Fred Again & Jamie T Unite for Euphoric New Single ‘Lights Burn Dimmer’

Fred again.. and Jamie T have officially joined forces on ‘Lights Burn Dimmer’, a high-octane reimagining of the indie icon’s 2023 track ‘Hippodrome’.

Released on February 13th, the collaboration transforms the original’s nostalgic grit into a floor-filling anthem. The track marks Fred’s third major move of 2026, following the Young Thug-assisted ‘Scared’ and Hamdi’s heavy-hitting remix of ‘OK OK’. Both tracks are set to appear on the upcoming ‘USB002 REMIXES’ album, arriving March 6.

A Full-Circle Moment

The seeds for ‘Lights Burn Dimmer’ were planted back in 2024. Ahead of his career-defining Reading Festival headline set, Fred shared a montage of his teenage years spent at the festival as a "punter," soundtracked by a then-unreleased flip of ‘Hippodrome’.

In a heartfelt Instagram caption, Fred reflected on the connection:
"For me, and I feel like sooooo many of us, this was our first festival experience... I remember sitting in our campsite with warm tinnies at the end of one of the nights listening to Jamie T. Fuck he’s so good innit."

A Rite of Passage Redefined

His performance at the festival felt like a generational shift. Before him stood a vast, restless crowd of teenagers who had come for the kind of release only a bank holiday weekend can provide. When he looked out and uttered the words, "I wanna say I know how you’re feeling because when I was 16, this was my first festival," the field was already his.

He had lived the quintessential British rite of passage: the frantic rush of exam results, the train journey with a leaking tent and a bag of cans, and that first, dizzying plunge into pure hedonism. It’s a cycle repeated annually until the zeitgeist inevitably shifts, and the names on the poster no longer spark the same fire. For decades, those headline slots were the exclusive domain of guitar-wielding bands; there was a time when anything even resembling "pop" risked being bottled off the stage.

Gleaming in a Fontaines D.C. shirt—a nod to the band who had claimed their own future headline status that same weekend—he watched as fireworks illuminated the thousands of fans perched on one another's shoulders. In that moment, he redefined what a Reading & Leeds headliner could look like. He wasn't just a global superstar; he was the same 16-year-old boy who had first fallen in love with music in that very field.

‘Lights Burn Dimmer’ is a gift to that younger version of himself: to Frederick John Philip Gibson, the 16-year-old punter in the campsite.

Expanding the USB Universe

The release continues the evolution of Fred’s ‘USB’ series. What started in 2022 as an open-ended collection of club weapons like ‘Turn On The Lights again..’ and ‘Rumble’ has grown into a prestigious archival project. After the vinyl success of ‘USB001’, December’s ‘USB002’ garnered a four-star review from NME, which praised the project for bridging the gap between "album and playlist format" and capturing an "eternal state of flux."

Retracing the 'Hippodrome'

The original ‘Hippodrome’ served as Jamie T’s final dispatch before his monumental 2023 homecoming at Finsbury Park. Performing to a staggering 45,000 fans, the show cemented his status as a rare survivor of the mid-2000s indie boom, an artist who outlasted his peers by simply refusing to "play the game."

Standing before the sea of people, Jamie was visibly moved, declaring:
"You’ll never know how much this means to me... We’ve been doing this for nearly 20 years, and we did everything the right way. Pound for pound. That’s why we’re still here."

The setlist was a masterclass in his two-decade journey, balancing The Anthems (‘Sheila’, ‘Sticks ‘N’ Stones’, ‘Zombie’) with The New Era (‘Hippodrome’, ‘The Old Style Raiders’) and fan-favourite Deep Cuts like ‘Salvador’ and ‘Emily’s Heart’.

The emotional peak arrived during the encore when Hugo White (formerly of The Maccabees) joined him on stage. It was a full-circle moment; White is the friend who gave Jamie his first guitar at age 16. Between a mid-set birthday celebration and assisting with a marriage proposal, Jamie harnessed the crowd’s "lairy camaraderie" to bring the intimacy of a misty-eyed night at the boozer to a massive festival field, a night he aptly described as "a family affair."

The ‘Theory of Whatever’ Era

While ‘Hippodrome’ leans into a softer, more reflective vein, it carries the liberated DNA of his fifth studio album, ‘The Theory of Whatever’. That record was defined by a defiant, "unbothered" attitude, famously captured during his Glastonbury set when he told the crowd: "I don’t give a flying fuck anymore." It was a breakthrough moment for an artist who has spent years navigating anxiety and industry pressure.

With lyrics like "Mouth full of vinnie sipping cans full of liquor," ‘Hippodrome’ acts as a hazy, South London travelogue. It captures a chaotic night of eluding bouncers and "chatting on old TV shows," all while Jamie grapples with the duality of being "all love, hatred and stuff." ‘The Theory of Whatever’ showcased this newfound freedom through a mix of "barbed bangers" and bold experimental shifts:

• ‘The Old Style Raiders’: A driving clarion call to fight for the things you love.
• ‘Between The Rocks’: A jagged, sharp critique of the "cynics and critics" within the music business.
• ‘90s Cars’: A dreamy blend of post-punk basslines and twinkling piano that feels both fresh and hauntingly familiar.
• ‘St. George Wharf Tower’: A shining, stripped-back ballad that puts Treays’ brilliant, vulnerable vocal at the forefront.
• ‘Sabre Tooth’: A heavy, 80s-rock-inflected track featuring a glacial guitar line that wouldn’t feel out of place on an early record by The Strokes or Bloc Party.

Is a New Era Looming?

Jamie T has always been an artist who thrives in the shadows between eras. However, it has now been four years since the release of ‘The Theory of Whatever’ in 2022. Following that record’s #1 success and the legendary scale of the Finsbury Park show, the arrival of this high-profile collaboration feels like more than just a one-off remix. For a songwriter who famously takes his time, the four-year mark usually signals a return, surely a new album is only around the corner.

While the original ‘Hippodrome’ felt more like a quiet pint with an old friend than a rowdy night out, Fred again..’s ‘Lights Burn Dimmer’ provides the "punch" the original traded for maturity. It’s a bridge between generations: Jamie T’s poetic vulnerability meets the "man of the decade’s" unstoppable dancefloor energy.