Billy Nomates

Billy Nomates
Billy Nomates in 2023
Background information
Birth name	Victoria Ann Maries
Also known as	Billy Nomates
Born	(1990-05-02) 2 May 1990 (age 34) Leicester, England, U.K.
Genres	Indie rock no wave post-punk
Occupations	Singer-songwriter musician
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2020–present
Labels	Invada
Website	[1]

Victoria Ann "Tor" Maries[2] (born 2 May 1990) is an English musician and singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name Billy Nomates.

Life

Maries grew up in Leicester and was a member of a number of bands that failed to be noticed. Following a period of depression, a Sleaford Mods gig inspired Maries to return to making music and she moved to Bournemouth to write and compose.[3] Her stage name, Billy Nomates, was taken from an insult directed at her when she turned up at a gig on her own.[4]

Music

Billy Nomates at the Strom Club in Munich, 2023

Maries' first album was recorded in Bristol with Portishead's Geoff Barrow.[3] She released this in 2020[5] and quickly gained attention from BBC Radio 6 Music.[3] She describes her music as no wave.[4] Critics make mention of post-punk and describe her delivery as sprechgesang.[3][4] She featured on "Mork n Mindy" by Sleaford Mods in 2021. She released the Emergency Telephone EP in October 2021, produced by herself on Barrow's Invada record label.[6]

Reception

Billy Nomates at the Valkhof Festival, 2022

BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Amy Lamé chose Billy Nomates's debut as her Album of the Year in 2020.[7] The Guardian's Laura Snapes picked out Billy Nomates as one to watch in 2020, describing her voice as "deadpan yet biting", offering "an acute lens on British class structure".[3]

Discography

Studio albums

• Billy Nomates (2020)
• Cacti (2023)

EPs

• Emergency Telephone (2021)

Music videos

Year	Title	Director	Album
2020	"No"	Jack Joseph & Bobby Spender	Billy Nomates
	"FNP"	n/C
2021	"Heels"	Jack Joseph Dalby & Bobby Spender	Emergency Telephone
2022	"Blue Bones"	Tia Salisbury	Cacti
	"Balance is Gone"	NWSPK
	"Saboteur Forcefield"	John Minton
	"Spite"	NWSPK

References

1. "Archived Official Website". Retrieved 18 January 2024.
2. "BALANCE IS GONE". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
3. "One to watch: Billy Nomates". the Guardian. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
4. "Billy Nomates review – post-punk soloist could do with some company". the Guardian. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
5. Murphy, Lauren (7 August 2020). "Billy Nomates: Billy Nomates review – One of the quirkier albums of the year". The Irish Times.
6. Pilley, Max (4 March 2021). "Billy Nomates – 'Emergency Telephone' EP review: dial into one of Britain's most distinctive new voices". NME.
7. "6 Music Recommends Albums Of The Year 2020". BBC Radio 6 Music.