Lily Fontaine can pinpoint the exact moment when football first entered her life. Having just signed to Island Records, her band English Teacher were already on the brink of greatness when their leftfield indie anthem The World’s Biggest Paving Slab landed on the EA SPORTS FC 24 soundtrack, beaming them out to a whole new audience around the world.
“I’d just got into football around that time, so it was like the universe giving us a little nod,” she says during a rare bit of downtime in the band’s busy schedule. “That opportunity meant so much to us all. It felt huge because the game can be such a gateway to musical discovery for so many people.”
By that time, the fast-flourishing, Leeds-based four-piece were already capturing imaginations with their sprawling guitar-driven sound. They’d hit major career milestones with sets at Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds, and made their national television debut on Later... with Jools Holland. Yet with the computer game being a longstanding rite of passage for indie royalty like Blur, Kasabian and MGMT, it’s easy to see why this particular badge of honour felt different.
It was also around this point that Fontaine began following Liverpool. “I try to trust my gut with things and that seems to have worked out for me so far,” she says. “Our managers have become father figures in my life and they’re both massive Reds, so it felt inevitable that I’d follow suit. I just felt this instant connection to the club and its history, traditions and values.”
Having been brought up on the music of the Beatles, Fontaine sees her fandom of the Reds as something of a full-circle moment. “I remember visiting the city when I was 14 with my first boyfriend, and I filmed the city going around all of the tourist spots. Little did I know that ten years later I’d be a full-time musician and a massive Liverpool supporter.”
Lily Fontaine can pinpoint the exact moment when football first entered her life. Having just signed to Island Records, her band English Teacher were already on the brink of greatness when their leftfield indie anthem The World’s Biggest Paving Slab landed on the EA SPORTS FC 24 soundtrack, beaming them out to a whole new audience around the world.
“I’d just got into football around that time, so it was like the universe giving us a little nod,” she says during a rare bit of downtime in the band’s busy schedule. “That opportunity meant so much to us all. It felt huge because the game can be such a gateway to musical discovery for so many people.”
By that time, the fast-flourishing, Leeds-based four-piece were already capturing imaginations with their sprawling guitar-driven sound. They’d hit major career milestones with sets at Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds, and made their national television debut on Later... with Jools Holland. Yet with the computer game being a longstanding rite of passage for indie royalty like Blur, Kasabian and MGMT, it’s easy to see why this particular badge of honour felt different.
It was also around this point that Fontaine began following Liverpool. “I try to trust my gut with things and that seems to have worked out for me so far,” she says. “Our managers have become father figures in my life and they’re both massive Reds, so it felt inevitable that I’d follow suit. I just felt this instant connection to the club and its history, traditions and values.”
Having been brought up on the music of the Beatles, Fontaine sees her fandom of the Reds as something of a full-circle moment. “I remember visiting the city when I was 14 with my first boyfriend, and I filmed the city going around all of the tourist spots. Little did I know that ten years later I’d be a full-time musician and a massive Liverpool supporter.”
Coming to football later in life has been a journey of discovery. “There’s all of these chapters you can revisit and explore, which is quite a beautiful thing,” says Fontaine. “Like, I watched the Kenny Dalglish documentary and I was just obsessed. It’s so great to get under the surface and learn about the history of the club and his impact as one of the all-time greats.”
For Fontaine, football also offers calm in the face of the demands that come with being in a successful band. Since the release of the band’s Mercury Prize-winning debut album This Could Be Texas in 2024, English Teacher’s entire existence has been flipped upside down as they’ve toured the world and amassed millions of listeners globally. She says that football is a chance to enter a completely different headspace.
“Our lives have changed massively. It’s been so intense. The flurry of touring, and everything else that comes with it, can distort your life so much. If I’m watching a match then I won’t be thinking about anything else other than what’s happening on the pitch. It’s a really meditative activity for me.”
It’s emblematic of English Teacher’s whirlwind journey so far that the band have kickstarted 2026 by releasing their latest single, Parasite, in collaboration with Blur guitarist Graham Coxon. As well as working alongside a musical hero, the band took to the iconic Abbey Road Studios to record the track.
“The whole experience was so surreal. There were several moments across the day when I was just trying not to cry,” says Fontaine with giddy emotion. “It was hitting me that I’d managed to create this career for myself where I get to be in that legendary studio with people I’ve looked up to since I was a kid.”
