Idles rock singer Joe Talbot appears on CBeebies Bedtime Stories: ‘A welcome twist’

Idles singer Joe Talbot says it was an “honour” to guest star on CBeebies Bedtime Stories.

The Welsh activist and lead singer of post-punk band Idles, who identifies as bisexual, became the latest LGBTQ+ star to feature in the evening programme, in which stars read a bedtime story to families across the UK.

“It’s an honour that I am reading a CBeebies bedtime story,” Talbot said. “I cannot express how much I love reading to my kid so this was a welcome twist in an already beautiful career. All love.”

Tuesday’s (20 February) edition of the show saw Talbot read Under the Love Umbrella, by Davina Bell, a story following four children who navigate the world, protected by the love of their family.

The musician is the latest celebrity to appear on CBeebies Bedtime Story, with Dave Grohl, Dolly Parton, Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran having previously read stories.

He also joins LGBTQ+ stars such as Elton John and cricketing couple Nat and Katherine Sciver-Brunt in appearing on the children’s show.

In 2018, Elton read The Dog Detectives: Lost in London, by Fin and Zoa Gypsy – a mystery in which investigative pooches are on the trail of six ravens missing from the Tower of London. Nat and Katherine read Emily Coxhead’s Find Your Happy, a tale of a sloth learning to navigate their emotions.

Talbot’s appearance coincides with the release of Idles’ latest album, Tangk.

Speaking to The Guardian in anticipation of its release, Talbot said that its surprisingly emotionally vulnerable tone – unlike previous loud and angry hits – was down to his experiences of parenthood.

“When you become a parent, you’re in charge of this very vulnerable thing,” he said. “Suddenly, you’re accountable for someone else’s well-being and that makes you soften. It makes you think more.

“You become more mindful of your language, more mindful of everything.”

The band is best known for its irreverent, fast-paced singles such as “Mother” and “Never Fight a Man With a Perm”, which tackles feminist issues of toxic masculinity and misogyny.

“I have always been interested in writing about empathy and communion as a tool to fight the government we’re under,” Talbot said. “I don’t see that as political, I see that as humane.”