Southend based Youth Club first caught peopleʼs attention in May 2014 with their self-released debut EP ʻColoursʼ. It stormed the official independent singles charts reaching No. 25 and No. 7 in the iTunes alternative charts.

They are the first unsigned Essex band to officially chart right next to Adele.

Since the release of their second EP 'Brothers' on Lab, these boys have been the band on everybody's lips. Summer 2015 saw them grace the stages of Radio 1's Big Weekend, Y Not Festival, Standon Calling, Beat-Herder, Shazam Summer Party and Kopparberg's Urban Forest Festival; as well as gaining huge support from the likes of Idolator, TMRW Magazine, The 405, Radio 1, BBC Introducing, London Live, SubTV, MTV Rocks, MTV IGGY, Sunday Brunch and Made in Chelsea.

Heading back into the studio after the summer, Youth Club are back with their infectious new AA single Pressure / DTLA released via Lab Records. It sees an edgier immediate take on the YC spirit - their music mixes guitar licks, electronic keys and R'n'B vocals to create crisp, dance orientated pop. With sold shows at Chinnerys and Camden Barfly in October 2015, Youth Club are set to start an epic 2016 with a bang.

'Rising Southend-based band Youth Club are a band to take note of' - Notion

ʻMuch like the lovechild of Two Door Cinema Club + Phoenix (with a dash of early Tokyo Police Club, perhaps as the cool uncle), they come packaged with refreshing and fun guitar licks abound that's destined to put a smile on your faceʼ - The 405

The songs by ACTOR feature exaggerated tales of larger-than-life characters personifying experiences of social anxiety, relationship breakdowns and constant migraines. On how she writes Louisa says 'Each song has this detached narrative that draws you into the stories behind it. I like to feel like I'm Actor and storyteller, ultimately immersed in every song but not defined by anything or anyone within them'.

With first track 'Feline' ACTOR's brooding vocal floats over a hypnotic back beat and rumbling bass, which caught the attention of 25 hype machine blogs posting in the first week of Actor's existence with one describing the track as a 'stop-you-in-your-tracks, freeze time type of debut that doesn’t take your breath away so much as it flat out knocks the wind out of you'. The track also landed across 6music and Amazing radio.

The follow-up 'Swim' takes a darker path, and has a moody and explosive slow-build with lyrics loosely based on themes in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel 'The Scarlet Letter' - a story based on purity, sin and dignity. On the themes of the track Louisa states "I wanted Swim to reflect the strangeness of having sinful thoughts float in and out of our minds, and the idea of how true beauty can only occur when good and bad elements combine."

With a growing clutch of songs varying in mood from sharp-edged ballads to brittle alt-rock ACTOR have a suitably incendiary element to their music in live shows.

“Actor is about to rejuvenate the concept of pop… with a twist.”

When the Gramophone Rings

'Blissful atmospheric beauty'

The 405

“‘Feline’ constructs together varying elements of bliss-y/guitar effects-driven pop with just the right measure of movement in the track creating for a very compelling listen.”

Blahblahblahscience

“Full of dark wonder and a triumphant chorus. It combines intensity and energy with a glossy layer of sophistication.”

Discobelle

“Feline is a sprawling synth masterpiece filled with eventful twists and turns as its rolling bass driven backdrop breaks away in to some scintillating guitar work.”

Scientists of Sound

From 2003 - 2008 she was the lead singer in Sheffield alt pop band The Long Blondes. The Long Blondes signed to Rough Trade Records in 2006 releasing 2 studio albums, 'Someone To Drive You Home' in October 2006 and "Couples" in April 2008. The band released a compilation of early singles on Angular Records in Oct 2008 entitled "Singles".

In 2009 Kate started working with ex Suede guitarist and producer Bernard Butler, releasing a double A sided single, 'Wonder Feeling'/'The Atlantic' in 2011. A mysterious album of work from the duo is complete and rumoured to be released in the not too distant future. Kate played live in 2011 and 2012 with Kate Jackson Group, British Electric Foundation and Heaven 17. In 2013 B.E.F released their third album "Dark" featuring Kate Jackson singing a cover of Blondie's 'Picture This'.

Kate is also a painter and printmaker. Working from a studio at The Rehearsal Rooms in Bury St Edmunds, she creates large scale acrylic paintings based on brutalist architecture and walks taken in the British urban, suburban and rural Suffolk landscape.

In October 2014 Kate formed new band Kate Jackson and The Wrong Moves.

She DJs regularly and established The Hoo Ha Record Club with Ken Last in January 2015 and released her debut solo album 'British Road Movies' in May 2016.

Having been afforded the opportunity & freedom, without any teachings, to learn multiple instruments, Jack decided his new musical outlet would be one he had total input, control and creativity upon.

Deciding to produce his first recordings with Kris Crummett (The Story So Far, Dance Gavin Dance, I the Mighty, Issues) Jack ventured to the US and laid down all instrumentation and vocals on the Disconnect EP. A feat not matched by many.

Now performing under the moniker Grumble Bee, Jack, along with live members Callum Connell (drums) and Zach Phelps (bass), has begun performing these creations live.

'...Bennett grabs you by the heartstrings like a master puppeteer and refuses to let go throughout' Rock Sound 8/10

After sold-out shows in London, Isle Of Wight and Bristol, they holed themselves up in their self-built analogue studio to write and record their next offering ‘Inhale The Universe’. Finding it difficult to create the desired drum sound at home, they rowed out at dawn to coastal caves for inspiration and to get the recording just right – a sheer moment of genius!

Third EP in the trilogy, ‘Everything Is Yellow and Yellow Is My Least Favourite Colour’ followed in June 2016 and saw the band back at their creative best. Even the EP artwork took hours and hours to craft from multi-dimensional collaged New Scientist magazines, culminating in one beautiful photograph - another stroke of genius by this idiosyncratic quintet.

Playing a spell-binding headline set at this year’s Rhythm Tree Festival, followed by electrifying and breathtaking performances at bluedot, Kendal Calling, Deer Shed and FarmFest, this five-piece band are gaining a huge array of fans with their unapologetic quirkiness.

The band continue to take creative risks; musically and especially within their live shows, and are looking to write and record an album as the next logical step.

Plastic Mermaids are: Douglas Richards (vocals, piano, cowbell), Jamie Richards (guitar, drum machine, samples, vocals), Chris Newnham (guitar), Tom Farren (bass) and Chris Jones (drums).