Download Festival, renowned for its thunderous riffs, muddy boots, and occasional wild backstage confessions, delivered an unexpected shared belief this year as it swept through the campsites. The Daily Star exclusively interviewed rock stars and even a Strictly Come Dancing winner, asking a simple question: 'Is there life on other planets?' The overwhelming answer was a resounding yes.
Musicians and Comedians Weigh In
Vlado Sarić and Jed McIntosh from Melrose Avenue stated, 'I believe there’s an alien somewhere.' The Australian musicians offered a message to any extraterrestrial visitors: 'I’m yet to see one, but I believe. Hey, listen, if there is, we come in peace.' They even teased turning the conversation into a track, promising, 'We will, and the whole lyrics are going to be this.'
Strictly winner and British comedy star Chris McCausland, who was hanging out backstage, declared, 'It would be insane and arrogant to not believe in aliens.' He emphasized that belief is the only logical option, adding, 'The size and such a depth of time… it’s like, there’s been everything. There’s bacteria everywhere, there’s ocean life everywhere… and there’s been probably aliens far cleverer than [us] that no longer exist.'
British band Unpeople expressed a cautious belief: 'I just have to wait for proof… but to think we’re the only things is pretty ignorant.' Jake Crawford and Richard Rayner added, 'Probably. I mean, I believe that they’re there. Like, I need the tangible evidence there, but I almost certainly probably.' They noted that assuming humans are the only life is a risky bet: 'To think that we’re the only things in this apparently infinite expanse is ignorant. Either we’re alone in the universe or we’re not and both is equally terrifying.'
Wayside, another Australian band, agreed: 'It would be so naive to think we’re the only life. Yeah. Absolutely.' They elaborated, 'All of them. I just think that it would be so naive of us as humans to think that we’re the only life in the galaxy. Like, the sheer scale of it all… it’s so narrow minded to think that we’re alone.'
Ash’s Tim Wheeler also firmly believes we are not alone. He joked that he has been building a musical universe around the idea. 'I do, yeah,' Tim said. 'I just feel like there has to be - the universe is just too big for it not to be.' He noted his long-standing obsession with sci-fi and space, referencing his song 'Girl From Mars' and his album 'A–Z Vol. 1.' He added, 'It’s like the ocean, you know - it’s just like looking at it… it’s like the unbounded… it’s just, what is out there?'
Finally, TX2 summarized the sentiment with two strong words: 'Hell yeah!'
