Weekly > Reviews
Armstrong - IF Leeds
So there I was on 17th March …. bit knackered and gig-deaf having been to see The Rise (another gig, another story), walking up t’Headrow in Leeds with friend, wondering what to do next. We decided we needed a chill and some settees so went to IF.
And after a few mins recovering, we heard the distinctive sound of a band. A live band. Somewhere in the same building …. so off we went hunting. And we found. On descending the stairs of IF, we happened upon the most energetic bunch of musicians I’ve ever seen.
The noise was deafening. The frontman was mad. And they were good. And they are called *Armstrong. Their music, leaning towards metal rock, although not of the very heavy variety, wasn’t my cup de tea (no offence lads) BUT I was fascinated. Tim the frontman spent much of his time off ground – on tables, chairs, up walls, on bannisters, nearly tripping himself up on the mike lead – and eventually ended up being told off by the stern-faced bouncers. But what a frontman. During all his antics, not once did his perfectly tuned tones falter, even when the mike did. And not only was he doing that, he was playing keyboard too. I was knackered just watching. The rest of the band were just as entertaining, joining in with the vocals and antics and just contributing to the general entertainment.
- Armstrong
- IF Leeds (17th March 2006)
- Category: Live
- Reviewed by: Rachel
- Published on: 02 Apr 2006
- Comments: 0
- Beat Surrender Rating:
Weblinks
Add to favouritesAnd yes I have done my research so I can tell you a little more about them.
This Leeds (hurrah)-based bunch of young fellas have been together since July 2005 and “suit themselves sharper than the Killers and possess a lead singer who makes Ricky Wilson (Kaiser Chiefs) seem positively comatose” (words nicked from Tim’s email so thank you).
And these are the details of how they got together, words courtesy of Tim.
“Founder members Jay Armstrong (Guitar) and Tim Talbot (Vocals/Synths) met at school and began writing together after A-levels in 2004. Jay went home to Hong Kong during his gap year and sent Tim instrumentals over the internet. The two then decided to meet back in the UK to work on the songs properly and get some demos down and get some gig bookings. The band officially formed in July 2005, incorporating Tim’s close friend Mr John Atkins (Guitars) into the setup. The trio have so far been through 3 bassists, 3 drummers and a drum machine in a quest for the perfect line-up.
If Bar was the last show for Sam Edgington (Bass) and Paul Crown (Drums). The new members have recently been announced as, Jay’s brother, Harry Armstrong (Bass), fresh from A-levels, and Sam George (Drums). Tim met Sam on his music degree at Leeds Uni”.
Complicated eh? But it works. Despite only being together a short time, they have achieved stacks, having played to packed venues in London, Oxford and Peterborough and several sell-outs in Leeds. *Armstrong will be playing top London venue The Garage on May 6th before touring the UK in July and details of dates will be on their website soon. The band have also been included on a compliation by Virgin Megastore and they’ve been invited to play at Rock the City 2006 in addition to supporting German Top 20 hitsters Emil Bulls at their first UK show.
So not bad for a fledgling band, and listen to this …. *Armstrong have turned the heads of top indie labels Fierce Panda and Visible Noise. So watch this space ….
If you fancy finding out what this band are all about, most of their downloads are free, so get yourself on their website.
Thanks very much to TIM TALBOT of *Armstrong for the information and quotes.
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