Miles Hunt: The Truth About The Wonder Stuff, Success and Staying Yourself

Miles Hunt explains why he left The Wonder Stuff in 1994, despite the band being at the height of its commercial success—and why not one member asked whether he was sure.

In this candid Pop: The History Makers interview, Miles talks about The Wonder Stuff, success, anxiety, humour, friendship, songwriting and the sometimes painful cost of speaking his mind.

He remembers growing up in Stourbridge, discovering punk through the Sex Pistols, playing drums alongside musicians who would form Pop Will Eat Itself, and transforming himself from a painfully shy child into one of British alternative music’s most confrontational frontmen.

Miles reveals the stories behind “The Size of a Cow,” “Welcome to the Cheap Seats” and “Mission Drive”; discusses the lyrical influence of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Morrissey and Howard Devoto; and explains how working with Vic Reeves on the number-one single “Dizzy” affected The Wonder Stuff’s credibility.

He also speaks about his complicated friendship with Clint Mansell, rediscovering his creative instincts with Vent 414, regretting some of his earlier behaviour and the extraordinary relationship he has developed with fans who have carried The Wonder Stuff’s music through their adult lives.

This is Miles Hunt unfiltered: funny, reflective, provocative and unexpectedly moving.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Miles Hunt and The Wonder Stuff
00:40 Shyness, anxiety and becoming a frontman
02:42 Revisiting our disastrous first MTV interview
04:40 Family, politics and humour
08:09 Finding belonging through music
09:39 Hearing the Sex Pistols for the first time
14:34 Why Stourbridge produced so many bands
17:28 Humour, insults and surviving the local scene
20:04 From drummer to confrontational frontman
23:52 Morrissey, Dylan and Miles’s lyrical influences
28:29 “The Size of a Cow” and absurd humour
33:38 Rediscovering how he writes best
38:04 Why Miles left The Wonder Stuff in 1994
40:43 Fame, journalists and protecting himself with humour
44:47 Clint Mansell and the story behind “Mission Drive”
46:14 Did “Dizzy” damage The Wonder Stuff’s credibility?
49:12 What Vent 414 gives Miles creatively
52:27 The remarkable bond between Miles and his audience
55:35 One final disastrous question

The Wonder Stuff celebrate their 40th anniversary with a major UK tour in 2026, accompanied by special guests Inspiral Carpets on selected dates.

Tour dates and tickets:
https://thewonderstuff.co.uk/tour/

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The Wonder Stuff & Inspiral Carpets — UK Tour 2026

1 October — Newcastle, O2 City Hall
2 October — Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse
3 October — Sheffield, The Octagon Centre
8 October — Brighton, Brighton Dome
9 October — Bournemouth, O2 Academy
10 October — Margate, Dreamland (Hall by the Sea)
14 October — Glasgow, Barrowland
15 October — Cardiff, Great Hall
16 October — Leeds, O2 Academy
17 October — Leicester, O2 Academy
22 October — Scarborough, Scarborough Spa
23 October - Bristol O2 Academy
24 October — Norwich, University of East Anglia
29 October — Lincoln, Engine Shed
30 October — Wolverhampton, Civic Hall
31 October — Liverpool, Olympia
8 December — London, O2 Academy Brixton