Local band, The Sherlocks, continue to conquer South Yorkshire’s music scene and have now announced a European tour for summer this year.
Two sets of brothers: Brandon and Kiaran Crook and Josh and Andy Davidson
The indie rock band who formed in August 2010, consists of two sets of brothers from Bolton-On-Dearne. One New Year’s Eve, Brandon (drums) and Kiaran Crook (vocals/rhythm guitar) were playing to family in their front room when they overheard Josh Davidson (lead guitar) playing next door.
After this the three lads started playing together, and were then joined by Josh’s brother Andy, who would play bass guitar. The Sherlocks were formed.
With the announcement of their European tour, the four Yorkshire lads find it hard to believe how far they’ve come Brandon says it’s unbelievable to think back over what they’ve achieved these past four years, “up until around 2012 we were still nobodies, but over these past two years things have just gone crazy, it’s surreal.”
But it wasn’t always a smooth road to success, the band started small, playing for family and friends before branching out into their local pubs. This then escalated into pubs further afield in Barnsley, Rotherham and Sheffield.
“It crazy how far we’ve come from just being some young lads sat in our bedrooms messing about with music,” Kiaran said. The band have played over 500 gigs across the UK, including festivals and supporting slots for big bands like the Buzzcocks, The Enemy and Sheffield’s Reverend and the Makers.
This years UK tour which took place over February and March has been a big one for The Sherlocks, with a number of sellout shows in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester with their fan base is expanding every day.
They recently did a gig as far as Glasgow, even arranging a coach trip for their local fans to travel up with them. This has become a regular incentive that the lads offer for their fans, who have labelled themselves ‘The Sherlocks Army’. Their fans are fiercely devoted, referring to the band as the new Arctic Monkeys due to their Northern sound.
The band describes themselves as having a very raw and original sound, it’s a sound that mimics the 1960s, with a very ‘Quadraphenia’ feel. They take influence from a range of different bands, including The Beatles, Oasis and Kasabian.
“You couldn’t listen to us and label us to sounding like a particular band, but to describe our music to someone who hasn’t heard us before then it would be a cake of three ingredients, Arctic Monkeys, The Jam, The Libertines, with a few extras.”
The lads say they put a lot of thought into their lyrics, to make sure they speak to a variety of audiences, “we take inspiration for out writing from our local area, relationships and everyday struggles, we take all that and put it into something you can dance about to, everyone loves a dance.”
Writing and recording their own songs just gives The Sherlocks that further edge. Their first EP was released onto iTunes in October 2013, featuring four original, hard-hitting songs, including their most popular, ‘Chasing Shadows’. “We love playing our own material, there’s no better feeling than seeing a crowd full of people enjoying music you’ve created.” They still love to play crowd-pleasing covers though, Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis always gets the crowd going.
They also love holding special ‘jam nights’ at their local pub The Angel in Bolton-on-Dearne. The nights which have become a regular event gives local talent their chance to get up and play for an audience. “It’s a way to show how much talent there is in and around Sheffield, it’s been so popular and we’re getting more and more incredible talent every time.”
Mimicking The Beatles with a rooftop performance
The four young lads also make sure they leave some time for relaxation, they enjoy going out with friends, going to football matches and attending other gigs. “As much as we love performing it’s great to have a day of doing nothing, just chilling out.”
This year is set to be the biggest ever for the lads, with over 2,000 Twitter followers and 6,000 followers on Facebook, The Sherlocks’ support has never been stronger. The upcoming months will see them playing Party in the Pines, Bingley Music Live and Mosborough Music Festival. For information on local Sheffield and South Yorkshire gigs, check out their Facebook page where gig announcements are added daily. It’s fair to say we can expect big things from The Sherlocks in the future.
Take a look at The Sherlocks playing big hit ‘Chasing Shadows’ live at The Leopard in Doncaster:
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