Ancient history module inspires a future classic

Classics alumnus and musician Joe Langridge-Brown was inspired by one of his ancient history modules, for his band’s first single - Tempt You (Evocatio).

The band, Nothing but Thieves, recently released the song which was inspired by the topic of evocatio - a Roman religious custom of summoning gods out of enemy cities - which is covered in the Classics level six module, Pagans, Christians and Jews. 

'It's great to discover the imaginative ways in which students make use of the subjects, texts and ideas they tackle as part of their degree course,’ says Dr Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe who teaches on the module. ‘Joe's beautiful, haunting song riffs on a topic we explored through reading ancient writers like Livy, but takes it in a completely different direction - it deserves to be a big hit.'

Joe graduated from King’s in 2014 with a BA in Ancient History. Nothing but Thieves’ debut album, which features the single will be out later this year on RCA Records.