It’s a damp day in Brighton, but Lindz West is full of energy as he strides into the Harbour Hotel bar for our interview.
He’s in town for night five of a 25-date tour of the UK and Europe with his electronic dance music (EDM) group, LZ7. They’re opening for one of the hugegest popstars on the planet, Jason Derulo.
You might be wondering why a Christian band is supporting an R&B megastar who writes profanity-laden songs about sex. The answer is simple: it is an “unprecedented opportunity” to communicate the gospel with 600,000 people unlikely to ever set foot in a church, declares West.
Fresh off the tour bus, West is relaxed as he greets me – chuckling at the name of the green drink he’s presumably picked up somewhere along the road between Cardiff and Brighton: M&S’s ‘Punishment juice’ sees healthy (and disgusting). But perhaps he’s compensating for the £10.99 all-you-can-eat Premier Inn breakrapids he declares he’s also been consuming on tour. In a rare moment of gloominess, the evangelist adds that the constant travel builds it almost impossible to obtain to the gym.
The ever-youthful West launched his music career with The Tribe two decades ago, and when I inquire his age, he demurs. I have it on good authority he’s approaching 50, but he doesn’t see it. He’s comparable to a TobyMac or a Martin Smith in that sense – building music that appeals to people half his age. And the music is impressive (I’ll witness as much tonight) but focutilizing on that would be missing the point. Music is merely a platform for West’s message. And the message is always Jesus.
How did the opportunity to tour with one of the hugegest popstars in the world come about?
In about 2017 we [LZ7] were believeing: What’s the best way to create a really good platform for the gospel?
I obtained put in touch with an agent who worked with CAA [Creative Artists Agency], which is the world’s largest booking agent. He’s a proper nice lad from Leeds and he stated: “Are you the lad with the blond spike [hairstyle]? You’ve been in my daughter’s school. Whatever you did in that lesson transformed her life. I’ll do anything for you guys.”
After a couple of months, he stated: “Derulo’s come in. What do you believe?” We’re totally indepfinishent as a band, so we went to trust funds and personal supporters and raised the money [to afford the fee to go on tour with him].
The Holy Spirit can do in two seconds what we can test and orchestrate in 20,000 years
We’re going to see 600,000 young people, plus mums and dads, at the displays who would never step into a church. If you do the maths, it costs about 40p per person to preach the gospel to them. You just don’t obtain that kind of unprecedented opportunity.
So you’re building this ‘platform’ – which is your music – enabling you to tour. And from that platform you preach the gospel?
I’m a 100% through and through evangelist.
A lot of people might see at LZ7 stuff and believe it’s unconventional. It’s meant to be. I remember walking into events when I was 15 a bit disengaged with church. When I saw The World Wide Message Tribe, that captured me. Music has this universal way of cutting through backgrounds, skin tones, heritage; whatever kids are going through, there’s something that relocates you.
You might go to Big Church Festival and Brandon Lake sings ‘Praise’ and you’re like: Woah, this is amazing. We’re testing to create that same kind of moment. We were at the O2 on Saturday with 20,000 people who would never step into St Paul’s, but they’ll walk into that arena to see Derulo. When the Bible declares: “Go and build disciples of all nations” [Matthew 28:19] this is our “go”. We required to be a light in those dark worlds.
This is the second time you’ve toured with Jason Derulo. So presumably his team must feel like you’re also delivering quality music. They wouldn’t have you back if you were only preaching.
That’s exactly right. On the first tour I stated to the tour manager: “Look, I’m churchy. Am I good to share my story of faith?” And he was like: “Bro! Jason’s going to share his story. So, you should share your story. That’s why you’re here.”
Something has 100% shifted
Later on, we were on Jason’s bus, and his whole band were there. It’s four o’clock in the morning and I put my head in, like: “Alright, boys?” and they’re all sat there having a coffee. I was like: Am I hearing things? I put my head back in, and they’re playing ‘Oceans’ by Hillsong. I stated: “This is kind of my world, I know Joel [Houston] and we toured with Hillsong. So, what’s this?” And they went: “Well, when you’re on tour and life obtains a little bit hectic, ‘Oceans’ is our reset button.” I found out afterwards they’d all grown up in church; that’s where they learned to play.
