User talk:Seanrobertkelly
The Sway
Band members - David Casson - Vocals,guitars . Sean Kelly - Drums . Paul Hogan - Bass . James Kook - Guitars,keyboards
The band started life on July 1st 1989 when Paul and Sean met at a party. They had seen each other round but never spoken before. As the party got into full swing the conversation got onto music. Within the hour the band was formed , it`s members sorted , and music was about to be made!!
The band line up would include Sean`s brother Jason and Paul`s friend David. Although David didn't attend the party he was voted into the band because he could sing a bit and also had a guitar. Paul took the keyboards ,while Jason was left with the bass guitar. Sean had already mentioned he was having drumming lessons so that position was taken. A band and life long friendships were made, now the hard work would have to start ( because nobody could play ).
The very first band practice was on the 19th July at Sean & Jason`s house. The band had to think up of a moniker that would suit them and the music they hoped one day to play. Many names were suggested but they settled on White Hot Daze ( a play on a Simple Minds song ). However this name would last just 5 rehearsals and 7 weeks as Jason dropped the bomb shell that he wanted to leave the band. On Sept 4th 1989 Paul took up the bass guitar and the band changed it`s name to Heavens Echo.
By Oct 89 the time was right to find somewhere else to Rehearse, so they hired a small room at the local youth centre Canada Villa ( Mill Hill ), and it is here they would stay until July 1991.
Heavens Echo first gig would come about without any prior warning .On Thursday 8th Feb 1990 Davids brother Mark was playing a gig in Kenton at a place called The Plough. His band The Scandinavian Roofjumpers needed a support band for the gig ,so he called his brother and told him to get the band together so they could play their debut gig. The band was found and got to the gig just in time to get up on stage and play their hearts out. The nerves were obvious , but that did`nt matter because the crowd loved it , but not as much as the band did. Heavens Echo were on their way.
The next gig was in March and the band would have a new member on stage with them. Kevin was Paul`s cousin , and he would be a sort of Bez character ( singing , dancing and playing tambourine ). Kevin would only play a handful of gig`s with the band and was asked to leave because of his terrible time keeping and deciding to get his hair done instead of turning up for band practice.
Already the band was getting noticed on the gig scene. The owners of The Attic club in Clapham were about to put a compilation album together of the best unsigned acts in London. Heavens Echo were asked to record a track for the album which was to be called VINYL UNDERGROUND. The contracts were signed on Wed 4th July 1990, which just so happened to be on world cup semi final day against Germany, so the band quickly signed the contract and then got to see the last of the game. Recording of the song ( something for someone ) took place on Thursday 9th Aug 1990 at the famous Elephant Studios in London.
A series of gigs followed , some good , some not so good. It was around this time the band started doing press interviews ( local papers ), and also around at this time the band started to take it seriously. They were playing better gigs, writing more mature songs and started to get a loyal following. It was by now late 1990 and the band needed to push things on , this would happen when a new member joined in 1991.
The new member to the band would be James Kook. He had known David for a while and often talked about coming down to jam with the band. In a cold mid January 91 he did just that. James was very versatile .playing guitar and keyboards , this is just what the band wanted to add a different side to their music. On Saturday 26th Jan James was asked to join Heavens Echo.
The set list was charged as the band set to writing new material with it`s newest member and it was not long before James made his gigging debut. 25th March 1991 Heavens Echo played the first of many gigs at the Bull & Gate pub in Kentish Town. The band went down a storm.
Heavens Echo were committed to play the record release party for The Vinyl Underground album, however because the band had changed so much in the 7/8 months since recording the track they no longer played or wanted to play that song anymore. A compromise was agreed , the band would play the track from the album and in return was allowed to play two extra songs ( no other band from the album played more then one song ). The band played great even after the many drinks that were flowing!!
In June 91 the band went into a small studio to do some demos, this would be called the Ocean Woman demo ,and have the songs Ocean Woman , Icarus and Criminal on it.
