Erotic Secrets of Pompeii
Suburbia, Southampton
26 April 2026
LTW have been writing about ESOP for a couple of years now. They played the inaugural LTW indoor festival, they’ve been taken on by a fantastic publishing company, they are on the up… but then they play Southampton on a Sunday night… but still prove themselves to be the best ‘new’ band in England. Ged Babey was there, wondering what tricks a ‘Sex Magician’ actually does.
The night before, in Exeter, there was a Stag Night, made up of a bunch of Classics students from a nearby Uni, who had already decided that the theme for the night was Ancient Rome. They all dressed up as Roman Centurions and Caesar, to go on an almighty Last Hurrah of freedom and debauchery!
One of them happened to flick through the local gig listings and saw that a band called ‘Erotic Secrets of Pompeii’ were playing that night. It was fate, a no-brainer; they just HAD to go and check them out. So as a result, the band played to, as well as their existing fans, a group of moshing, pissed-up Roman Centurions! Tom, the singer, couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a surreal, perfect moment in the career of the strangest, but most brilliant of bands.
A Sunday in Southampton at Suburbia couldn’t possibly match up. Less than 30 people showing up didn’t affect their actual performance however, one jot.
After the first song, a friend said. “I can just imagine them at Glastonbury, y’know, a massive outdoor stage, it just feels weird that they are here… but brilliant!”
Another amigo who saw them at the Joiners two years back was rooted to the spot, a prime position, dead centre, three yards back from the stage, soaking up every second, every note, in a complete reverie. Erotic Secrets are a band who become an obsession.
Because I have written about them a lot, I wanted to give a couple of other fans, who happen to be writers, a chance to have their say:
They’re just mesmeric. One minute you’re rattling around a notably empty, dim little space, and then the next, everyone is transfixed on them, standing with their back to us, very literally doing nothing. And the spell begins. And from that moment, they make a devotee out of every punter. And they know they can do it. They know that what they’re about to do is not ordinary.
And it makes no difference if it’s a crowd of 20 or 200 or 2000, the incantation is the same. (The other two times I’ve seen them, it’s been absolutely rammed.)
For me, it was so gratifying that I got to have the same intense experience in such a different venue and a small crowd. That’s why I’m ride or die for them. And they genuinely love their audience in a way that’s really beautiful.
I mean, maybe what’s happening is I’ve joined a cult with an extremely charismatic leader. I’d be ok with that. The rituals are ecstatic, and the uniform is cunty*.
(!!!!!?????) (Ged Babey is confused.)
* it’s queer lingo Gramps, it’s like the highest possible compliment on someone’s look.
Imagine the restaurant at the end of the universe, as Douglas Adams showed us in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, an array of various historical figures and mythical deities since the beginning of time, all gathered there to welcome the apocalypse with a final blowout. Now imagine this restaurant has a stage and a lounge act, with the band all dressed in black, poised players under the lighting rig, heavily-kohled eyes glittering demonically as they scrutinise the audience. A long, teasing pause and a crooked finger beckoning people to come closer, closer, closer before they launch into their first number.
Okay, so this wasn’t the restaurant at the end of the universe but an end-of-the-weekend Southampton bar, but you get the picture. Crawl out from the safety of the shadowy corners and into the spotlight! Come hither!
Led by the frenzied energy and acrobatics of frontman Tom, Erotic Secrets of Pompeii are all at once a twisted, punk cabaret, blending theatrical, madcap performances with musical precision and prowess, playing with urgency, like they know it’s the end of the world (hell, the end of the universe) and they don’t care; if the end is nigh, then they’re going to give us the ultimate finale and they want us to join the party. Thankfully, the Four Horsemen aren’t coming for us just yet (we hope) and the good news is that ESoP aren’t just a one-trick pony (no pun intended there) – they treated us to new material which slotted into the set easily, all the while, sounding as though they’d just arrived in this universe that was about to detonate.
There is a brand new single out in a couple weeks called Crowstepper.
But what is a Crowstepper!?
As if a crow itself, the song steals shiny things from Jung’s theory of the shadow self, the trickster, and psychopomp spirit guides. The Crowstepper is a shadowy other-self that offers an absurdist escape from the horrors of the modern world while simultaneously satirising them: religion, self help, and toxic online culture. This is no mere narrative; this is an acid flashback dream sequence. Strap in for the ride! The song is a giant step into the world of ESOP – a strange zone as beautiful as it is grotesque, which they have been cultivating over the course of their first two albums. Musically, there is a swampiness to the bass and drums groove, needling guitar lines, a cowbell that won’t quit… and far too many hooks to be legal in one song. (Press Release content)
We can’t wait! In the meantime…
THE TOUR CONTINUES
30/04 – Newcastle – Star & Shadow Cinema
02/05 – Northampton – The Lab
03/05 – Guildford – Star Inn
23/05 – Dot to Dot Festival – Bristol
06/06 – Sentient Rash Festival – Stroud
07/08 – Haldern Pop Festival – Germany
22/08 – ArcTanGent Festival – Bristol
Words pulled together by Ged Babey with sections by Rachel and Spring and Press Release content.
Photo by kind permission of Shaun Snuffers Histed-Todd (taken at Exeter gig)
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