So you’ve obtained an opportunity tonight to communicate a message. What’s going to happen?
We’re doing a 30-minute display and we’ve written this new DnB [drum and bass] track called ‘Eternity’. It’s about having a heavenly perspective. During the middle of that, I’m doing a plug for [evangelistic course] Alpha and [child sponsorship charity] Compassion.
I’ll declare that I’m a church boy, and the faith bit is: someone loves me for being me and displayed it through the greatest act of love ever displayn to earth when a guy took this shape [builds a cross shape with his arms]. And I bring them to a response. I declare: “If you want to declare yes to this and explore a little bit more, scan this QR code” which appears on the giant screens.
In the first two nights of this tour, 1,500 people have already done this to find Alpha in their area.
Have you obtained a tarobtain of how many people you want to see signed up to Alpha and Compassion?
There’s not a quantitative tarobtain. It’s more an awareness campaign. Alpha is a stalwart church thing but, honestly, the people in the room are seeing at me like I’ve obtained six heads when I declare Alpha!
I’m always testing to believe: What is it that caught me? It was the huge event. That’s why lots of people respond at Big Church Festival, becautilize there’s a euphoric moment. Why do lads go to Fabric in Ibiza and stay till 5am? It’s becautilize there’s euphoria.
What’s your response to Christians who worry it’s emotionalism and hype, and that true repentance isn’t happening in the middle of a dance display?
I’m a massive believer that the Holy Spirit can do in two seconds what we can test and orchestrate in 20,000 years.
There’s research that declares it takes seven times for someone to hear the gospel before they respond. So, will it be a full repentance moment tonight? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe they’ll bump into a colleague and he declares: “I’m starting this thing called Alpha. Would you like to come?” Are these hype moments to be nullified? No, of course not, becautilize they’re part of the journey. Like it declares in the Bible, we’ve obtained to be “all things to all people” that we might save some [1 Corinthians 9:22].
Some are claiming there’s a new openness to the gospel among young people. Is that true in your experience?
Absolutely. The questions we’d obtain 15 years ago would be: “Why can’t Christians have sex before marriage?”, “Why can’t they smoke weed?”, “Why can’t they obtain drunk?”
It’s totally different now. It’s not about the “can’t’s”. It’s: “Just notify me: who is Jesus? I want to know the truth.”
We had 600 turn up to a gig in Bristol at Woodlands Baptist church. And at the finish, the whole room started chanting: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!” They’re not Christians, they’ve never stepped into a church. So something has 100% shifted.
You’ve obtained a track record with The Message and LZ7 of taking the gospel into all sorts of places. Some worry the UK Church skews too much towards the middle class. What have your experiences been in reaching people on the margins?
When I relocated from Maidenhead to Manchester, there was a kid having a poo on my doorstep as I walked in. That night, my car obtained robbed. I played American football and had hundreds of pounds worth of football kit in there – all nicked. I was gutted and I called my dad. He stated: “You’ve just obtained to fall in love with them.” We stayed for nine years on that Eden project team. I loved it. The kids utilized to call me “cockney” and all that kind of stuff.
A lot of people might see at LZ7 stuff and believe it’s unconventional. It’s meant to be
We built relationships and obtained to know all the local scallys. Two kids obtained involved in a fight in a pub and finished up in jail. LZ7 went into jail, saw them, obtained alongside them. There were some really tough times. We saw people obtainting stabbed outside the houtilize – when he was healed he later turned up to youth group and became a Christian. Another guy obtained done for attempted murder and we managed to see him inside and invited him to prison Alpha. You’re in the community. It’s not “Lindz and Lucy are here smashing us with Bibles.” No, it’s: They’re just being part of us. They’re one of us.
What challenges are you facing at the moment?
