheduled with Frank Turner, Jamie Webster, and Blossoms, as well as major festival appearances planned throughout the summer of 2025. Tickets for their headline tour are on-sale now at Ticketmaster.
Keep up with all things Lottery Winners’ on their socials: X // Instagram // Facebook
