@janetyrrell on joining The Herd via Under Pressure
Around 2004, a band I worked with, Blades of Hades, supported The Herd in my hometown of Newcastle. They made a strong first impression.
At the time, I’d been writing, recording, and performing across genres for a few years, while living in Melbourne and studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
A few months later, The Herd invited me to write a verse for Under Pressure on their upcoming album The Sun Never Sets.
The song traces a young person navigating their path under mounting pressure, in conversation with a trusted elder.
I was invited to record with the band at Elefant Traks, contributing improvised parts to We Can’t Hear You and Can’t Breathe as well, a place I’d soon come to call home.
There was a real sense of momentum building.
When The Sun Never Sets was released, it received plenty of nods, but most importantly, strong support from radio stations like Triple J and 2SER.
The songs began travelling across the country with regular airplay. It felt like we were everywhere.
Around the same time, we filmed the Under Pressure clip, directed by Ben Briand, my first experience on set. That feeling never left me. At the sold-out Sydney album launch, I performed Under Pressure and stayed onstage, improvising harmonies through the set. The response was affirming. It felt like I’d arrived.
A week later, late on a Thursday night, my phone rang.
“Would you join the band?”
I had just graduated and was planning postgraduate study. It was a genuine fork-in-the-road moment.
I said yes.
Within days, I was touring nationally and stepping into the next chapter of The Herd - a period that would shape over two decades of music making, touring, and creative growth to come.