By late July it was time for the band to find new rehearsal space ,the local youth club was changing hands and could no longer support the band any longer. They found some rehearsal rooms in Mill Hill called unit 25 , this would lead to much bigger and better things. The band continued to rehearse and play gigs for the rest of 1991.The band changed it`s name for the final time in Nov 1991,now the band would be called The Sway. Early 1992 the owner of the rehearsal studio, Roger Tichborne became very interested in helping the band. First he helped do a small 4 track demo,then started to manage the band. The first gig Roger got the band was at the Dandylion Pub in Barnet.
The show was a real 10 out 10 show. The Sway had hit onto something, real good indie rock/pop. This gig would go on to be one a the bands favourites for many months to come. The time was right for the band to get back into the recording studio and record a great demo. The band chose St Marks studio in North London. 3 tracks that day got laid down. This demo went onto known as the Society demo. The songs were Society , More then this ,& 1000 days. The demo got a lot of interest from A&R at various record companies, it also got the band plenty of gigs. The band wanted to record more stuff and it was now late summer 92 before the band got back into the studio again. This time the band had moved on again and the songs were getting more sophisticated. Songs like Walrus and Carousel were using samples, and had more depth to them. The band were happy with themselves and what they had done ,and so Sean,David and Paul along with many friends went off to the Reading Festival weekender. After seeing so many great bands The Sway knew that the hard work was only just beginning....
The band decided to take to the road for the first time, they wanted to see what a gig outside London was all about. They Traveled to Boston on the 10th Nov 1992.The band played well but hardly anybody was there , in fact the band took more people up to Boston then there was in locals, however the band enjoyed it and the traveling was to their tastes. The bands first radio exposure was on Gary Crowleys demo clash, the band finished 2nd out of three , but the excitement of hearing their own stuff on the radio just pushed the band further. The year finished with one more trip to the recording studio to record `Shine` ,an interview with the local paper and a new year gig ( 30th dec ) at the Bull & Gate. The new year would bring better things yet again!!
The band met somebody in early 93 that would help them make the step up from pub band to a proper touring/recording band. He was Trevor who worked at a record company but was starting up his own label called Dental. He met with the group to discuss different topics of the music business and maybe even put out a single on his own label. He put forward various contacts which would later get the band many decent gigs and also gave his own opinion as the direction the band should be moving. It was one of these contacts that gave The Sway a gig at the Army & Navy in Chelmsford late in April 1993.
The Sway supported an up and coming band called Jacob`s Mouse. They were already indie music press darlings and The Sway took the opportunity to play to a larger audience, while hoping someone might spot them. They did. Trevor was down at the gig with a friend called Ian Fortnam who was a freelance writer for many music papers. It was agreed the The Sway would play again at the Army & Navy in May. This time they would support local band Garp who had a huge following. and if the band played well then Ian would do a small article on the band. The band saw this as a big opportunity, and so got down to a lot of work.
In the meantime the band were booked into the recording studio again , but this time to start recording a single for either Trevors label or some of the others interested. Silk had fast become a live favourite and was obviously going to be the first single for the band. However the song needed a lot of work on it because it used to last around the 8 minute mark thus making it unworkable as a single. The band did a lot of pre-production on it and got it down to a 5 minute stomper. The whole set was taking shape with The Sway writing fantastic song after another, it would be hard to decide what to record as b-sides. The band decided on Don`t penetrate me and Feasting on my Friends. Both songs were now set-list standards and had been played for months. All three songs were ready to be laid down. They went in from 16th-19th may 1993 and also on the 24th may. The Sway had come of age. The Silk ep was amazing.
So with renewed vigor the band headed back to Chelmsford, but this time with a coach full of their own fans. When the band arrived at the Army & Navy they were shocked to see a queue of people going right around the venue. This was going to be good! I truly doubt the band have ever played as good, and with near 600 people in the venue some may say this was The Sway`s greatest gig. The set list consisted of the three songs on the single ,plus megadream and evolution. The band were on top form. Ian Fortnam was as good as his word and wrote a fantastic review. The Sway were on their way. More gigs followed, and the set got stronger. The single got a great review on teletext in Sept 93, everything was falling into place.