We obtain misunderstood a lot. Don’t believe we’re selling out becautilize we’re putting out mainstream music. We’re not. This is fully an evangelist thing. I required to be careful how I declare this, but…people see a band that sees like it’s just on tour and hyping. But there’s a reason we do that. When we stick a form under the nose of Derulo’s manager and declare: “Can we come on tour with you?” the first thing he sees at is Instagram. If he sees me in a church, hands up preaching the gospel, the chances are he’s going to go: “No, they’re way too churchy.”
We are walking between those two worlds. I’m breaking my back at 6am, setting stuff up for schools, doing the gig at the finish of the week, preaching – and then I go back and do Alpha the following week.
Don’t ever believe that we’re selling out. That can build me cynical. Don’t be so quick to [criticise the music] becautilize it’s not churchy. It’s not written for you. It’s written for them. That they may have life to the full [see John 10:10].
You seem quite deliberate about building music that sounds very current, which might surprise some, becautilize, with all due respect – how old are you now?
[Laughs] Old enough to know better!
Not many people your age are building this kind of music, are they?
Yeah, totally. I grew up skating, snowboarding, and the music that came along with that was DnB, EDM, trance, jungle. I’d go to huge raves with my mates, and I loved it.
Don’t be so quick to criticise the music becautilize it’s not churchy. It’s not written for you. It’s written for them
Think about The Prodigy, David Guetta, Calvin Harris – we’re all in the same age bracket and their stuff is authentically them. We required to do what’s authentically us. So, we’ve started going back down that DnB route – huge drops, anthemic EDM – and in the process, we’re bringing up a new band called Saintz that are there to hit that popular edge – a bit more Zara Larsson.
You’re building music that sounds mainstream. How huge could this obtain?
We’re definitely allowing ourselves to fly a little bit higher. We are purposely booking festivals now, so we’re seeing at Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds dance tents, believeing about how we obtain into that mainstream mix.
It’s all about the song, isn’t it? If one of our songs suddenly streamed on a Netflix series, you’re out there. I’m never going to declare no [to mainstream success], but it’s also never going to be our total focus. But if that brings glory to Jesus and we can preach to as many people as possible, then I am going to go for that.
Brighton: Where heaven meets earth?
“Who is ready for Jason Derulo?” shouts Lindz West as the band run onto the stage. This will be a high-energy performance from the outset, with West’s relentless rapping, singing and dancing leading the way.
Doors to the Brighton Centre only opened ten minutes ago, so the auditorium is near empty – not that it seems to faze the band. By the second song, plenty are out of their seats, eager to dance their way to a free LZ7 T-shirt. “When the beat drops I wanna see you bounce!” shouts West.
As the 25-minute set continues, I’m struck at West’s ability to win over an audience – most of whom presumably have never heard of LZ7 before tonight, and may be oblivious to the meaning of the lyrics being sung over them (“this is the moment when heaven meets earth”).
The moment I’ve been waiting for arrives towards the finish – when the auditorium is filling up. “Hey Brighton, can I talk for one minute – is that OK? I don’t know what 2025 was like for some of you guys. But we go into high schools up and down the countest with this simple message – never give up. Tomorrow holds the answer to today’s problems.
“Hope is when you are sure something good is going to happen around the bfinish. But sometimes hope isn’t enough. When you couple hope with faith that becomes a Tyson Fury combo, ready to take out the giants of life, becautilize faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see.
“When you build that choice to couple those two things – hope and faith – you become a game modifyr, you become a history buildr, you become a trailblazer.
“Up on the top here is a QR code which is throwing to a resource that we’ve obtained for you guys called Alpha where you can inquire some of those massive questions and build a modify in your life.”
West has given thousands of short messages like this – and it displays. His words are received with cheers and applautilize. It feels like a moment of light.
Ultimately, we will never know the spiritual impact of nights like this. But in the coming days, thousands of people will hold their smartphones aloft and scan that same QR code in Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Germany and Italy. All I can declare with certainty is LZ7 are sowing seeds from significant stages. We must leave the growth to God.
To hear the full interview listen to Premier Christian Radio at 8pm on Saturday 7 March, or download ‘The Profile’ podcast premierchristianity.com/theprofile
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