Spotlight On... Fright Years

We came across Edinburgh four-piece Fright Years last year after they released their debut EP, Still Life. Chatting briefly over email towards the end of the year, the indie-rock outfit told us they were gearing up for their biggest headline tour in the spring (which has since happened). They also told us to expect new music in 2026, which has now started to arrive with latest single Never Been Wrong released just yesterday.

Co-produced by Fright Years frontwoman Jules Kelly and Glasgow producer Ross Hamilton, Never Been Wrong signals the beginning of the next chapter for the band. Leaning into a strong 80s aesthetic, the song's bold cinematic feel is backed by an equally cinematic music video directed by Maisy Banks. Following its release, and ahead of two shows at The Great Escape and a warm-up show in Glasgow tomorrow night at King Tut's (8 May), it felt like the perfect time to put Fright Years in the spotlight.

Firstly, what have some of your highlights been so far as Fright Years?
Jules: Our spring headline tour was a standout career highlight for all of us. The buzz just felt cumulative as each night we started to realise we’d sold out the next few shows – it just felt like the perfect experience. Another highlight was definitely recording a Maida Vale session for BBC Introducing. We love recording live together in a room and for any band it’s just a special part of history. That day actually inspired us to record Never Been Wrong in the same way: full band takes, all together in a room.

Going back to the start of Fright Years, how did you meet? What inspired you to start making music together, and who came up with the name?
Harrison: Jules and I first met around five or six years ago. There were rehearsal rooms in the basement of Edinburgh College of Art that you could hire by the hour, but we’d arrived with two different groups and only met purely because there had been a mix-up with the booking. Over the next few months we started rehearsing together and eventually moved to a different rehearsal studio where our drummer Struan worked. We knew straight away we wanted him to join the band. Fraser joined us last summer on bass and has been the final piece.

We would devote a lot of time to the band and treated the whole process quite seriously, even when no one was paying any attention. At the start, you’re playing purely for the excitement of creating with the other three people in the room and that’s what’s sustained us throughout.

The name Fright Years is inspired by a novel by James Salter called Light Years. I really admire his work and was reading a lot of his writing at the time. We had a list in my phone with different words and band names, including the word ‘fright’. We put the two together and here we are.

Who are some of the other artists that have inspired you over the years; are there any artists you love that you can feel seeping into your sound? And were there any in particular you were looking to for inspiration when writing new music?
Jules: We’ve been really inspired by a lot of 80s stuff. Some of those albums like Hats (The Blue Nile), Once Upon a Time (Simple Minds), Hounds of Love (Kate Bush) feel so modern in a lot of ways – they could be released today. Also the I Don’t Live Here Anymore album by The War On Drugs, I love the relationship between the band and vocals on that, the storytelling feels personal but the music is very outward-looking.

Fraser: I was drawn to the bass work on tracks like Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel and Graceland by Paul Simon – that sense of movement as it slides between the notes, making the bass feel like it’s wandering through the track.

You just released Never Been Wrong. A punchy number that refuses to dwell on the past, you say it came together really naturally and was pretty much finished in one session. I’d love to know more about the song and what it’s about, as well as that slick process – why do you think this one came so easily?
Jules: The chorus, ‘When I’ve ever been wrong / I’ve never been so right' is the idea that although a situation may have been ‘wrong’ in retrospect, it was right to deliver you to the place you are now. In the same way, the writing process embodied the song’s narrative – it was written so quickly from start to finish. I think when writing as a band sometimes you just have those magic days where it comes together easily as and when it’s really meant to.

The cover art for the track is visually very striking. Taken from the accompanying music video, can you tell us more about the video, the idea behind it and who shot it?
Jules: Dance felt like an essential part from the beginning, I always have an image of a ballerina practicing her turns and becoming more masterly throughout the song. We also wanted a live band performance as part of the video – it felt like a good nod to those 80s references; the Alive and Kicking music video where the band are upshot against the sky is so good. I also have a bit of art that’s a little Gustav Klimt tarot card – the Ace of Swords, meaning ‘powerful breakthrough and mental clarity’. I thought it really reflected the song. So I rented a sword from some medieval shop in Wales. Luckily we had an amazing team to bring it to life. I’d been a big fan of Maisy Banks’ work for a while now so it was incredible to have her direct the video.

Is Never Been Wrong a sign of more new music to come that leans into this same aesthetic? What else can we expect from Fright Years in terms of releases as 2026 unfolds?
Harrison: When the song came together, it really felt like a door had opened for us and we’d discovered a new avenue we could take the writing. Never Been Wrong is part of a bigger body of work we hope to announce in the next few months.

You’re playing The Road to The Great Escape at King Tut’s on Friday, before two TGE shows and a string of other dates – what’s the live Fright Years show like, why should people come see you?
Harrison: I think we always aim to create something impactful and entertaining. Jules in particular has really considered the staging elements of our show including curtains and lampshades and how they interact with the lights. We always like to create a narrative visually as well as musically. As the shows get bigger, we’re always looking for ways to raise the stakes a bit. Especially after our sold-out headline tour in spring, we never take it for granted that people are buying tickets to come see us, playing our music and coming to chat with us at the merch desk afterwards – we really feel a responsibility to give people what we hope is a lasting experience.

Who else are you looking forward to catching down in Brighton at The Great Escape?
Harrison: Lime Garden – their single Bitter was one of the reasons we wanted to work with producer Theo Verney on our debut EP Still Life, which we recorded in Brighton back in 2024, so this feels like the perfect time to finally catch them live. 

The North – we caught the end of The North’s set at Camden Lock-In festival in London last year and can’t wait to see the full show.

Heidi Curtis – we’ve been loving all of Heidi’s singles so far, especially Undone.

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Never Been Wrong is out now

Fright Years play The Road to The Great Escape, King Tut's, Glasgow, 8 May; Komedia, Brighton, 13 May & Horatio's Bar, Brighton, 14 May (both part of The Great Escape 2026); and Barrowlands, Glasgow, 6 Jun (supporting Fatherson)

Follow Fright Years on Instagram @fright_years