Billy Nomates

Few stage names carry as much story as Billy Nomates, which grew from an insult aimed at Victoria Ann "Tor" Maries when she showed up alone to a gig. The English singer-songwriter, raised in Leicester, spent years in bands that went largely unnoticed before a Sleaford Mods show drew her back to music after a period of depression. Her sound, shaped after a move to Bournemouth, sits in no wave territory, with critics also hearing post-punk and a sprechgesang delivery.

Her debut album, recorded in Bristol with Portishead's Geoff Barrow, arrived in 2020 and caught the ear of BBC Radio 6 Music, where Amy Lamé made it her album of the year. A year later she featured on Sleaford Mods' "Mork n Mindy", and in October 2021 released the Emergency Telephone EP on Barrow's Invada label. Second album Cacti followed in 2023, but a Glastonbury set performed to a backing track brought a torrent of online abuse, and she asked the BBC to remove the footage. Her third album, Metalhorse, came out in 2025 and was the first to feature other players, including bassist Mandy Clarke and drummer Liam Chapman.