To make the experience all the more dizzying, the recording session took place the day after English Teacher had played their biggest-ever headline show at a sold-out Camden Roundhouse.
Looking further ahead in 2026, there’s a clear hunger and excitement about clocking up more experiences like that evening in north London. “My body is used to travelling, living out of a suitcase and getting an adrenaline hit at 9pm every night,” she reflects. “I’m desperate to get back into it now. We’re going to be opening for Wet Leg in some really iconic venues like London’s Alexandra Palace. This summer will be a mixture of writing and shows. Everything we have planned is going to be very special.”
Lily Fontaine can pinpoint the exact moment when football first entered her life. Having just signed to Island Records, her band English Teacher were already on the brink of greatness when their leftfield indie anthem The World’s Biggest Paving Slab landed on the EA SPORTS FC 24 soundtrack, beaming them out to a whole new audience around the world.
“I’d just got into football around that time, so it was like the universe giving us a little nod,” she says during a rare bit of downtime in the band’s busy schedule. “That opportunity meant so much to us all. It felt huge because the game can be such a gateway to musical discovery for so many people.”
By that time, the fast-flourishing, Leeds-based four-piece were already capturing imaginations with their sprawling guitar-driven sound. They’d hit major career milestones with sets at Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds, and made their national television debut on Later... with Jools Holland. Yet with the computer game being a longstanding rite of passage for indie royalty like Blur, Kasabian and MGMT, it’s easy to see why this particular badge of honour felt different.
It was also around this point that Fontaine began following Liverpool. “I try to trust my gut with things and that seems to have worked out for me so far,” she says. “Our managers have become father figures in my life and they’re both massive Reds, so it felt inevitable that I’d follow suit. I just felt this instant connection to the club and its history, traditions and values.”
Having been brought up on the music of the Beatles, Fontaine sees her fandom of the Reds as something of a full-circle moment. “I remember visiting the city when I was 14 with my first boyfriend, and I filmed the city going around all of the tourist spots. Little did I know that ten years later I’d be a full-time musician and a massive Liverpool supporter.”
Lily Fontaine can pinpoint the exact moment when football first entered her life. Having just signed to Island Records, her band English Teacher were already on the brink of greatness when their leftfield indie anthem The World’s Biggest Paving Slab landed on the EA SPORTS FC 24 soundtrack, beaming them out to a whole new audience around the world.
“I’d just got into football around that time, so it was like the universe giving us a little nod,” she says during a rare bit of downtime in the band’s busy schedule. “That opportunity meant so much to us all. It felt huge because the game can be such a gateway to musical discovery for so many people.”
By that time, the fast-flourishing, Leeds-based four-piece were already capturing imaginations with their sprawling guitar-driven sound. They’d hit major career milestones with sets at Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds, and made their national television debut on Later... with Jools Holland. Yet with the computer game being a longstanding rite of passage for indie royalty like Blur, Kasabian and MGMT, it’s easy to see why this particular badge of honour felt different.
It was also around this point that Fontaine began following Liverpool. “I try to trust my gut with things and that seems to have worked out for me so far,” she says. “Our managers have become father figures in my life and they’re both massive Reds, so it felt inevitable that I’d follow suit. I just felt this instant connection to the club and its history, traditions and values.”
Having been brought up on the music of the Beatles, Fontaine sees her fandom of the Reds as something of a full-circle moment. “I remember visiting the city when I was 14 with my first boyfriend, and I filmed the city going around all of the tourist spots. Little did I know that ten years later I’d be a full-time musician and a massive Liverpool supporter.”
Lily Fontaine can pinpoint the exact moment when football first entered her life. Having just signed to Island Records, her band English Teacher were already on the brink of greatness when their leftfield indie anthem The World’s Biggest Paving Slab landed on the EA SPORTS FC 24 soundtrack, beaming them out to a whole new audience around the world.
“I’d just got into football around that time, so it was like the universe giving us a little nod,” she says during a rare bit of downtime in the band’s busy schedule. “That opportunity meant so much to us all. It felt huge because the game can be such a gateway to musical discovery for so many people.”
