“Are all those people there just to see you guys?

That was the reaction of Prep guitarist Dan Radclyffe’s sister in London when he sent a video of one his band’s two recent sold out shows in Bangkok, Thailand where some 10,000 fans crammed the venue.

Radclyffe’s mates in Prep, the four-piece English indie pop band – vocalist Tom Havelock, drummer Guillaume Jambel, and keyboardist Llywelyn Myrddin – all laughed.

The quirk in the career of this London-based indie pop band is they have found a wider audience if not more success abroad than in their native England.

In fact, they are back in Manila for a third time in the past five years.

“Always a charm to be here,” smiled Havelock.

Aside from the breezy pop that exudes lightness and positivity that has appealed to many youngsters, Prep’s brand of music is something Asians and Filipinos are familiar with – City Pop – the Japanese coined term for this kind of Western-influenced music that embraced pop, jazz, rhythm and blues, and soft rock.

“We didn’t know that was what it was called,” admitted Jambel. “Dan and I are vinyl collectors and we listen to this kind of music. We just didn’t know that is what they called it in this region. And it was trying to do a Walter Becker (of American jazz rock band Steely Dan fame) to Prep’s music.”

Whatever the term – Manila calling to a faraway land. A war is declared on the ravages of COVID-19. Boys and girls can come out of the cupboard and celebrate life with Prep.

After two years of lockdown due to the Covid-19 virus and not being able to perform live, the current Asian tour has been like an elixir for youth and life.

“The shows on this current tour have hit us in an emotional way,” said Myrddin.

Sure. In ways they never saw coming.

When the band released their first extended play single titled, “Futures,” in 2016, little did they know that six years later, they would become an increasingly popular act among Asian and Filipino audiences.

“Because of streaming platforms, Pinoys, although still a select market and still not as general compared to the Thai and Korean market for Prep, have grown steadily,” bared Terno Recordings boss and tour promoter Toti Dalmacion who previously brought the band here in 2018 and 2019.

When Prep first came over in 2018, they were there to perform at Terno Recordings’ Christmas party although some tickets were sold to fans.

“Only 75 or so people bought tickets,” said Dalmacion. “But the next year, we sold it out.”

Aside from their two sold out shows in Bangkok, Prep also performed in Indonesia. Manila is the third stop of their Asian tour where they will be performing to a sold out show at the Samsung Hall this Wednesday, November 16.

For the last leg of their Asian tour, the band will fly to Seoul, Korea for a concert at the Yes24 Live Hall that has a capacity of about 3,000 people on Friday, November 18. Another sell out is expected.

So how do they like the “future?”

“You mean that Prep has found even greater success in Asia or even the United States as opposed to our native England?” wondered Havelock. “It’s pretty cool.”

Prep cut their eyeteeth in live performances in the Philippines and other regional countries such that by the time they got to the US, they had become better as a live band.

“We felt at the beginning that we were going to be a more studio band,” shared Jambel. “But the touring and live aspect has become such an integral part in our evolution that we have embraced it. And it has changed the dynamics of the band.”

Now, the band will consummate their love affair with Manila with this being the third time to perform for a Filipino audience. They will also perform some new songs from an upcoming album, their second.

“The response of the Asian audiences has been an amazing surprise for us,” bared Havelock. “The first time we came over to Manila we hardly played any shows. We came here before we went to America, and the response we got, the confidence we got had this massive effect on us.”

While gabbing about this current tour, we postulated about putting out live albums from the large fan bases in Asia; it was something the band liked and deemed possible.

After all, if Pearl Jam frequently allows for official live bootlegs of their shows, then why not for Prep?

“We have to make sure we record the audiences who sing along to our music,” enthused Havelock.

That though bears some study. Havelock did promise to think about it seriously for the future.

There’s that word again.

For now, Manila is calling. A sort of homecoming for this quartet.

“We’re here for several days and we like this rather than rushing from one show to another,” summed up Havelock. “And we get to see more of this beautiful country.”

Come Wednesday, November 16, it will be time for Prep to turn up the music.