Yes, Dear Reader. while the music press at large concerns itself with such weighty matters as artistic evolution and genre deconstruction, we’re over here asking the really important questions. Like the time total tommy won a colouring competition. The talent!
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Hmm, snails?
What is your earliest memory?
I think I was three or so, and I remember returning home with my parents after a holiday and mum and dad realised our house had been robbed. The cops came through and took fingerprints. It definitely stuck with me!
What’s the naughtiest thing you did at school?
On a school camp when I was 15, my friends and I all went and got piercings with fake IDs; the teachers hated us. And I got sent home from school once when I was 12 for etching my name into a wooden table. The school made me pay for the table, and I had to do detention for weeks.
What’s your ultimate meal deal combination?
OK, I hope we’re talking about the supermarket kind. We don’t have them in Australia, and every time I come to the UK, I am OBSESSED with them. Honestly, I’m pretty plain and simple with them; I just go a sandwich – usually something with chicken and salad – a banana and a Diet Coke.
If you had to perform at a talent show tonight, what act would you do?
I love that game Space Jump – I’d probably steal an audience member and just make up a wild scenario and riff off each other and see what happens.
What was the last thing you broke?
My phone a few weeks back on a big night out. RIP
What is your tea bag of choice?
At the moment, I love chai tea!
Is there anything you’re brilliant at but nobody else knows?
Holding my breath.
What is the worst job you’ve ever done?
I worked in a call centre doing market research for a few weeks while I was in Uni. The boringest shit ever. It was torture; even to go pee, you had to set a timer and clock in and out. Safe to say I quit that one very quickly.
If you had to rebrand as a different genre, what would it be?
Heavy metal would be pretty sick.
Have you ever been thrown out of somewhere?
Yes, a bar for being too high…
What’s the best thing you’ve ever bought for under £5?
A ticket to a concert when I was 18 that inspired me so much.
What’s the most ridiculous lie you believed as a kid?
I used to believe my fortune was determined by those chatterbox paper things kids made in class. I’d take them so seriously!
Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?
I actually get this a lot at the moment. I’ve had two people come up to me in the last month adamant that they know me from somewhere, and it’s not music! One lady called me Sally and tried to convince me that I was her!?
What’s a boring fact about yourself?
I have a rare blood type that only 2% of the population have.
Have you ever had a moment where you realised you were the villain in someone’s story?
Yeah, I think I’ve been the villain a couple of times, if I’m honest.
What’s the strangest place you’ve ever written a song?
On the floor of the shower in a hotel in Amsterdam, actually where I wrote my song ‘Amsterdam’.
What’s the silliest thing you own?
A framed picture of Cat in the Hat that sits right as you walk in the door to my apartment.
What’s a phrase or word you say way too much?
‘Do you think?’
If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?
Woolly Mammoths! What beautiful creatures.
Have you ever won anything?
Honestly, I think the last thing I won was a colouring competition at my local supermarket when I was a kid.
If you could have any animal feature (e.g., wings, tail, etc.), what would it be?
Hmmm, maybe the ability to breathe underwater. That would be very cool.
What’s the most unusual job you can imagine yourself doing?
I’d love to open a dive bar and curate a lineup for it. I just love creating experiences for people, things that are kinda one night only things!
If you had to have one word tattooed on your face, what word would you have?
I’d probs get an angel number – 888 or 999, perhaps.
What’s the most absurd rumour you’ve heard about yourself?
Actually, a lot of people think I grew up in London, but I lived my whole life in Melbourne and more recently in Sydney. I do love London, though!
Have you ever been in a situation where you thought, “Well, this is how I die”?
Yeah… I had a bad complication with getting my tonsils out a few years ago, and it was pretty scary! I’ll spare you the detail cos it’s kinda gory, but it was during Covid, and the nurses were super understaffed, and a mistake was made that definitely could have killed me!
If you could be best friends with a celebrity you do not know, who would you choose?
Jack Haven. I am so in awe of them.
What do you always have in your refrigerator?
Greek yoghurt, I eat it pretty much every day at the moment.
What’s the dumbest injury you’ve ever had?
Ahh, I’ve had so many. Most recently, it was an eye injury because I was drunk and was trying to take my contact lenses out, but they were already out, and I really irritated my eye…
If you could bring back one discontinued snack, what would it be?
OMG, the blue snakes!!
What’s something that irrationally fills you with rage?
When someone tells me a story they’ve already told me, and I tell them ‘oh you told me this’, and then they proceed to tell it again. Sometimes I have patience for it, and other times… I do not.
What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to try?
I’d love to go diving. I love the ocean, even though I’m a little scared of it, but there’s something about seeing what’s on the ocean floor that fascinates me.
If you could instantly become fluent in any language, which one would you pick?
I’d love to learn Japanese.
Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
Lara Croft.
What’s the last thing you put in your online shopping cart but didn’t buy?
A pair of jeans from the UK, that I realised wouldn’t arrive in time to Australia for when I wanted them for 🙁
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever found on the street?
I used to live in a neighbourhood where the street finds were actually really good! I’ve found random instruments before, and once I dragged an organ home, which sat in my studio for a year or so. It was really hard to get rid of when I moved house!
How punk are you out of ten?
At this current moment, a 4. I’m drinking coffee, with my hair in a top knot and in gym clothes very much needing a shower.
If you won the lottery, what would you spend the cash on?
Well, firstly, I’d go out for a delicious lavish dinner with my wife and then scheme what we were gonna do. A holiday would definitely be involved, and probably a house, but I do get scared at the idea of being tied to somewhere!
Have you ever seen a ghost?
The closest I’ve come is this weird hallucination I had once when I had an antihistamine mixed with a lot of beer and then woke up in a weird sleep terror thing. I don’t recommend.
If you could make a guest appearance on any TV show, past or present, what would it be?
Friends!! Imagine how fun it would be just walking in like you knew everyone (well, you do, they just don’t know you, I guess).
Why are you like this?
Look, maybe it’s the blood type thing; I’m just a lil freak. ■
Taken from the May 2025 issue of Dork. total tommy plays Dork’s Night Out at Sebright Arms, London on 7th May.
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