Leave Nothing But Memories

They say the bonds formed as teenagers are the strongest. In that case, Wales’ main
contenders The Royston Club are an unbreakable unit, formed in Wrexham by schoolfriends
Ben Matthias (Guitar), Tom Faithfull (lead vocals, guitar) Dave Tute (Bass), later adding Sam
Jones (drums). After the lineup was complete, things moved fast: they hit the ground running,
performing a run of high-energy gigs in their hometown, self-recording and releasing demos
to an ever-expanding and devoted fanbase.


In 2021, they signed to Run On Records (home of The Coral), quickly making their mark by
releasing debut single Coasting, which reached no.10 on the official vinyl charts. Their sound
was established: anthemic indie hooks, life-affirming melodies and ragged riffs – songs to
soundtrack your life. Support slots soon came, with the likes of Jamie Webster, Blossoms and
The Academic, bookended by their own raucous headline tours. More studio time followed in
Chapel Studios, Lincoln; sessions which would eventually produce debut album Shaking
Hips And Crashing Cars, rocketing to number 16 on the official album charts, selling out of
all physical formats and subsequent special editions.


In the time after, things snowballed. They sold out London’s Koko, conquered Glastonbury
three times, headlined Focus Wales, and picked up Hollywood actor and Wrexham FC owner
Ryan Reynolds as a fan. Intermittent time on the road provided experience, space in which to
write. In early 2024, they went to Kempston Street studio, Liverpool, with producer Richard
Turvey (Blossoms, The Coral) for a session that led to last month’s critically acclaimed
comeback single The Patch Where Nothing Grows, showing a new depth to both the band’s
songwriting and performing, paving the way for an album to be confirmed later in the year.

In the meantime, the band’s rigorous work ethic continues; namely with slots at Portsmouth’s
Victorious festival, a couple of European dates, headlining both This Feeling’s Bridlington
By the Sea and Stockton’s Gathering Sounds festival, Liam Gallagher’s Malta Weekender,
and two shows at Liverpool O2 Academy, both of which have already sold out. If the
Royston Club are about to go skyward, then The Patch Where Nothing Grows is the perfect
launchpad.

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Corinne Bailey Rae is a soul-rooted contemporary R&B singer songwriter and musician, with multiple Top Ten U.K. and U.S. albums. Displaying an interest in music from an early age, Bailey Rae studied classical violin until she acquired an electric guitar in her early teens. She released her self-titled debut solo album February 2006, topping the U.K. album chart, reaching #4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and featuring #2 single “Put Your Records On”. Bailey Rae earned three Grammy nominations and was nominated for as many MOBOs, two of which — Best U.K. Female, Best U.K. Newcomer — she won. A year later, Bailey Rae featured on Herbie Hancock’s Grammy-winning River: The Joni Letters. Her second album, The Sea, was a Top Ten hit in the U.K. & U.S. after its January 2010 release and Mercury Prize-nominated. Followed by The Love EP, a five-song cover set. Her version of Marley’s “Is This Love” won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance. Bailey Rae’s third album, The Heart Speaks in Whispers, peaked at #2 on the R&B charts and was critically acclaimed, featuring the stunning “Green Aphrodisiac” named “10 Best R&B Songs of 2016” (Billboard). In February 2017, she recorded a cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” for the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack.

Bailey Rae embarked on a 2016/2017 Worldwide Tour playing over 12 countries, and has been composing music for film and TV. She continues to collaborate and perform with artists across musical genres.

Never resting on their laurels and constantly striving to challenge perceptions of the band, Reverend and the Makers have become one of the enduring and great survivors of the British music scene. With a career spanning two decades Jon McClure and his collective of musicians burst onto the scene with their Top 5 charting debut album, ‘The State of Things’. The album spawned the UK top 10 single “Heavyweight Champion of the World”. The five albums since have seen the band move through several incarnations, sounds and line ups and experience all the highs, and most of the lows, that the music industry has to offer. Each album has reached the Top 20 of the UK album charts, an impressive unbroken run of six albums. These albums have seen them cut across a creative spectrum, ranging from collective efforts to the frontman’s singular visions. Instead, The Makers is more a sobriquet, a statement of intent, a commitment and a guiding principle that has seen McClure consistently strive to build, innovate and grow musically and artistically. The Reverend’s story is one of the great survival stories of the music industry as charisma, talent, defiance and sheer willpower sees the band start a new chapter reenergized and raring to go. With a point to prove, with ‘Heatwave In The Cold North’, Reverend And The Makers set about the task in hand armed to the teeth with an arsenal of their biggest, best and most accessible and ambitious songs to date.


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Formed in 2004 The Pigeon Detectives are Matt Bowman on lead vocals, Oliver Main and Ryan Wilson on guitars, Dave Best on Bass, and Jimmi Naylor on drums. The band enjoyed a meteoric rise starting in Leeds where they released their first single in 2005 with Leeds label Dance to the Radio, then growing into the UK Music scene rapidly with debut album ‘Wait for Me’ that landed all over Radio Playlists and hit number 3 in the charts, eventually selling platinum. The album featured singalong hits like ‘I’m not Sorry’, ‘Take Her Back’, ‘I found out’ and ‘Romantic Type’. Second album ‘Emergency’ (led in by Top 20 single ‘This is an Emergency’) also charted in the Top 5 selling Gold, and 3 further albums followed.

