I thought of quitting …then we cleaned up

CLEAN BANDIT may be cleaning up in the charts but Luke Patterson has confessed he wanted to throw in the towel just like his ex-bandmate Neil Amin-Smith.

The star, 24, revealed his jitters in an exclusive chat as the band hope to halt Harry Styles’s debut single Sign Of The Times in this week’s chart.

‘It was early on when we first blew up with Rather Be in 2014,’ he said. ‘I was at this stage of my life where I didn’t know what I wanted. I’d dropped out of uni to do this and then it was such a shock for it to blow up straight away. That was a strange time but I made the right choice and definitely would have regretted it if I’d quit.’

He has not heard from Neil, 27, since his surprise departure last October but said: ‘I wouldn’t mind having a chat and it would be good to see what he’s up to. He’s a clever guy and I’m sure he’s doing well.’

Plans for a record with Neil’s ex-boyfriend Olly Alexander, of Years & Years, have been canned. ‘We did a session but Olly had his own schedule he needed to follow and he didn’t really want to do features,’ said Luke. ‘Having the relationship complicated everything.’

Clean Bandit — completed by Luke’s brother Jack, 31, and Grace Chatto, 31 — are at No.3 in the singles chart with Symphony (ft. Zara Larsson). They headline the Standon Calling festival in Hertfordshire in July.

Author: Andrei Harmsworth