By that time, the fast-flourishing, Leeds-based four-piece were already capturing imaginations with their sprawling guitar-driven sound. They’d hit major career milestones with sets at Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds, and made their national television debut on Later... with Jools Holland. Yet with the computer game being a longstanding rite of passage for indie royalty like Blur, Kasabian and MGMT, it’s easy to see why this particular badge of honour felt different.
It was also around this point that Fontaine began following Liverpool. “I try to trust my gut with things and that seems to have worked out for me so far,” she says. “Our managers have become father figures in my life and they’re both massive Reds, so it felt inevitable that I’d follow suit. I just felt this instant connection to the club and its history, traditions and values.”
Having been brought up on the music of the Beatles, Fontaine sees her fandom of the Reds as something of a full-circle moment. “I remember visiting the city when I was 14 with my first boyfriend, and I filmed the city going around all of the tourist spots. Little did I know that ten years later I’d be a full-time musician and a massive Liverpool supporter.”
Coming to football later in life has been a journey of discovery. “There’s all of these chapters you can revisit and explore, which is quite a beautiful thing,” says Fontaine. “Like, I watched the Kenny Dalglish documentary and I was just obsessed. It’s so great to get under the surface and learn about the history of the club and his impact as one of the all-time greats.”
For Fontaine, football also offers calm in the face of the demands that come with being in a successful band. Since the release of the band’s Mercury Prize-winning debut album This Could Be Texas in 2024, English Teacher’s entire existence has been flipped upside down as they’ve toured the world and amassed millions of listeners globally. She says that football is a chance to enter a completely different headspace.
“Our lives have changed massively. It’s been so intense. The flurry of touring, and everything else that comes with it, can distort your life so much. If I’m watching a match then I won’t be thinking about anything else other than what’s happening on the pitch. It’s a really meditative activity for me.”
It’s emblematic of English Teacher’s whirlwind journey so far that the band have kickstarted 2026 by releasing their latest single, Parasite, in collaboration with Blur guitarist Graham Coxon. As well as working alongside a musical hero, the band took to the iconic Abbey Road Studios to record the track.
“The whole experience was so surreal. There were several moments across the day when I was just trying not to cry,” says Fontaine with giddy emotion. “It was hitting me that I’d managed to create this career for myself where I get to be in that legendary studio with people I’ve looked up to since I was a kid.”
To make the experience all the more dizzying, the recording session took place the day after English Teacher had played their biggest-ever headline show at a sold-out Camden Roundhouse.
Looking further ahead in 2026, there’s a clear hunger and excitement about clocking up more experiences like that evening in north London. “My body is used to travelling, living out of a suitcase and getting an adrenaline hit at 9pm every night,” she reflects. “I’m desperate to get back into it now. We’re going to be opening for Wet Leg in some really iconic venues like London’s Alexandra Palace. This summer will be a mixture of writing and shows. Everything we have planned is going to be very special.”
Lily Fontaine can pinpoint the exact moment when football first entered her life. Having just signed to Island Records, her band English Teacher were already on the brink of greatness when their leftfield indie anthem The World’s Biggest Paving Slab landed on the EA SPORTS FC 24 soundtrack, beaming them out to a whole new audience around the world.
“I’d just got into football around that time, so it was like the universe giving us a little nod,” she says during a rare bit of downtime in the band’s busy schedule. “That opportunity meant so much to us all. It felt huge because the game can be such a gateway to musical discovery for so many people.”
By that time, the fast-flourishing, Leeds-based four-piece were already capturing imaginations with their sprawling guitar-driven sound. They’d hit major career milestones with sets at Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds, and made their national television debut on Later... with Jools Holland. Yet with the computer game being a longstanding rite of passage for indie royalty like Blur, Kasabian and MGMT, it’s easy to see why this particular badge of honour felt different.
It was also around this point that Fontaine began following Liverpool. “I try to trust my gut with things and that seems to have worked out for me so far,” she says. “Our managers have become father figures in my life and they’re both massive Reds, so it felt inevitable that I’d follow suit. I just felt this instant connection to the club and its history, traditions and values.”
Having been brought up on the music of the Beatles, Fontaine sees her fandom of the Reds as something of a full-circle moment. “I remember visiting the city when I was 14 with my first boyfriend, and I filmed the city going around all of the tourist spots. Little did I know that ten years later I’d be a full-time musician and a massive Liverpool supporter.”
