SNACK Chats to Uninvited: Their Upcoming Headline at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall, Working with best friends, TRNSMT’s gender problem, and playing Ping-pong with Bob Vylan

Uninvited are the riotous pop punk trio from Glasgow, bringing Y2K nostalgia to the forefront of the Scottish music scene. Breaking down barriers and stereotypes in the genre, they are unapologetically carving out space for trans and women artists to be seen, heard and celebrated.

From winning the  BBC Live  Lounge competition in 2022, touring with artists such as  Nova Twins, The Snuts and The Buoys to their recent releases with ‘best mates’ indie-punk band CHERYM, Uninvited have unequivocally made a name for themselves as our newest pop punk paramours.

We spoke to them about their journey from local band to featuring on major festival line ups. Ahead of their upcoming AMPLIFI headline at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh (3rd December), we couldn’t wait to hear about everything from their thoughts on another male-dominated TRNSMT line-up, to heartbreak as fuel for their cathartically queer lyricism.

Voice notes below 💛

You’ve recently released new music with the Derry punk-indie band CHERYM, how did this collab come about? And what is the inspiration for what you’re doing together?

Alex: Because we’re best friends!

Jay: We met in 2022 when we played 2000trees. We knew about each other online and stuff and as soon as we met we were just best mates.
Alex: We’ve always wanted to do a colab with them. We always have always said we will and we just never really found the moment. But then eventually we were just like: let’s do it.

It was a lot of fun recording with them because they are such strong musicians. We were just pure in awe every time.

There’s a lot of chat right now about the pop punk revival. What does that mean to you? Could you talk a bit about your style and how you’re bringing something new to that genre?

Alex: I think we’ve always wanted to play music like that, but we just never really wrote it, yeah?

Fio: And I think we didn’t even realise we were writing it either. It kind of just happened. And we were like wait…because we wanted to go down a heavier route, yeah, like rock. And then we’re like, this is not us.

Jay: We were like an indie band at one point. All the influences that we have accumulated over time and melded into one, which I think is kind of beautiful.

It’s interesting, looking at the interview you did with SNACK in 2023, and how your music has changed over five years as a band. Do you see that reflected in the music? Does it feel more mature now? Or nostalgic? What is your take on it?

Jay: It does feel mature. But then there’s also, there’s always a sense of nostalgia and everything that we do. I feel like, especially personally, I’ll always try to link a song to a song we’ve already released.So there’s always those Easter eggs – if you listen hard enough, you’ll find it. Even when we expand and grow we never forget the journey or the things that we’ve been through.

Alex: The journey really is the part that you remember, as Miley Cyrus said. Make sure you write that I said it like that. [laughing]

What inspires your writing? A lot of the writing feels quite political, or about love and love gone wrong.

Alex: I feel like you’re right. It’s about whatever’s important to us in those moments. Because I guess through life, we could be going through a heartbreak so you want to let that out in a song. There could be something going on that’s political and you want to speak out about that.

Jay: I am really bad for it. Like, anytime I am going through something, I’m always there with a paper and a pen, thinking how does that make you feel?

What has it been like working with producers, going from an emerging band, to being a bit more established. Do you feel like you have creative control of the music or is there a bit of compromise? How do you make those decisions about the direction of the band?

Alex: I feel like to begin with, we probably weren’t as confident going into the studio, so we probably let people take over because we didn’t really have an idea of how it worked. But I guess as time goes on, having been in the studio, we can speak up more and we feel like we are making the decisions for ourselves.

Jay: We trust ourselves a lot. We try to make those decisions and be like, actually, I actually don’t like that.

Fio: Sometimes when you’re in a studio of people that are so talented as well, like producers that have worked with so many different bands, you take on their ideas.

Jay: You’ve trust your gut, but put your foot down, and know you actually do have a choice.

Could you tell us a bit about your AMPLFI headline gig, at The Queens Hall in Edinburgh on 3rd December?

Jay: This is our first time working with AMPLIFI. We have friends who have done shows with them and it always looks really good. It’s always good to amplify voices. Like, bands that need a little step up from being the local band, putting them into an environment where they find a new fan base.

Fio: We’ve got Lamaya playing it with us, and she plays a completely different genre of music, so it’ll be like a good mix of crowds that like different music coming to see us.

Alex: Normalise having random support acts and mixing different genres.

This leads me to think about festivals. I know that you have played Reading and Leeds and TRNSMT. What have those experiences been like?

Jay: Festivals are the most fun shows you’ll ever play. Like, there’s nothing more fun than a festival. Yeah, I think it is something we very much like.

Fio: It actually feels like a holiday. It’s the best time ever. I always feel so VIP. It’s so cool.

Jay: I think the main thing that we always try to do at festivals is networking. Like if you find us at a festival, we’ll be chatting somebody’s ear off.

Alex: Like, we’ve ended up playing ping pong with Bob Vylan.

Fio: Lots of people say to us, you’re so nice and all that. And I’m like, we’re literally just being normal. But I think in this industry, so many people are so uptight and almost look down on you, and people don’t like that.

Talking about TRNSMT, what are your thoughts on their ongoing line-up gender balance issues?

Jay: We have faced a lot of adversity coming up and people just looking at us as if we’re just like children, or like, we don’t know what we’re doing. We have had it so much. Like, actually, just watch our set or listen to our music and you’ll see that it is good. People just think, if you’re not a boy in a band and girls are chasing you, then nobody wants to book you. But that’s not necessarily true – it is hard sometimes.

Fio: It’s hard to not get in your own head about it. When you do see lineups like the TRNSMT one, it is a bit mad.

Jay: It feels like TRNSMT is always just the same band of boys from the same indie bands. It’s the same headline as it’s always either Biffy Clyro, Snow Patrol, or Calvin Harris.

Alex: Like, who’s listening to Snow Patrol these days? There are so many really good bands in Glasgow, in fact, really good bands across the UK that aren’t male-dominated and they’re not given a chance.

[When we played it] TRNSMT was amazing. There have been some really great people in the music industry that helped us get there. But that’s the thing, they can do it. There are just so many other bands that could be in that position.

Touching on that, what would you say to young women or young people interested in music who feel marginalised or that their voices aren’t being heard?

Jay: I say, go get four of your closest home girls. Pick up a guitar. Pick up a pair of drumsticks. You can learn on the job. You get to a point, then someone listens to you and then you just have to make a whole lot of noise.

Alex: Yeah! Why be afraid? Like, there are so many other things in the world you can be afraid of as a non man. Why not just and just go to gigs and support each other.

Fio: No matter where you end up, or how big you become. We’ve had so much fun already, even in the first year, when nobody knew us. It’s a hobby as well as a career.

It’s been five years in the making, and it would be great to know what’s next for Uninvited. What direction are you going in, and what should people expect from you?

Jay: More recording, for sure, better music shows, loads of live shows and larger productions. Yeah, a bigger sound and just having more fun.

Alex: Yeah, rocking out.

Fio: We’ve got way more stuff coming up next year.

Alex: And if people haven’t seen us as a trio, yet, you should, because it’s the best we’ve ever been.

Tickets: Uninvited play AMPLIFI at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh on 3rd December 2025

(Tickets half price for students)

Main image credit: @dumivisuals