Mumm's The Word

Hailing from the English seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea (notable individuals associated with the resort include Spike Milligan, Eddie Izzard, John Logie Baird and Bond actor Desmond Llewelyn), indie-rock quintet Mumm-Ra are one of the new wave of British guitar bands.

Their debut album, These Things Move In Threes, was produced by Youth (whose credits include The Verve’s Urban Hymns and Guns n’ Roses’ still unreleased Chinese Democracy), and the group have landed support slots with the likes of Kaiser Chiefs and The Kooks.
Named after the villain from ’80s cartoon series Thunder Cats, Mumm-Ra fit into a tradition of quintessentially English songwriting that originated with The Kinks, and whose subsequent proponents included bands such as The Smiths, Blur, Suede and Pulp.
“Well, we’d like to think so,” says the band’s singer, James “Noo” New. “Not that we’re hugely nationalist or anything!”
“I know what you’re saying,” continues guitarist, James Arguile. “We were brought up in this sort of failed resort on the south coast, and it wasn’t a big town. There wasn’t a cinema around the corner, and when you’re that age, you can’t get anywhere. Because there wasn’t anything to do, we ended up doing things that perhaps other people of our age wouldn’t normally engage in. And we still fucking do that – we all play crazy golf!
“We were going off as a band on hiking holidays at the age of 15. We went to Cork and then on to Gap of Dunloe, and another time we visited Loch Lomond. So we’d go off hiking through the rain and shit, carrying bloody five stone back packs (laughs). Just stupid things like that, not necessarily the usual band activities.”
Mumm-Ra’s English sensibilities certainly haven’t stopped them making an impact abroad, however.
“We went to Japan and did Fuji Rock, and that was just amazing,” enthuses Noo. “We also did a gig in Tokyo, and our label there took us out for a proper Japanese meal, which was fantastic. It was in this sectioned-off, bamboo room at the top of a skyscraper which looked out over the city. And the Japanese fans were waiting for us in the lobby of the hotel – our manager gave them the name ‘lobby monsters’!”
Intriguingly, the band’s bio mentions a former member who had “a lapse of sanity involving a toy gun, a post office and a bungled escape.”
“He was our sitar player,” recalls James. “And he basically went a bit nuts, got in a bit of trouble with money and tried to hold up a petrol station, actually, rather than a post office. He didn’t succeed, then drove off, crashed his car and got caught. He’s out of prison now and he’s doing alright.”
Did Mumm-Ra form due to the classic dynamic of alienated school kids becoming friends through a shared interest in music?
“We were the sad ones,” admits James. “But we knew we were cooler than everyone else.”
“It’s funny walking around Hastings these days,” says Noo, “and seeing people who were so much cooler than you in school. They’re, like, plumbers now, and they’re going, ‘I saw you on MTV!’”
“Not that there’s anything wrong with them being plumbers,” adds James.
“Yeah, I know,” acknowledges Noo. “In fact, there’s probably more money in it than this!”

These Things Move In Threes is out now on Sony BMG