A live act that always brings an energetic show packed full of indie bangers, The Pigeon Detectives recently went out on a packed anniversary tour to celebrate 10 years of ‘Wait for Me’ in 2017. A regular on the festival scene the Pigeon’s songs have stood the test of time as have the audiences which are a mix of all ages and testament to a band that has big tunes in the streaming age.

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In British towns where nothing much besides real life happens, there’s enough peace to form plans and the abundant energy, momentum and initiative to fuel all notions of escape. The K’s, Merseyside’s four-strong, rousing, real-world-documenting indie phenomenon, brought up in a town caught between other places, used every benefit and drawback of out-of-the-way youth to create their adored, masterpiece debut album, I Wonder If The World Knows? and watch as it reached the Top 3 of the UK Official Album Chart at the first time of asking.

It’s a success made of belief. A success catalysed by the achievements of sell-out UK-wide tours, cresting with a 3,700-capacity ‘homecoming’ at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse, being handed the Best Breakthrough Act award at the 2024 Nordoff Robbins Northern Music Awards (aka The Northern Brits) and reaching major festival stages, including their Glastonbury debut in 2024, in addition to main stage appearances at Leeds, Reading and Isle of Wight Festivals, Camp Bestival, Kendal Calling and more. Knowing just those small parts of their story, who would have bet against The K’s turning out to be the band so many lost music lovers, young or old, cut adrift on seas of similarly staid suburban life, have been anxiously waiting for?

Beyond the plaudits and awards, beyond the radio play across BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio X and Absolute Radio and beyond the more than 2 million streams per month is the connection to a battalion of fans, many who have been there since their emergence in 2017. Circling a band that’s endlessly grateful for their support, so many more have caught the bug since. Speaking to NME in April 2024, front man and songwriter, Jamie Boyle, revealed that the band sees, in numerous exchanges between fans and kind words they receive directly, repeated confirmations that The K’s music has provided salvation in times of trouble. “That is worth more than any Number One ever could be,” he said. “We’re literally having a massive effect on people’s lives.”

Bands can do that. The K’s, made up of Boyle (vocals/guitar) Ryan Breslin (guitar/keyboards), Dexter Baker (bass) and Nathan Peers (drums), forming in Earlestown in 2017, have become one of those bands, yet the romance in their story doesn’t include any lines dedicated to overnight success. Quite the opposite. Giving a black eye to any critics of guitar-based indie as unintelligent or unambitious, The K’s debut single in 2017, Sarajevo, delved into the history books to find an unlikely formula of upfront, festival-ready songwriting and 20th Century European political upheaval. From the start, The K’s had gone beyond the ordinary.

Despite growing rapidly through regional venues (hitting the 1,000-capacity Manchester Academy 2 in 2019 after a handful of indie releases, including with Alan McGee’s Creation23 label), the band has released just their one, first and only album. What happened in the seven years from Sarajevo to I Wonder If The World Knows? Patience is what happened. “I’m really glad we’ve taken our time, and not rushed into anything,” said Breslin when questioned by Celeb Mix on the album campaign trail earlier this year. “I remember back in 2020 we were all feeling a bit frustrated because we felt like COVID had really set us back, but in hindsight, I think taking that little bit of a step back from everything was a smart move.”

In a world that’s always thinking one step beyond today, The K’s have taken care to live in the moment and craft songs that mean something to them and so much other people. Marquee singles from their album, No Place Like Home (600,000 Spotify streams) and Heart On My Sleeve (800,000 Spotify streams) rush with ambition yet are grounded in lyrical realism, offering as much open-hearted vulnerability and honesty as cranked-up, celebratory expressions of optimism. Giving it away line by line, such as on No Place Like Home – “Oh, but when it rains, then it pours / and I’m not moaning / I just want my serotonin levels / back to what they were before” – Boyle and the band have gained their listeners’ admiration, trust and loyalty by virtue of them holding up a mirror to the realities of their shared lives. It’s their authenticity that has counted the most.

In the same conversation with NME, Boyle opened up on the personal nature of the songs on I Wonder If The World Knows? confiding in the journalist, saying: “I feel like people can tell when someone isn’t being authentic. I want those songs to give people hope as well. It’s still a sensitive thing to talk about but a lot of the songs are about my battles with mental health. I’m living my dream every single day but there are plenty of times where I’ll feel like absolute shit. Maybe if people see that, it’ll make whatever they’re going through seem less scary.”

Disparate influences make up The K’s sound, having quoted Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, The Clash and The Jam most regularly as legends they admire and have, at one time or another, given them the motivation to pick up their instruments and create something new. In supporting Blossoms at their biggest ever outdoor show in summer 2024, stepping onto a stage before a potential 30,000 people, or accompanying Liam Gallagher as his Malta Weekender, The K’s will take up any opportunity undaunted. Knowing they have earned the right to be there, while honoured to be recognised by their peers, their destiny was mapped out by determination, faith and carrying each other over the line when it looked like the end of the road when, in fact, they were looking towards the horizon.

“I remember playing to my dad and two of his mates who weren’t even watching us,” said Breslin, in an interview with the Official Charts website. “Thank God we stuck at it through those times. If you believe in what you’re doing and love it, f**king stick at it!”

Our favourite band are back on the Main Stage!


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