Twisted Wheel (band)

Twisted Wheel
Twisted Wheel supporting Oasis at Heaton Park in Manchester June 2009
Background information
Origin	Saddleworth, Greater Manchester, England
Genres	Indie rock, punk rock, post-punk revival
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Columbia Records, Ignition Records
Members	Jonny Brown Ben Warwick Harry Lavin Ben Robinson
Past members	Rick Lees Eoghan Clifford Max Lees<
Website	thetwistedwheel.co.uk

Twisted Wheel are an indie rock band from Saddleworth, Greater Manchester, England.

Career

Formation and debut album

Twisted Wheel formed in February 2007 in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester by guitarist and singer Jonny Brown and bassist Rick Lees, later joined by drummer Adam Clarke. Frontman Jonny Brown heard the name in a Paul Weller track "Into Tomorrow", where the lyrics say "Round and round like a twisted wheel, Spinning in attempt to find the feel". Twisted Wheel were booked as one of the support acts for Oasis's 2009 Heaton Park concerts. Embraced for their strong melodies, psychedelic themes and Brown's irreverent poignant lyrics, the band gained a following amongst old mods/punks and younger heads looking for music which represented their generation. They were labelled as punk rock although influences span folk and 1950s/1960s bands too.

The band signed to Columbia Records in January 2008. Their first single, "She's a Weapon", was released in April 2008 to acclaim from Radio 1's Zane Lowe, NME and Q. Their follow-up record, a four-track EP entitled You Stole the Sun, was released in July 2008. The band's debut album Twisted Wheel was recorded in June 2008 at Hillside studios in Los Angeles and produced by Dave Sardy.

The album was released on 13 April 2009. The first single from the album, "Lucy the Castle", was released in November 2008, with the follow-up, "We Are Us", released in March 2009.

Do It Again (2012)

The band drifted from the mainstream attention after 2009 as their style of music declined in popularity. Twisted Wheel released their second album, Do It Again, in September 2012.

Break-up and reformation

The band broke up on 13 July 2014, which was announced to fans via the band's Twitter account, with the tweet simply stating "R.I.P. Twisted Wheel". They have since reformed.

Musical style

Their sound has been described as old school gritty rock 'n' roll reminiscent of the early Jam. The band were called "a breath of fresh air" by Liam Gallagher, who they played as support for at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in June 2018. Paul Weller also came to watch them at London's 100 Club, inviting the band on his summer forest tour in 2009 and offering the use of his studios for any recordings. They have commercially used covers of The Jam's "That's Entertainment" and The Zombies' "She's Not There". Their music ranges from the ballads of real characters and situations ('Strife', 'Bouncing Bomb') to punk songs like "Oh What Have You Done" and "She's a Weapon".

Twisted Wheel cite Davy Graham, Bob Dylan, The Stooges, The Small Faces, The Who, The Jam, The Rolling Stones and Oasis among their main influences.

Band members

Current members

• Jonny Brown – vocals, guitar
• Harry Lavin – bass
• Ben Warwick – guitar
• Ben Robinson – drums

Former members

• Adam Clarke – drums (2007–2010)
• Rick Lees – bass (2007–2010)
• Eoghan Clifford – drums (2010–2013)
• Stephen Evans – bass (2010–2013)
• Max Lees – bass (2013–2014)
• Blair Murray – drums (2013–2014)
• Adam Birchall – guitar (2013–2014)

Discography

Main article: Twisted Wheel discography

• Twisted Wheel (2009)
• Do It Again (2012)
• Satisfying the Ritual (2020)

External links

• Official website
• MySpace site
• Twisted Wheel Facebook