In a pure of heart love letter and rallying cry to musicians, artists, writers and creatives of all creeds, Lottery Winners have released new single ‘REMAIN, DON’T RETRAIN’.
A call never give up in the face of spirit-crushing Covid pressures, the single, released November 25th, is an impassioned, spur-of-the-moment, hymn offering support, honesty and encouragement.
Initially written as a ‘note to self’ in a low moment, the alt pop quartet say it’s been released as an uplifting manifesto for everyone with ideas.
“Some of the best ideas happened in dreams, so dream…”
Thom Rylance, frontman
Born of frustration at government message suggesting that artists to retrain out of passions that ear fruit to the value of over £100 billion to the UK economy, songwriter, Thom Rylance hit a vein of inspiration and conjured up a perfect flow of words to capture ‘the Covid era’ for hard-hit creatives.
Equally inspired by his own personal struggles with self-belief, Rylance beautifully protests the assertion that any creative should give up, at any time, by speaking directly to everyone feeling the pain, disillusion and worry that Covid has brought with it.
“You don’t have to work for free. Your time is valuable. You are valuable. You can’t pay your bills with exposure. Don’t undervalue your art.”
Thom Rylance, frontman
Namechecking Bowie, Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse, Hendrix and Hitchcock, Rylance calls for creatives to be good to themselves, put value in their art, set realistic expectations, use precious time and, above all, don’t give up when the going gets tough.
Under siege from numerous enemies including loss of income due to the pandemic, lacking government support for skilled creatives, planning laws destroying the future for live venues and studios and Brexit impacting overseas opportunities, Lottery Winners’ incredible, impulsive moment of hope and defiance arrives at just the right time.
As well as quick-witted, collectible slogans of much-needed inspiration, the track imparts valuable coping advice, urging creatives to sleep and clear away clutter, as well as imagining how empty the world would be without the music, film, art and literature they are yet to create.
“Don’t let the b**tards grind you down. They’d do anything to be able to do what you can do,” says Rylance. “I was having a real down day in the light of everything that’s happening in the world and in my industry.
“I have seen friends lose all hope with their lifelong dreams and I was getting close. So I started writing myself a letter, one that I needed to read. It helped me, so I thought if I shared it, it might help somebody else. Remain, don’t retrain.”
