Yungblud interview: On ‘Idols’, Ozzy Osbourne and Lollapalooza India 2026

When I hopped connected a video telephone with Dominic Richard Harrison, amended known arsenic Yungblud, up of his performance successful Mumbai this weekend, determination was nary consciousness of preamble. The English punk-rock instrumentalist and songwriter barreled successful mid-motion, his instantly recognisable Yorkshire accent already determination betwixt laughter and declaration, greeting maine with a large smile. The warmth is immediate. This was a punk-rocker if I ever knew one.

This weekend’s show astatine Lollapalooza India alongside the likes of Linkin Park, Playboi Carti, Kehlani and more, volition people his archetypal clip successful the country. The connection “first” lands heavy passim our conversation, weighted with anticipation. “First clip ever, man, archetypal clip I’m coming to India, fto unsocial performing successful India, I can’t wait.” He talks astir Indian crowds with wide-eyed excitement. “I’ve seen footage of gigs and you guys are crazy… [I’ll] Bring a spot of stone and rotation to India, it’s going to beryllium fun.”

Time, however, volition beryllium brutally compressed. Three days successful the country, a azygous performance, past a dash retired for the Grammys. He laughs astatine the thought of rest. “When I’m determination for 3 days successful 1 show, I don’t truly sleep… Morning to night, I’ll beryllium exploring.” The gait feels acquainted since Harrison has built his vocation by moving faster than the spaces helium enters.

That guardant momentum has carried his euphony into progressively expansive territory. Early releases burned with a neo-punk immediacy, with songs that felt designed to ricochet disconnected tiny rooms and teenage nerves. With his latest album, Idols, released past year, the standard has widened dramatically, embracing longer forms and a theatrical expanse that seemed deliberately oversized. When I inquire what has remained non-negotiable successful his songwriting crossed that evolution, helium lands squarely connected intention. “I truly wanted to marque an medium that would beryllium truthful human, connected a quality basis,” helium says.

The gamble was evident to him portion making it. “These agelong songs and these orchestrations and orchestras were a chaotic happening to do,” helium admits, alert of however acold it pushed against modern expectations. He talks astir size and spirit, astir euphony that “transcends connection and culture.”

Yet the effect amazed him. He talks astir audiences crossed continents connecting with it instinctively. Calling successful from Australia, helium sounds somewhat stunned by the cumulative effect of the past year. “What a brainsick year,” helium says, repeating it a fewer much times arsenic though inactive pinching himself.

Idols was besides shaped by the figures who erstwhile stared down from the walls of his room, looming implicit his imagination. Black Sabbath’s precocious vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, Queen’s Freddie Mercury, the incomparable David Bowie, and different Rock & Roll Hall of Famers — helium describes the medium arsenic opening with a tendency to go those photographs connected the wall, earlier circling backmost to the realisation that the guidance helium sought had ever been internal.

That realisation grew heavier aft Ozzy’s decease earlier past year, which came aft Harrison had begun to cognize him personally, adjacent mentoring nether him. “You enactment retired this album, and past you commencement to cognize these people,” helium says. “And past I mislaid him [Ozzy].” The collision betwixt story and intimacy near him reeling. “I truly person been trying to unpack however the f**k this happened.”

The ‘Prince of Darkness’s aboriginal designation of himself successful Harrison intensified nationalist comparisons, thing Harrison traces backmost to childhood. “I knew him arsenic a superhero,” helium says, describing Ozzy arsenic Batman agelong earlier helium understood Black Sabbath’s music. What bound them successful his presumption was temperament alternatively than style, a shared consciousness of excess, honesty, and affectional transparency that sits astatine the halfway of stone euphony arsenic helium understands it. “We travel from a akin spot of madness and craziness, but besides bosom and love,” helium says.

The unit that followed Osbourne’s last performance deed hard. Public expectations multiplied, but Harrison returned instinctively to his mentor’s voice. “I inactive turned to Ozzy successful the aforesaid mode that I person done since I was this big,” helium says, holding up his hands a mates of feet disconnected the ground. His reply to the sound stayed stubbornly simple. “I conscionable got to transportation connected doing what I acceptable retired to bash astatine the opening and not beryllium dissuaded.”

Watching bequest stone stars up adjacent sharpened his consciousness of what needed preservation. When asked what helium wants to transportation guardant from that older ethos, his grins, “The theatre.”

Rock, helium says, “became truly superior for 10 years,” truthful superior that it mislaid its consciousness of amusive that erstwhile made it consciousness unsafe and alive. He explains however that tone doesn’t descent easy into the contiguous moment. “It didn’t needfully acceptable with an iPhone procreation due to the fact that it’s naughty, cheeky, breaks the rules, and radical don’t similar you breaking the rules nowadays.” That means information has to beryllium reimagined alternatively than recycled. “You person to bash it from a spot of emotion and modernity,” helium says, drafting a steadfast enactment nether nostalgia. “It’s not the 80s anymore.”

What helium inactive chases is the aforesaid consciousness of fearlessness and theatre that drew him to stone successful the archetypal place, adjacent arsenic he’s conscious of however otherwise helium arrived there. “I grew up successful a antithetic satellite than a batch of the aged stone stars,” helium says, which is precisely wherefore the narration works. “We emotion theatre, we emotion stone shows, we f****ng emotion the lifestyle,” helium adds, laughing astatine the bluntness of it. “But it’s from 2 antithetic perspectives. I deliberation that’s wherefore we find each different interesting.”

Identity, too, remains fluid by design. Harrison has agelong resisted fixed labels, publically embracing ambiguity astir sexuality, image, and sound. When I inquire whether being undefined has ever frightened him much than being misunderstood, his reply turns inward. “It lone scares maine if I don’t cognize who I am. Being an unfinished section is the astir breathtaking happening astir life. If radical don’t similar what they’re reading, I don’t springiness a f**k,” helium says. He recalls proposal from some Ozzy and Steven Tyler: “Never compromise”.

Curiosity continues to propulsion him into caller taste spaces. His caller way “Abyss,” written arsenic the opening taxable for the anime Kaiju No. 8, marked a deeper engagement with popular culture. “Kaiju was an opening of a door,” helium says, describing the pleasance of speechmaking manga from close to near and absorbing the signifier connected its ain terms.

That aforesaid openness besides shapes his anticipation of India. He traces a lineage from Indian sounds done the Beatles into psychedelic rock, expressing eagerness to larn straight from musicians here. His excitement spikes astatine the thought of sitars, strings and half-scales. “I can’t hold to travel to the state and get soaked successful it,” helium says, already imagining however those textures mightiness aboveground successful aboriginal work.

When asked what helium hopes Indian audiences recognise immediately, helium says, “The energy. The passion. The love.” He speaks with certainty, arsenic though the transportation has already been made. “We’re going to autumn successful love,” helium says. “I tin consciousness it… Open the pits, boys.”

I get sent disconnected with the blessing of a “Right on, man! Rock and rotation star,” which feels generous nether the circumstances. I’ll bash my champion to gain it this weekend.

Yungblud volition beryllium performing astatine the upcoming Lollpalooza India 2026, taking spot connected Jan. 24 and 25, 2026 astatine the Mahalaxmi Racecourse successful Mumbai