 Get to the front of the stage for this band. This is one mosh you don’t want to miss. The New Town Kings have taken the best elements of ska, dub, two-tone, roots and reggae, and added a unique slice of Colchester street culture to produce the most infectious dance music you will ever hear.
The Kings are made up of nine young scamps from the New Town area of Colchester:
Chris Watts - Vox;
Tommy Marchant - Bass;
Stuart McClung - Guitar;
John Maynard - Guitar;
Sky Roskell-Cheale - Drums;
Scott James - Keys;
Rob Band - Percussion;
Dave Rowland - Trumpet;
Show Pony - Trumpet;
Rory Sadler - Sax
They are heavily influenced by classic ska styles of Toots & the Maytals – witness their version of Monkey Man - and the Skatellites, through to the two-tone sounds of the Specials and the Selecter, but with a distinctly new, and very Essex edge.
They have been together since August 2004, and started gigging in December 2005, although the vibe has continued to spread since they formed. The first we heard of them was on the Unit One compilation CD 'Putting Out vol1' released early in 2005, with the stand-out track 'Somebody'. And of course they played an amazing set at Kelvedon Festival in 2006.
In 2007 New Town Kings won the grand final of O'Neill's Undiscovered Live competition, which was held at the Islington academy and hosted by Radio 1's Colin Murray, who commented: 'New Town Kings were great live, they were the best audience pleasers and are made to play live gigs'. Also in 2007 they gained a distribution deal with Do The Dog records for their self financed debut album 'Sound of the New Town'. Beg, steal or borrow (or even buy) this album if you can.
They are at their best playing live, and have not only completed some amazing European tours, but have regularly stolen the show at numerous festivals up and down the country. We defy you NOT to dance to Round and Round!
With a new studio recording in the pipeline and an ever expanding list of gig dates, the future promises to be bright for the New Town Kings. And guess what, you may well be telling your grandchildren about the day you danced to NTK at Kelvedon.
MySpace www.myspace.com/newtownkings |