The Sway headed back into the recording studio most weekends in Sept 93 to record 7/8 songs. This was the bands first chance to experiment. Twig on a pig & Immerse me came from those sessions
The band had started to think about giving up their day jobs, to take the band on the road, to become a full time band. In late 93 this was decided to be the right move when they signed a contract with Bad Habits recording company to put out The Sways debut single Silk. As 1993 drew to a close the tour dates were being drawn up along with the artwork of the single. The band ever eager to get involved with all aspects of their careers decided to design the single cover themselves. James would do the artwork while Paul,Sean,David and Jason(Sean`s brother)would come up with the concept. Jason was given the task of taking the photos while Sean and David got Paul to dress as a priest, to keep the mystery Paul would wear a paper bag on his head. The band wanted Paul to look a little kinky so asked him to do the photo shoot in a pair of black fish net stockings. Paul wore these for days afterwards. The picture on the cover is of Paul ,dressed as a kinky priest holding a cross and piece of fruit. The tour was set to coincide with the release of the single. The tour would start in Southampton on the 22nd Jan 1994 and run until late Feb 94 when the single would be released on the 21st.File:Scotland photo.jpg
The Sway supported The Wishplants in Southampton before dates in Peterborough, Cambridge, Nottingham, Leeds, Perth, Oban, Evanton, Glasgow and Edinburgh before heading back to London for the release gig/party. The release gig took place at the Bull & Gate in London and the band were supported by Travis. Then it was back on tour to plug the single , up to Hull, down to Hastings,Worthing,Plymouth and the final date in Exeter. In Exeter the band supported Passion Fruit and Holy Bread, where by all accounts ( many of them passion fruit fans ) blew them off stage big time. The Sway had been on tour for a month and were at their very best. A few more gigs and mini tours took place over the next few months , but The Sway never rested on their laurels. Most spare time was taken up by either writing,recording,doing press interviews or radio ,but most importantly looking for what could be the next single.
The band met up with American producer Dennis Dwyer to work with them on the next single. He came to see the band at gigs and in rehearsals to try and decide what the next single would be. It was going to be a brand new song only just written and added to the set called Going Blind. This song went down a storm at gigs, it was a catchy number, more poppy then The Sway had written before. The Sway set about work on the songs for the next single. Going Blind was going to be the A-side with No one comes ( close to you ) on the b-side, along with third track Sensual World. After a summer of work the band went into the recording studio with Dennis. This time they went into a friends of Dennis studio, his name was Bob and had a studio in St Albans , in fact the mixing desk in his studio was one that was used by Rod Stewart and Free. The Sway were in the studio on and off for 3/4 weeks. The sound of the ep is very polished, and with the added extra help of Helen Terry ( Culture Club) the single sounds very accomplished. The Sway were headed in a new direction.
The band headed back on the road after the best part of a month in the studio. They played the Rainbow and Greenbelt Festivals and went up the M1 for another trip to Scotland , and then down to Exeter , Swindon , Hastings , Aldershot , Hull and Hartlepool. The band were getting great reviews when and wherever they played , but the band wanted to get the next single out, so the big step was made. The Sway would make a proper music video.
The band had met with young film maker Han Foo Qune in Oct 94, and talked about doing a video for Going Blind. Many meetings were held to discuss what the video would look like, what the theme would be, what Han thought the song was about and how the band wanted to be seen. The idea would come about that the song (Going Blind) was like an awakening, your are bored/tired , bad , inpatient or corrupt and on hearing the song and it`s lyrics everything would be fine and ok Add a few fine looking girls dancing to set off the drama of the actors and the band performance and you have the basic idea of a music video. It was the bands job with the help of Han to hand pick the cast and dancers, this was done in late Nov with the aim to get the video done in mid Dec.
