Idles‘ Joe Talbot is set to be the latest musical star to read for CBeebies’ Bedtime Stories.
The frontman will read ‘Under the Love Umbrella’ written by Davina Bell and illustrated by Alison Colpoys, which follows four children as they navigate the world under their love umbrellas.
He’s the latest star to read a bedtime story, joining musicians who have previously lent their voices including Dave Grohl, Dolly Parton, Harry Styles, Elton John and more.
Our very own Joe Talbot will be reading the @CBeebiesHQ bedtime story ‘Under the Love Umbrella’ by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys this evening at 6:50pm. One for all the family. Tune in. pic.twitter.com/XuTv73UWzS
— I D L E S (@idlesband) February 20, 2024
Talbot’s story will air today (February 20) at 6:50pm GMT on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer.
“It’s an honour to announce that I am reading a CBeebies Bedtime Story,” said the artist in a statement. “I can NOT express how much I love reading to my kid so this was a welcome twist in an already beautiful career. All love.”
Idles released their latest album ‘Tangk‘ last week, which NME said in a four-star review was “the most open-hearted we’ve ever seen them”, adding: “The ambitious and mature fifth album has its hand on its heart and feet on the dancefloor, as the Bristol band prove that they’re so much more than punk.”
Talbot spoke to NME ahead of the release about why he was interested in showing “the different facets of love that are not so conventional”, but are “very fucking important”, like “empathy, patience, honesty, communion, hard work, recovery, forgiveness”.
“That’s what I wrote about. I’m still there,” he explained. “I’m still going to need to go through it, and I’m still very much interested in writing about love forevermore. I find it fascinating and empowering.”
He added that being a father has taught time to “go through things with grace, be delicate and to celebrate the small beautiful things that you can overlook so easily if you’re impatient with the world, you miss out on a lot of tiny details that will make your day. It’s got to come out in my art, because that’s how I am.”
At their recent ‘Tangk’ launch show in Brixton, Idles showed their solidarity with Palestine. Introducing ‘Mother’, he paid tribute to his own late mum’s social conscience and told the crowd: “I know deep within my heart, that if she was alive today, she would want me to say: ‘Long live Palestine’.”
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