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Djo: Joe Keery on short attention spans, social media and swapping Stranger Things for pop stardom

Joe Keery used to perform his psychedelic electro-pop disguised by a wig. Now End of the Beginning has raced into the Top 5, he’s happy to reveal his numerous talents

As we wander around the cavernous studios and cosy control rooms on a chilly March morning, Keery, wearing a black woollen coat with a houndstooth beanie pulled low over his forehead, is mostly quiet and reverential. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesThere’s an irony to the fact that social media has pushed End of Beginning to such heights, because Keery himself got rid of his accounts a few years ago (“It’s a long story, but I’m not trying to put anyone on blast”) and some songs on Decide touch on his distaste for it. I ask if Keery is concerned about a similar fate as befell the musician Steve Lacy, who reached No 1 on the charts with his TikTok hit Bad Habit, and was dismayed to find fans were only attending his shows to hear the 30-second clip they knew from viral videos.

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