The Wombats: The indie band that never went away

When you're 15 years in to your music career, you're most likely not expecting to gain a legion of new fans.

The Wombats' first album, A Guide To Love, Loss and Desperation, was released a decade and a half ago.

But if you go to a Wombats concert today, most of the people in the front row are likely to have been toddlers when it was released in 2007.

At the time, the album went to number three in the charts.

But this year, the Liverpool trio sold out the O2 and their fifth album went straight to number one.

So how has it all happened?

On a recent Radio 1 show about the first album, DJ Jack Saunders credited "great songs" and the band's pop writing for their enduring appeal.

He believes they are "one of only a few indie bands from that noughties heyday to survive the ruthless climate of the current scene".

But frontman Murph admits he "doesn't really know what's happening" when it comes to the band gaining young fans.

"Somehow we're managing to keep [fans] in their mid to late 30s at the back of the rooms and then the younger kids keep coming to the front of them," he tells BBC Newsbeat.

"We've always been getting slightly better, and playing slightly bigger rooms. It wasn't ever like this meteoric rise to fame or anything."

"And it still feels like a slow steady grind today, but to have a number one album in the UK, it's really cemented the idea that we've probably been doing everything right for a good 15, 16 years," he adds.

Murph says the discovery of some of the band's songs on TikTok could be responsible for new fans.

Last year, Greek Tragedy, a track from their third album, went viral on the app when it was remixed by producer Oliver Nelson.

But he also notes younger fans were discovering their music beforehand.

"The TikTok thing blew it up even more," he says. "I guess it's word of mouth. I don't know if there's something lyrically that really connects [with younger fans]."

When Love, Loss and Desperation came out, digital downloads had only just started to be included in the charts. Now, he says, streaming and TikTok have completely changed the industry.

"It just feels like it's more exciting now.

"It was exciting for our first two albums. And then our third album, that's when the crossover was happening from physical and digital to the whole streaming world."

And while the "streaming world has been amazing", Murph believes the best material will always rise to the top.

"I don't believe in just slapping things up online, I don't think that model is going to last very long."

When The Wombats formed, Murph says he could have never imagined them going for so long.

But 15 years down the line, and with no signs of stopping - their next EP is being released later this month - how long does Murph think the band are going to continue for?

"It would be hilarious to be slamming it through our 70s," he says.

"We're on our fifth album, but I still feel like there's a lot of juice left in the tank. And if I'm being completely honest, I really want to be in a band that has a back catalogue of like eight, nine or 10 albums.

"It's going to take a meteorite to stop me from getting to there," he adds.

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