The blinders
Matt Neale (drums/percussion/bvs), Charlie McGough (bass guitar) and Thomas Haywood (guitar, vocals, word) are The Blinders - a force for good who attempt to be in your face at all times.
They emit smelting loud, visceral political punk rock with enigmatic, psychedelic poetry and diverse, raw music which takes them over, live on stage, forcing them to pour everything they’ve got into frenzied performances, leaving only blood-stained instruments behind. This verging-on-madness experience is shocking audiences out of austerity inflicted apathy, into instant obsession.
Formed at the end of 2014, the long time friends moved from Doncaster to Manchester to study, to be house mates, and over the next year become the band for our times. Having created their own sound, produced by Gavin Monaghan (Magic Garden Studios), and visualised by Sam Crowston (Nasty Man Creations) The Blinders explode, organically, under radar.
The seeds of a fervent following had grown to visibility by January 2016: and that May, the 'Hidden Horror Dance’ EP was self released. Following a summer of key shows and festival slots, as well as early BBC Introducing/John Kennedy (Radio X) support, debut single, ‘Swine’ (28th October) was played by Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1. This statement of intent started their next stage. The video ends with the word ‘REVOLT’.
Two sold out ‘Big In 2017 This Feeling’ events in Manchester and London set the tone. Most of their packed out first headline shows (February/March), sold out in advance. Radio presenter, Chris Hawkins, played the tour-7” B side,‘Ramona Flowers’, on his BBC 6 Music show noting that "The Blinders are “a band about to explode”. They themselves described the accompanying short film introduction as “a pseudo-documentation of our recent This Feeling UK tour."
Supports followed, including shows with Cabbage, The View, King Blues, The Shimmer Band, Idles and Membranes. The Blinders were becoming a key name on the best bills and living up to their swelling word of mouth and net reputation for hard work and unique, theatrical live experiences. For a band that had inspired poetic praise from day one, an increasing number of reviews were becoming even more so.
On the Fourth Of July, the mother of Independence Day anthems, ‘Brave New World’, was unleashed. "The dystopian anthem of the Idiot King rises to the surface of the murk-filled-mire. Take the song for what it is; an ugly, brown portrayal of the modern day 'free world', and the inevitable 'helter skelter' we would face, so long as things continued this way." (The Blinders). The reactions? Credible. Incredible.
Played by all the previous radio stations, it also picked up plays on Kerrang! and made the Top 20 on Amazing Radio’s chart show. Reviews were running out of superlatives. Audience reactions making the band look as iconic as their potential. In short, as Louder Than War proclaimed; "The Blinders are the hottest new band in the UK."