Noel Gallagher inspired Marcus Mumford to "get off his a**" and start writing the band’s latest album after a period of writer’s block.
The 31-year-old frontman has revealed a chance meeting with the 51-year-old ‘Wonderwall’ hitmaker at a bar gave him the push he needed to head back into the studio to write songs for the record that became this year’s chart-topper, ‘Delta’.
He recalled to Rolling Stone: "I was in a bar with Noel Gallagher last year, and I say, ‘I’m taking a break. I’m finding it hard to write.’
"He’s like, ‘What the f**k are you talking about? Go write a f**king song!’
"The next week, I wrote ‘Delta’ and ‘Guiding Light’, because Noel Gallagher told me to get off my a**."
The former Oasis star’s frank talk paid off, as the album shot to number one in the UK.
Meanwhile, the folk rockers – completed by Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane – believe the critically acclaimed record is the start of a new chapter in their musical journey.
Keyboardist Ben said: "I think ‘Delta’ is as close to the heart of what Mumford & Sons is all about.
"Rather than being from something that we have been defined by, this feels like what we should be defined by because we’ve put a lot of effort into making this a statement.
"It feels closer than ever to us as people — and is us moving forward. It feels like a bit of a period that is about to begin."
He added that the group has also sought to improve and develop their songwriting, and suggested they have matured together.
He added: "Our desire has always been to get better at what we do, with our music and our writing. We’ve changed quite a lot and I think we’ve grown up.
"We’ve grown together. We are on a wavelength. We are a hell of a lot less naive than we were ten years ago."
Noel Gallagher cured Marcus Mumford’s writer’s block
