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Brit alternative rockers Versus throw down a serious marker with the release of their enticing new single and video, This Is Everything, which is available everywhere now. Here is the lowdown on Versus, direct from the horse’s mouth:
What are the origins of the band? How long have you been playing together?
Versus began more as a means of catharsis with a few friends over ten years ago; we were all going through rough patches at the time and needed something as an outlet, as well as finding comfort within ourselves and being in our own skin. I think all of us at the time were absolutely desperate to belong to something that was bigger than any one of us, and that fed into the music we were putting out at the time. A bunch of best friends on a wild ride, who love playing shows and writing lush tunes.
What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe Versus?
I mean, people shouldn’t expect something polite or background-friendly – that isn’t what Versus is really about. We are heavy, but not just making noise for the sake of it, if that makes sense? There’s actual emotion behind the music from a plethora of life experiences and emotions, and we have that post-hardcore/grunge backbone, that pulls influence from everywhere – bits of emo, hardcore, grunge, and a touch of electronica here and there, plus everything else in between.
How did you feel performing your first gig as a band, and how was it?
The first was a complete headf*** to start with; we were nervous as hell, but excited and quietly confident – that is what we rehearse for, right? It wasn’t as smooth as we had wanted, with some tech issues right at the start, which ramped the pressure up way more than we’d have liked. It was one of those situations that we knew could happen, so we just rolled with it and had one of the best shows of our lives.
What are you working on at the moment that people can check out?
We have a new single out now called ‘This Is Everything’ on all major streaming platforms, and the official music video can be seen on our YouTube channel – releasing this single has been a wild ride, so we are really excited to see where it goes! We have plans for another single with a video in the next couple of months, and we are already working on our second album, which is due out later on this year, as well as playing shows all over the country over the next few months. Super busy, which is exactly what we wanted to be.
Regarding a similar audience, which band at the moment do you feel that you would be best suited to open for?
Tough question, but think we would be a good fit for Asking Alexandria, Dayseeker, and that kind of vibe.
Excluding yourself, which new band would you like to see break out and become a success?
We have played with some amazing bands over the last six months, but if we had to pick one, it would be The Alicia’s. They’re from Bury, with a sweet punky pop sound and stage shows that are SO energetic and fun with great audiences. Bloody lovely fellows, that lot.
What frustrates you about the music business?
Nothing in particular frustrates us or things like that. We all knew the amount of work that we would have to put into things, but it all helps us get to do what we love doing most, which is writing tracks and playing live shows.
What are your first musical memories? And what lightbulb moment made you say, “I want to do that”?
Rob got into guitars through his uncle playing Beatles tunes on the guitar every time he went round to visit. That inspired him so much that his parents enrolled him in all of the guitar courses that they could get him into. Calvin was taken to a school play that his sister was in, and being a kid he got bored to death so wondered off and ended up in a rehearsal room with a drum kit, and started making a boat load of noise with it; his parents found him, and after a suitable ‘telling off’, his father went and bought him a kit to learn and practice on. Shortie’s grandfather was a music teacher, and the earliest memory of music was sitting with his grandfather learning how to play nursery rhymes on the piano. The thing that really got him into music, though, was being in a choir and getting singled out to perform solo parts during a Christmas show, and the rest, they say, is history.
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
For Rob and Shortie, they went to see Funeral For A Friend at the back end of last year and Cal’s most recent show was Pantera; we rehearse and play so many shows it’s hard to find the time to get to other shows these days, so that is pretty much why we love playing festivals – we get to discover new bands and music, and see some of our all time favourite musicians play!!
What current social issues are you particularly passionate about?
We all have very different priorities and thoughts about the society we live in, so that is a loaded question, really. We try to stay out of social issues to avoid polarisation and to stop widening the divide that we are seeing in the UK these days. There seems to be a lack of foresight and care put into some of the rhetoric that comes out of the major political parties these days, and rather than fuel the fire of ignorance, we tend to remain central, cohesive and are of the opinion that everyone is entitled to their beliefs regardless, as long as people approach discussion or debates in a mature and an educated fashion – there is too much polarisation with a severe lack of knowledge on the subject that a person is wanting to force feed down other folks throats.
The album that you have in your album collection/Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
Shortie has LIT, Rob has Taylor Swift (Life Of A Showgirl), and Calvin has a bit of a soft spot for Led Zeppelin. Not actually too bad
Everybody is a fan of something. Who or what are you a fan of?
All of us love our Star Wars (I mean, who doesn’t?!), and each of us are quite partial to the odd cigar here and there, heaps of coffee, and maybe a few shots of a decent bourbon. None of us really have the time to sit and watch TV, but we have chats about Vikings, GoT, and Norsemen (If you haven’t seen it, get on to Netflix and check it out!)
What new music have you enjoyed so far this year?
This year has been an absolute belter for new albums; Enter Shikari with Lose Your Self, Kneecap with Fenian, Skindred with You Got This, and I think we are going to be seeing some other amazing albums hit the shelves this year, so we are just keeping our ears to the ground to see what is next.
What does the rest of 2026 hold for Versus?
We alluded to this earlier in the conversation, but we are definitely releasing another single with a video, releasing our second album in Autumn (with a track featuring a VERY special guest), and looking at putting a small UK tour together before the end of the year. No doubt, when the second album is in post-production, we will continue writing new material for the album to follow, so yeah, I think we are keeping busy and making sure we have some lush music to put out as the year goes on.
How active are you on social media, and where can people connect with you?
I think we are pretty active on social media, but we’re not the kind of band that posts stuff for the sake of posting! We always want to engage with folks organically rather than spam the fans, if you know what I mean? Check us out on the links below:
https://versusbandinc.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheOfficialVersus/
https://www.instagram.com/officialversusband/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/67pt9vgrdK8u8meLF6B0km
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqkvJ8RmakcP_-GVamgMerA
VERSUS ARE: Shortie (Salt-Short) – vocals, Rob Kewley – rhythm guitar, and Calvin Sargeant – drums
