News : 'That's not our world': Bring Me the Horizon's Oli Sykes not interested in headlining Glastonbury

Bring Me The Horizon have made it clear they have no interest in topping the bill at Glastonbury.

The Kool Aid rockers recently headlined Reading and Leeds with a considerable performance and are known for their intense, immersive arena shows. Still, frontman Oli Sykes says they would be delighted continuing to play venues like The O2 for the rest of their career.

Speaking with NME, he explained, “Glastonbury’s not our world. We’re always going to feel like the underdog… It’s hard to see ourselves as a gen-pop mainstream band.”

Even though the group has enjoyed mainstream recognition, Sykes stressed they want to remain in their own “weird and wonderful” lane.

The 38-year-old vocalist, who recently welcomed twins, added, “Maybe five or six years ago, that would have been our ambition. Maybe playing Coachella and stuff like that. That’s not our world. We’re not the cool, trendy barista-core band. We’re this weird and wonderful thing… we’ve just crafted our own thing and we’re really enjoying it. We’re pleased, the band are best friends, and it’s all good. Why rock that? Why try to force ourselves into a round hole when we’re a square peg?”

When asked if headlining Wembley Stadium was something they’d like to do, Sykes replied, “Yeah, when 100,000 people actually want to see our band and we’re not doing discounts at Morrisons, then yeah. Until then, I don’t give a s***. I’d rather play two O2s, one O2, or whatever. I want to have fun. That’s all that really matters when it comes down to it. We’re getting paid, we’re all happy, we’ve got what we need. We don’t need much more in life.”

Their sets at Reading and Leeds also marked the band’s final appearances for now, as they prepare to step back for a break.

Sykes has previously mentioned the group needed time away, admitting the nonstop schedule was beginning to affect their creativity.

He told NME, “We need time to recharge our batteries and have that time away, because we haven’t. The last time we stopped was when we were forced to for the lockdown. Even then, we were still going and making stuff. It doesn’t feel like the band has had a significant amount of time off. It’s going to get to a point where it starts to affect the band and its creativity.”