So This Is Great Britain?

Description

Alfie, Rob, Bryn and Dave met by chance at the legendary Nambucca pub (596 Holloway Road, London). 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 hadn t 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 the anthemic "Generator" on their own label Sensible Records just so they had something to sell on tour. It was quickly picked up on by Radio 1 s Zane Lowe and eventually won the Fresh Meat section of his show. As word about the band s live show and their unpredictable musical mash up spread a record deal with TVT followed shortly afterwards in Spring 2006. The first UK single on TVT "Two Left Feet" stormed into the charts as the week's highest new entry (# 33) 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 weren t 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. Produced by Langer & Winstanley (Elvis Costello, Dexy's Midnight Runners and Madness) the band's 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 albums manages to sound entirely like just one band, The Holloways. In addition to the band's exceptional ear for melody, So This Is Great Britain showcases Alfie's wry observation on Great Britain today. Though the band are rightly perceived from their live shows as being unashamedly upbeat, much of the album s 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 2006. 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 band's amazing performances at the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX. With the UK re-release of "Generator" all the hard work looks like it just might pay off for The Holloways-- the single is on the B-list at Radio 1, the daytime list at XFM and the video on high rotation at MTV in England. They've recently played their largest headline London show to date at the Electric Ballroom and continue their inventive touring with their seaside town only "Summer Holloways" to promote eco-friendly UK tourism. They have an amazing slot at Glastonbury lined up as well as festival appearances at V2007 and T In The Park. America is next....