The Wombats: A Guide to Love Loss And Desperation 20th Anniversary

Released in 2007, A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation was the album that firmly announced The Wombats as one of the UK’s most exciting new indie bands. Featuring fan favourites including ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division’, ‘Kill the Director’ and ‘Moving to New York’, it has sold over 400,000 copies in the UK, been streamed more than half a billion times and is BPI certified platinum.

The record captured the energy and humour of a band finding their voice, navigating the highs and lows of relationships, nightlife and growing up. It quickly became a defining release of its era, reaching the UK Top 20 and cementing The Wombats’ place at the heart of the indie scene, while introducing the band’s unmistakable sound and laying the foundations for a career that continues to thrive.

Since they emerged as leading lights of the late-‘00s indie rock scene frontman Matthew 'Murph' Murphy, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen and drummer Dan Haggis have maintained an incredible upward momentum. 2011’s electro-flecked second album This Modern Glitch made them Top Ten regulars; 2015’s third Glitterbug saw them embraced by the TikTok generation, with ‘Greek Tragedy’ a viral hit several times over. By 2018’s Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life they'd stepped up to arenas and 2022’s Fix Yourself, Not the World consolidated their unstoppable rise with the band’s first Number One album, seeing them reach over 2.5 billion streams. The Wombats have continued to tour, headlining major shows at Crystal Palace and The O2, while remaining a constant presence on festival line-ups across the UK and beyond. Most recently, their latest album, Oh! The Ocean saw the band continue their chart success, reaching No. 4 in the UK Official Albums Chart and No. 1 on the Independent Albums Chart, further cementing their status as one of the UK’s most enduring indie bands.

Two decades on, their enduring ability to bring together generations of fans is testament to the timeless appeal of The Wombats’ music.

Speaking on the anniversary, Dan says: “When we realised our debut album was turning 20 in 2027 we decided it was only fair to throw a bit of a party to celebrate. A Guide To Love, Loss and Desperation was a culmination of the first four years of life invThe Wombats, it catapulted us from driving around the UK in my granny’s car and sleeping on promoters floors, all the way to touring the world. Our first album is packed full of memories - playing the Albert Hall, touring in Japan, the US, Australia (where we got to meet an actual Wombat), playing Glastonbury and so many chaotic, wonderful moments.

We’re going to play the whole album from start to finish and if this album meant something to you, we invite you to join us at a show for a little trip in the Sonic Delorean. That first album gave us the possibility and platform to go on and make loads more music (with more on the way!) so we’ll be playing a selection of tunes from all our other albums too, it’s going to be a special night to remember. Hope to see you at a show. Loads of marsupial love, the Bats (Murph, Dan and Tord).”