Meet Hot Property: England’s Grittiest Rock Revivalists

Words by Chiara Rosati C.

Evoking the raw spirit of ’70s rock and injecting it with a distinctly Gen Z digital fluency, Hot Property is one of the most exciting new bands to emerge from the UK in recent years. Fronted by Gabe Corrigan and rounded out by guitarists Luca Arshad and Jonny Webber, drummer Brad Telstar, and bassist Tyla Challenger, this charismatic quintet is rapidly building a devoted following both online and off.

This year Hot Property played Leeds Festival, went on their first UK tour — which kicked off in Camden, naturally — and dropped a powerhouse debut single: the attitude-soaked rock love anthem “Ain’t That A Lotta Love”. While their presence on TikTok and self-styled visuals might suggest algorithm-savvy branding, make no mistake: this isn’t clickbait rock. Hot Property is rooted in the energy and ethos of old-school rock ‘n’ roll.

I met the band backstage at the Camden Club. This interview turned out to be their first ever, and we’re now finally releasing it, with a few updates. As they prepare to take their growing cult fanbase into the next chapter, one thing is clear: Hot Property isn’t here to imitate the past — these boys are here to reinvent it.

Photo by wwolnyphotography

Where are you guys from? And how did you meet each other? 

Gabe: We’re all from different places. I’m from East Yorkshire. Luca’s from Massachusetts. Tyla’s from Birmingham. Brad’s from…

Brad: Walsall, Birmingham. 

Gabe: And Jonny’s from Bristol. Jonny and I met at a gig. His band was sort of in the last stages of splitting up, so we got talking about another project, and we kept in touch.

Luca: But this is not the origin story!

I definitely wanna hear the origin story.

Luca: One day, I went on a pub crawl throughout Camden with one of my friends, Aurelio, because it was his first day back from America. I was trying to start a band with him at the time. We were in The Good Mixer, and I saw Gabe. I just told him: “You look cool, do you play guitar?”, and he’s like: “No, but I’m a singer”. We hung out for a few months. Then, in the summertime, we went to a little cookout at our friend Dizzy Lizzy’s. That’s where we met Jonny. 

Gabe: After that, I saw Jonny at his last gig with his other band. We started our band, and I got Luca in it. Then on TikTok, I saw a video of Brad doing a drum cover of a song I really like, so I messaged him, and he joined the band.

Luca: What was the song?

Gabe: Stay With Me (by Faces).

Luca: Stay With Me!

Gabe: And Tyla was a friend of Brad’s, so he brought him along. 

Brad: Tyla and I have known each other for ages. We’re like a married couple.

Tyla: We also had a bit of a project. That wasn’t really moving because we didn’t have the members that we needed, so we all joined forces. 

Did you know what everyone’s musical style was like when you first met as a band? Or was it a bit of a blind date?

Jonny: We all went in blind, really. When I met Gabe and Luca, I thought they looked like they should be in bands, but I didn’t know much more. It turns out that Luca’s sick on the guitar and Gabe’s a great singer.

What makes you compatible, musically speaking?

Gabe: I feel like we all want the same thing, we all like the same music, and we all want to make the same music. We just want rock and roll to be at the forefront again, like it used to be. There aren’t a lot of UK bands right now that have that old-school kind of performance and style. We all have the same opinion about it, so that’s what makes it easy. 

Jonny: Yeah, there isn’t much argument about how a song should go; it’s very natural.

Do you feel like you’ve influenced each other, although you’re all into the same music?

Brad: I suppose so. We play each other different songs, and we definitely take inspiration from that.

Jonny: Yeah, I think we do. When you have a band together, everybody influences the music, even if they don’t realise it, just from the vibe that everyone gives off.

What’s the story behind the name “Hot Property”? 

Gabe: It’s a long story. We kept going back and forth with names.

Luca: For five months.

Five Months?! 

Luca: We went to Wales to record, and there’s one night when I read the entire dictionary, every single word, and I wrote down every word I liked. 

Tyla: I think Gabe and I have that list. We had about 500 names each.

Gabe: I think I said “Hot Property” ages ago. We all liked it, but we just sort of forgot about it for a while before going back to it.

What does this name mean for you? 

Luca: I like that it has sort of a rhyme with the “hot” and “prop”. It’s memorable. We wanted a name that could show what we are. We’re five confident guys, and “Hot Property” is a name you have to live up to. 

Gabe: But it’s not a cocky thing.

Tyla: When people say “Hot Property”, that’s exactly what we want to give to them.

I see, it’s how you would define the experience you’re creating for the audience.

Tyla: Yes!

Who do you look up to the most? I’d love to hear from all of you.

Luca: Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits was the reason I got into guitar, like “Sultans of Swing”, “Lady Writer”, etc. I think “Money For Nothing” has probably the best riff of all time. I wouldn’t say he’s my biggest inspiration playing-wise, but he’s my favourite guitarist. 

Tyla: For me, Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, he’s unreal. Simon Gallup from The Cure, as well. The way he uses the bass is really unique. It’s not just them, though. I have eclectic influences.

Gabe: In terms of their stage presence, I like Rod Stewart, Little Richard, and Mick Jagger. 

