A children’s author has recalled his experience of replying to more than 1,000 emails intended for Oli Sykes, the frontman of Bring Me The Horizon.
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Author Oliver Sykes has written a first-person piece for Metro in which he described a period in his life when he felt compelled to respond to fans who’d erroneously thought that he was the band’s singer.
He explained how he was studying theatre at Lancaster University in 2008 when Bring Me The Horizon’s second studio album, ‘Suicide Season’, was released. At first, Oliver was “blissfully unaware” about the band’s new album because he was mainly a folk music fan.
“But within a week of it hitting the shelves, that changed. My inbox started piling up with messages – predominantly from teenage girls – desperately trying to contact Oli Sykes. I had about 30 or 40 people telling me how much they loved ‘me’ and ‘my album.’”
Because fans had opened up to Oliver about their mental health, he took it upon himself to let them know that they’d contacted the wrong Sykes and to offer his sympathy. “I was a student and completely unequipped to help or do anything about it, but I couldn’t just leave them unread – not when they were baring so much of themselves,” Oliver said.
Oliver initially replied to every email (“I remember thinking around the 500 email mark that I should be getting some form of commission!”) before realising that he was spending more time replying to emails than spending on his theatre degree.
The author failed in his bid to contact the band’s record label and Oli directly, and the emails continued. When Bring Me The Horizon released their third album, ‘There Is a Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let’s Keep It a Secret’, two years later, things had calmed down owing to what Oliver thinks was fans getting “a bit older and savvier”.
Despite the hours put in to respond to BMTH fans, it didn’t spark a love for the band’s music. “I had a listen to their first albums and it sounded to me like somebody was pulling the brakes on a bicycle in dire need of some oil. It was an assault on my ears. I don’t think I could sit down with a full album without also coming away with a headache,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, in other Bring Me The Horizon news, the band are joining Fall Out Boy on their North American tour this summer. Alkaline Trio, Royal & The Serpent and more acts will also support the pop-punkers – check out the full list of tour dates and buy tickets here.