While this was going on the day to day workings of the band carried on. The band were going to be Midlands artist of the week for the local BBC radio stations so had to travel to Birmingham Pebble Mill studios to do a live recording session. This took place on the 21st Nov 1994. The band were gobsmacked to see the studio. It was like Abbey Studios in London, absolutely huge. They laid down 6 tracks, Going Blind , My Purpose , Nothing , The Death Of Venus , Twice In a Lifetime and a cover of the Rolling Stones track 2000 Light years. The producers and engineers were just blown away with the death of venus and twice in a lifetime songs. This was a new direction for the band , more melodic and grown up sound, The band were on fire !!
So with those songs in the bag the band focused attention on the video for Going Blind. The video would be shot over the weekend of the 10th & 11th Dec 1994, but the work started long before then. The band were set a strict fitness routine ,that included gym work and aerobics, trouble is the gym was next to a pub so after a work out the band would head in to the pub to gain sustenance. They were a band not a footballer after all!!!!! On Dec 9th The Sway headed out and about to do Photo shoots and to get some clothing for the video shoot. On the 10th bright and early the band were picked up and taken to the shoot. It took place at the priory studios in Belsize Road. As with all these things food and drink were free and the band made the most of that. So much so that drummer Sean was asked to leave the set on the first day after he had finished his parts because he was drunk, It was 1 in the afternoon! A fantastic weekend was had by all and a very professional video was made. On the 14th Dec Sean ,Paul and James went into town to met up with the company doing the artwork for the next single.The 16th saw the band mastering their own single at an editing suit in camden. The year ended on a low note when the band saw the first edit of the video. It was a band video without the band ( except David ). A short and frank discussion was had and another edit would have to be done,(although the final edit was not much better). However The Sway as always just got on with what they do best , playing and writing great songs.
Christmas and New Year came and went and nothing much happened until late Jan. On the 26th the band had their last photo shoot, the 27th they played another 10 out of 10 show in Woodford Halse and the 28th went down to Southampton for another show , but it was on the 31st jan 1995 was maybe when The Sway hit the highest level yet. The premiere of the Going Blind video was being held at Londons Planet Hollywood. The video was shown in the private cinema at the venue in front of a packed house, full of writers,agents and record biz people. It was so good they showed it twice! The band went onto party hard (they always did).
The second Single made it in to the shops in early Feb , but it no longer had Sensual World as a b-side. The death of venus which was recorded at the BBC back in Nov was so good that it took the third song slot.
In Feb 13th-19th The Sway were Midlands artist of the week, something they knew was going to happen and had recorded 6 songs back in Nov for. Another radio interview on the 13th in Birmingham was followed by gigs in Daventry and Birmingham that week, but it was while in Daventry the band heard themselves on the radio without prior warning. The band had sound checked and had gone out to get something to eat when they heard My Purpose being played on the radio. They were very excited by this. That had really set them up for a fabulous couple of weeks, reaching a peak when The Sway played for the first time at the world famous MARQUEE.
The band rocked like never before in front of a near capacity crowd.To celebrate the band partied again ,this time at their favourite haunt The Camden Monarch. A GLR radio session took place in early March along with the odd gig but it was`nt until early May did The Sway reappear. They did many radio interviews, along with a number of newspaper interviews and a local TV interview / session. This was like being on tour but without the playing side. The band started getting bored from answering the same questions ,so they would make up answers and stories to tell the interviewee , much to their amusement. The month would end on two amazing gigs, one at the marquee again and the second a couple of days later at the BBC live 95 event. Live 95 was being held in Birmingham that year and the band was asked to play the up and coming stage. It was an outside gig , and was recorded for radio later that week. The Sway as always kicked arse. However , there was a sting in the tail because that was to be The Sways last ever performance together.
Just two weeks later David would drop the bomb shell that he was leaving the band. He gave various reasons that have stayed private between the band, but never the less the band were over. Firm friends the band have always remained even to this day, and in 2005 they even got together for a jam., but as The Sway goes it was all finished. All say that the band ended far too soon and on the eve of something real big, but that's how it goes..........To find out more then check out the bands own website http://www.thesway.net