PureVolume

Alfie Jackson (Vocals/Guitar) Rob Skipper (Vocals/Guitar/Fiddle)
Bryn Fowler (Bass) Dave Danger (Drums)


Many people find it surprising that a band called The Holloways, so strongly connected to the Holloway Road arent actually from London. But for a band that have embraced styles of music as varied and previously thought of as incompatible as punk, calypso, dub and skiffle the name The Holloways makes perfect sense. We live on the Holloway Road but that is basically the start of the A1 which goes all the way to Edinburgh, its a nationwide road. Were not just another London band.

Alfie, Rob, Bryn and Dave met by chance at the legendary Nambucca pub (596 Holloway Road). They bonded over a shared love of booze, mischief, parties and rock and roll. This shared love found them coming back to Nambucca over and over again until they decided they could do a lot better than a lot of the bands they had seen play there. Bored with the same formulaic indie bands, they wanted to embrace the rock-a-billy music Alfie had heard his Dad (a well known rock and roll DJ) play and the calypso and Gypsy punk that Rob brought with him.

The band hadnt been playing long before they were offered a tour supporting Babyshambles both in the UK and around Europe, before they even had a record deal. They quickly recorded and released their talismanic anthem Generator on their own label -- Sensible Records -- just so they had something to sell on tour. It was quickly picked up on by Radio 1s Zane Lowe and eventually won the Fresh Meat section of his show.

As word about the bands live show and their unpredictable musical mash up spread a record deal with TVT followed shortly afterwards in Spring 2006. The first single on TVT Two Left Feet stormed into the charts as the weeks highest new entry in August. Over the course of the summer, the gang went out on tour to play some quite legendary sold-out shows. Lots of younger fans werent allowed in to the Sheffield gig, so once the band had played in the venue they came out and did a second acoustic set from the roof of their van to a packed car park full of very happy kids. Similarly, their sell out show at The Garage in July, proved to be the hottest ticket in town with temperatures rising to a tropical 52 degrees!

Produced by Langer & Winstanley (Elvis Costello, Dexy's Midnight Runners and Madness) the bands debut LP, So This Is Great Britain? displays a plethora of wide ranging influences. Elements of rock, pop, calypso and folk, can all be heard, yet the album manages to sound entirely like just one band, The Holloways. In addition to the bands exceptional ear for melody, So This Is Great Britain? showcases Alfies wry, observation on Great Britain today. Though the band are rightly perceived from their live shows as being unashamedly upbeat, much of the albums lyrical content casts a fine, cynical eye over the celebratory culture that reigns in this country today. As NME pointed out in their review: the most informed, ecstatic and god-darned best guitar-pop record of the year.

The band finished 2006 touring with Babyshambles in the UK and spreading the word about their band around Europe with CSS. 2007 started with a bang with the release of Dancefloor and the bands amazing performances at SXSW. They even decided to perform a special one off show for their underage fans in Sheffield who had previously not been allowed into their show with an underage-only gig at the Leadmill.

Now with the current heat on the album and Generator (both hitting #1 and the indie albums and singles charts respectively) all the hard work looks like it just might pay off for The Holloways as they approach the U.S. release of So This Is Great Britain? The colony could well be theirs for the taking the next thing you know people will be naming streets after them.



"Charging, anthemic... Infectious."
SPIN

"The most informed, ecstatic and goddarn best guitar-pop record of the year. We. Sh*t. You. Not."
NME


Official Website:
http://www.the-holloways.com

E-Card:
http://thehollowaysmusic.com/generator/ecard/