Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite: ‘It was an honour to get the call from The Cure’s Robert Smith’

Mogwai frontman Stuart Braithwaite says it was an ‘honour’ to get a call from The Cure’s Robert Smith to play this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust shows.

The Royal Albert Hall will play host to a stellar line-up of talent handpicked by the iconic frontman in aid of the charity this March.

Scottish post-rock giants Mogwai will play alongside Wolf Alice, My Bloody Valentine, Elbow, Manic Street Preachers, Garbage, and comedy stars for a week-long celebration raising money for cancer care for young people.

Mogwai’s show on March 25 marks the second time the band have graced the legendary venue since their first appearance in 2006 – and Smith was there himself.

‘It’s a big honour to be asked to do anything by Robert’, Stuart tells Metro. ‘He’s someone whose music I’ve grown up with and really admire. It’s great to support the charity – they do so much great work.

‘To get to play the Royal Albert Hall again – one of the most iconic venues in the world – is a real privilege.

‘We are playing with some great acts – Robert’s done a good job of getting a varied selection of people to play.’

Next year also marks the 30th anniversary of Mogwai’s lauded debut album Mogwai Young Team and Stuart admits he feels lucky the band is still going strong after three decades.

‘Back then, we were kids, teenagers, when we started the band’, Stuart added. ‘When you’re that young, you think of life in terms of weeks and months, not years and decades.

‘Every time an anniversary comes around, it’s like “wow, people still want to hear what we’re doing”‘.

‘I feel lucky to be in this position because a lot of bands that came up around the same time as us, for whatever reason, aren’t able to make music full-time, or the band members fell out.

‘The landscape then couldn’t be more different, could it? It was a pre-internet age. There’s more music now because it’s easier to make, but so many things are so much harder.

‘It’s harder for new bands to get heard above the noise because there’s so much music and less magazines and radio shows.

‘We used to rely on fanzines to get our music out back then. Now, if you’re savvy and understand algorithms, you can become super famous in a week.’

Last month, the Music Venue Trust revealed 30 grassroots music venues closed in 2025 with 6,000 jobs cut.

Mogwai, like the artists on this year’s line-up, cut their teeth in places like the Barrowland in Glasgow and Stuart says new bands need to have somewhere to play.

‘Even The Cure, I’m sure they weren’t fully formed playing arenas’ he added. ‘I’m sure they had to play bars for quite a bit before they got well known. That avenue is so important for the bands that eventually headline these types of shows.’

Tickets for Mogwai’s concert on March 25, and other Teenage Cancer Trust Shows, are available now.