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‘We’ve been through the wringer’: Doves on addiction, breakdowns – and touring without singer Jimi Goodwin

Their new album Constellation of the Lonely ranks among their best work. But as they prepare to go on the road, the Williams brothers talk about their momentous decision to play without Goodwin

The cancellation “was heartbreaking for us because this is all we’ve ever wanted to do,” explains guitarist Jez Williams, who formed Doves with drummer brother Andy and schoolfriend Goodwin in Wilmslow, Cheshire in 1998. “It had become unhinged, just like everyone on the bus.” After making 2009’s album Kingdom of Rust proved tortuous due to what Jez calls “relationship breakdowns, alcoholism, all the fun stuff”, the band realised they had become a “dysfunctional family” and took a long hiatus. Andy sighs: “You see your mates playing arenas and can’t help think: that would have been us if we’d carried on.” A series of outdoor comeback shows in 2019 were triumphant, despite what Jez calls “biblical rain”, but he admits that eventually Goodwin struggled with “triggers, association.

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