Brad: Drums-wise, probably Keith Moon is going to be up there. He’s just an absolute animal. Even Rod Stewart’s drummer, Carmine Appice. I think he’s a big inspiration for me. I like any drummer who puts on a bit of a show, cause we’re usually at the back of the stage.

Jonny: It’s a tough one for me. I like any guitarist who’s got a natural feel for rhythm, like Keith Richards, Joe Perry from Aerosmith… and Steve Cropper, he plays everything so tastefully.

What about your artistic inspirations beyond music? In fashion, literature, cinema, etc.

Tyla: We all have a lot of fashion influences.

Oh, I can tell. 

Luca: I love Heidi Slimane! He’s a big fashion influence. 

Tyla: I think Bowie’s always an inspiration in both music and fashion. 

Gabe: I watch a lot of films, so I got a lot of style inspiration from films like Casino (1995), Serpico (1973), and Almost Famous (2000). 

Great movies, by the way. 

Gabe: Yeah, great films with great outfits and actors. Actually, performance-wise, my sister introduced me to this thing called “clowning”.

Haha, yes, I studied that at drama school. What do you think of it?

Gabe: Well, during her first lesson, she had to stand on stage and make a fool of herself on purpose. She told me that it was a really difficult experience, but that was the beauty of it. You take yourself less seriously.

I agree, and that’s very useful for any artist performing on a stage, especially a frontman. Do you write the lyrics for the band? 

Gabe: That’s me and Jonny. I can’t play an instrument, so Jonny usually does the instrumental. Then I just go away, write to it, and if I’m struggling with a few lines, Jonny will come in with some lyrics.

What kind of themes do you normally focus on?

Gabe: Honestly, I couldn’t tell you. Some will be from the last thing I’ve watched or even an old memory. It’s just whatever I’m thinking of at that time. For example, my dad used to tell me about this American circus in the UK when I was a kid. It probably wasn’t very good, but I used to picture it as this magical place full of oddities. My dad mentioned it to me again a year or two ago, and I just started writing a song about what it looked like in my head as a kid. That was how the song “American Circus” came about. 

That sounds quite dreamy, can’t wait to hear it live! What about the creative process behind your first single, “Ain’t That A Lotta Love”? Tell me about how you worked together to make that happen.

Jonny: I think it was a demo I did. We went through several stages, and it took a long time before we thought it was any good. It wasn’t one of those songs where we were like “Oh, that was great”. Originally, it didn’t have a bridge; it was just a solo in the middle. I think the song was even called something else, something absolutely awful. Then one day, I was listening to the demo on National Express to try and come up with something better. I was trying for ages, then just as I finally gave up, the phrase “ain’t that a lotta love” came out of nowhere. 

Tyla: Yeah, it’s evolved a lot. We went into the studio, like, three times for that song. 

Brad: When I first got in, I remember Jonny played a bunch of voice notes with just a live guitar. That’s how I created my part, but you do end up changing things when you go into the studio. 

Do you guys feel part of a wider movement, as well as embraced by the current music scene in the UK? This is a question I’ve had on my mind since Issey from The Molotovs mentioned it to me.

Gabe: Well, a lot of it right now isn’t rock and roll music anymore. I actually don’t know what it is…

Tyla: I don’t think what we’re doing has a wider scene, yet. However, online, we’ve really felt the love, like on TikTok and Instagram, where there’s a worldwide audience. 

Jonny: Like Tyla said, there’s no real scene for our style of music in the UK, but a lot of people seem to really like what we’re offering, so it’s definitely something that people want. Hopefully, that will work in our favour. 

The online response has been amazing so far. I was wondering, in terms of your stage presence, do you feel like you have created characters for yourselves? 

Tyla: Whenever you get on stage, you play a bit of a character. 

Jonny: I think Bowie said that being on stage is a mixture of who you are and who you want to be, and that’s probably the best way to describe it. 

To explore your identity as a band further, I’d like to suggest a little psychological test. It’s three very simple questions, and you can all have different answers. The first question would be what colour represents Hot Property, the second what animal, and the third what body of water. 

Gabe: Colour… leopard print.

Tyla: Gotta be red.

Luca: Red.

Tyla: For passion—

Brad: Sith.

I see Brad is a Star Wars fan.

Luca: For an animal, any big cat, maybe a tiger. 

Brad: I’m gonna go with a shoebill.

Gabe: Don’t listen to him, haha.

Luca: Shut up, Brad, it’s a big cat!

Sold! What about a body of water? 

Gabe: The Thames, to keep us all grounded. 

Tyla: Filthy.

Luca: You wouldn’t want to go in it.

Gabe: Yeah, the Thames because we’re a little bit filthy.

Now I’m going to tell you what everything is supposed to mean. The colour represents who you are as a band at your very core. The animal embodies how you would like to be perceived from an outside perspective. The body of water symbolises your sexuality instead…

Gabe: Maybe not the Thames then…. 

Haha, what’s next for Hot Property? 

Gabe: Our next single is coming out this Friday at midnight BST ! It’s called “Saddle Up”.

Wonderful news! Can’t wait to hear it! 

One last question: Are you a star or a freak?

Tyla: I’d probably say we’re a bit of both. I’m not sure you can have the one without the other

See Hot Property live at their “Saddle Up” release party on 25 October 2025 at Slim Jim’s Liquor Store in London.

Photos by wwolnyphotography