Express & Star

Wolverhampton unsigned act The Surrenders making the most of chance meetings

Sometimes, the most fortuitous encounters are the most beneficial - just ask Wolverhampton lads The Surrenders.

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The Surrenders hail from Wolverhampton

For them, an introduction to two men in particular has brought them great opportunities.

The Surrenders hail from Gornal. Led by 21-year-old Connor Brooks, it is Richard Jones, James Williams and Scott Flavell who complete their line-up. Connor is a former Dormston School pupil, while the other three attended Ellowes Hall.

Having played aroudn the region for a couple of years it was when they met London-based promoter Mikey Johns after he spotted them playing live that their fire was really lit, and they have never looked back.

"Mikey gave us massive opportunities," Connor tells The Star of a man who lined up some pretty big festival dates for them this year. "We impressed at those festivals and thank you to him for the exposure."

Those dates included the mammoth Isle of Wight Festival as well as The Great Escape in Brighton, Truck Festival in Oxfordshire and Derbyshire's Y Not? Festival. And according to the frontman, it's not through being coy that they ended up on such prestigious stages.

"You've got to be the loudest voice in the room," Connor added. "There are so many bands trying to be coy on social media days, trying to create a bit of mystique about themselves.

"But nobody wants that now. You have to grab attention. Self promotion is as important as the music itself these days."

They knew they were on to something when they first travelled down to London to appear at one of Mikey's This Feeling club nights. They were supporting Carl Barat from legendary British rockers The Libertines.

The Libertines need little introduction as Barat, Pete Doherty and the gang enthralled the indie scene in the early 00s. And the kudos of playing on the same bill as such a big name was not lost on the band.

"It was a real eye opener," admits Connor. "Up to then we had been almost purely a rough live band. We'd been on the Brum circuit playing non-stop for a couple of years without much happening.

"But here, we were looked after on the day. We were fed and we had people bringing us beer. It was like the opening of a door - we were almost scared into being a more professional outfit.

"We drank before and after the gig with Carl. it was such an intimate setting and we got to talk to him a lot. He said we were 'soulful'. We had 'a lot of heart and a lot of soul'. That was pretty cool."

This Feeling, backed by beer giant Red Stripe, organises club nights around the country for both established and up-and-coming musicians. They also run their own online channel - This Feeling TV.

They invited Connor to go along and take part in episode six of their show at the Monarch Pub in Camden, London this July - available on their YouTube channel. It involved a lad from Gornal throwing televisions out of a window alongside Miles Kane, Tom Grennan and TV presenter Laura Whitmore. It was hosted by Radio X's Gordon Smart, who had previously championed The Surrenders' single No Paper this summer.

"It was mad," laughs Connor. "They have you doing games and drinking beer in the day and then in the night you all go and do a show together.

"We had this interview in a limousine and then we were at this pub and we had to throw these televisions out of a window onto like a bullseye target. It was the day before Isle of Wight and I was buzzing. It was the most surreal moment of my life."

Through their dealings with Mikey and This Feeling, they were spotted by French promoter Jean-Louis Schell, a man who works very closely with Mr Doherty and others in Europe.

Again, that meeting has acted as a springboard. This December, the band will be heading to Rennes in Brittany, France, to play at the prestigious Trans Musicales or Les Trans festival alongside the likes of Bodega, The Blind Sons and Venice Club.

"Jean-Louis spotted us at The Great Escape Festival. He spoke to us and he made us this offer. We said 'yes', but we didn't really know how much weight his name carried. Then we Googled him.

"We can't wait for Trans Musicales and then we're already in talks about doing stuff in Brussels and Amsterdam in the new year, so watch this space."

They already have an EP to their name, and the band are dropping new single Maybe There'll Be Blood next Friday, which they're understandably excited about. To celebrate that release, they're off on a tour organised by Mikey - This Feeling Alive Tour - with Trampolene and Lacuna Bloome. That stops off in Birmingham at the Hare & Hounds on November 22.

For those who haven't come across them before, what can they expect?

"We've got a more unique sound now than we used to," Connor says. "The influences we list - The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen - were more true when we were younger.

"Now we take their ideas more than their sounds and try to make them more modern and contemporary. We want our message to be audible to everyone - the youth and older listeners.

"We want to expand our musical vocabulary and go to new places we've not seen before. We don't sit still and we like new things. We at times have a kind of neo garage sound and, who knows, maybe we'll even throw a drum machine in there in the future."

And if they go to new places, The Surrenders don't know who else they might bump into.

The Surrenders can be found on Facebook @thesurrendersofficial and Twitter @The_Surrenders. Updates on new single Maybe They'll be Blood can be found there. Tickets to the Hare and Hounds show are available at the venue's website.

By Leigh Sanders