Pigeon Spins Featuring an Interview with For I The Badger

For I The Badger - All Hail

For I The Badger, hailing from Lincoln, England, is a DIY band that takes pride in their independence and creativity. The band consists of Stuart, Scott, Ben, and Sam Atkin, who handle recording, mixing, and mastering in their practice room. With influences ranging from Idles to Sleaford Mods, their music reflects a blend of punk and social commentary that resonates with audiences.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1V7Kb2cMz0EtdWGcQvWkFM?si=UjVaJR_DQcmT2Rd8xpeJkw

Released on 05th Nov 2025, For I The Badger's original single "All Hail" delivers a powerful critique on populism and political deception. The track delves into the societal issues of the past 40 years, from political scandals to the rise of right-wing ideologies. With a raw, live recording approach and thought-provoking lyrics, "All Hail" stands out as a timely and significant release in today's turbulent political climate, challenging listeners to confront uncomfortable truths.

Interview with For I The Badger

(•)>  What inspired “ALL HAIL”, and why focus on populism and political deception?

Stuart - All Hail is inspired by the current rise in dodgy right-wing nationalism and how people buy into the bullshit political narrative fed to them by the likes of Farage, Murdoch and GB news to name a few. I find it mad how people get on board with this kind of stuff and start hanging flags over their local Cost Cutter or Wetherspoons like there’s anything under them flags that are things to celebrate? I wanted to write a song that tried to make sense of it all but also acknowledge the pattern of events I’ve seen, from being a kid to now, that have shaped the toxic landscape we have. It’s like a broken record jumping every day, the constant crisis politics that divide people or establish new laws and policies, designed to antagonise or control you. While all this is going on you have pricks worshiping leaders with mantra to make something great again when it never was great for anyone unless you were well off.

(•)> How did the past 40 years of societal issues shape the lyrics?

Stuart – It gave a nice timeline for the verses, with the first focusing on Thatcher’s era in the 80s, then 90s New Labour and Tony Blair taking us into an illegal war, and the third verse looking at Brexit, Covid, Reform and everything in between. There's plenty of stuff in there to write about and I could’ve gone on and on. Some of the lyrics are just blunt and then there are others that mean something to me that aren’t as obvious from the little observations I made. The lyrics just try and capture the rot in the country, the idiocy and damage that’s been done in so many ways on the back of people supporting successive governments or movements that never really had the best interest of everyday people. Ultimately, its us who suffer, as power shifts back to the same groups of people time and again, until the next “prince” or populist comes along to tell you he’s got your back, pretends to be one of you and will “save” you.

(•)> Your recording approach is raw and live. How did that influence the track’s energy?

Stuart - I think recording it live was exciting, it gave the track an organic and natural momentum, as well as a movement that’s hard to replicate if recorded any other way. We all applied ourselves slightly different, like upped our game, as if performing to an immediate audience which gives it that urgency. I think the safety of getting a load of takes removes that. There’s that sweet spot that recording live brings in between being on point and slightly out which I think brings a depth and value that allows for the listener to be fully engaged with the sound. I’m pretty sure we will be applying the same kind of technique to our future recordings which is exciting.

(•)> How do you balance all your influences in your sound?

Stuart - We all bring something to the table in the band. No one has a stronger influence than anyone else, and I love the fact that there’s no hierarchy. I’d say we are all pretty diplomatic and good at letting each other play what we like. We all have different tastes in music genres and some of them are poles apart, and I can hear that when I listen to us play in subtle little ways things are done and how they translate into our overall sound. I don’t think there’s any effort in trying to balance anything and it just happens.

(•)>  How do Scott and Ben contribute to the bands raw, live energy?

Stuart – Scott and Ben are a bit of a machine really. We can go into practice, and they form this unit that is relentless. They can just churn out stuff all the time, which makes playing with them easy and a lot of fun. Ben is so responsive, and I can see him react when the music or lyrics are little more harder hitting and touch a nerve and I love that. Scott always brings a strong bass line; it’s like he’s designed to come up with catchy riffs that are infectious and stick with you.

(•)>  As a band formed in 2023, how have your early experiences shaped your music?

Scott – I think we’ve matured a lot as a band. We wrote plenty of songs that never saw the light of day, only to be heard by us at practice, that at the time we thought were amazing but soon fizzled out and now I can’t remember how to play half of them. We’ve learnt that our best music happens when one person has a little idea and then we all come in adding our own little mark.

(•)>  “All Hail” feels urgent. What message do you hope listeners take away?

Stuart – I feel that All Hail could be a love story between gammons and populism. A message to take is maybe just one with a further understanding that whatever political campaign they are selling you and if it’s one centred on blaming minorities, the poor, trans people, boats in the channel, or whatever, there’s an obvious intention to use hate and fear for political influence. Populists will always use the oldest trick of divide and rule and there’s no happy ending, hardly any ending at all which isn’t violent or painful in some way.

(•)>  How do you see your music fitting into today’s turbulent political climate?

Stuart – A lot of our songs have some sort of political narrative or theme somewhere. My lyrics do look outwards and observe the socio-economic or political landscapes, as well as the damage they inflict. We aren’t the only band doing this and there is a clear movement of bands and artists that are creating music filled with a similar anger and dissatisfaction and I love the fact we aren’t alone.

(•)>  What’s next for For I, The Badger?

We are looking to release another song either by the end of this year or the beginning of 2026 called “Luchador”. Next year we want to carry on refining our sound, write new material and just keep playing gigs and have fun while we do it.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out For I The Badger on the Pigeon Spins Playlist