Pool Of Sound - The Zutons

The Zutons

'The Zutons' were formed in Liverpool in 2001 by Dave McCabe, ex 'Tramp Attack', when as vocalist and guitarist, he joined up with Russell Pritchard on bass guitar, Boyan Choudhury on lead guitar and Sean Payne on drums. They took the band's name from the guitarist 'Zoot Horn Rollo' who was in 'Captain Beefheart's Magic Band'. The girlfriend of Sean's brother, guitarist Howie Payne, Abi Harding, began joining 'The Zutons' on stage for a couple of songs mid-set, playing saxaphone. The other band members liked the way her saxophone enhanced their sound, so Abi became a full member contributing vocals and sax.
Deltasonic head Alan Wills was initially dubious about the musical talents of Dave McCabe saying, "I'd heard other bands Dave had played in and I thought they were all rubbish". However James Skelly of 'The Coral' eventually persuaded the Deltasonic head to work with them. McCabe has since said "Without Alan Wills I don't think we would've done anything really, because he put a lot of time and money in and got us loads of good support slots."
At first, the band had to battle comparisons with comparisons to 'The Coral' with both being on the same record label, sharing the same producer, Ian Broudie, and also the close friendship of James Skelly and Dave McCabe.

Their first record, the 3-track CD 'Devil's Deal', was released in September 2002 and was followed in 2003 with 'Creepin' and a Crawlin' and a download only single, 'Haunts Me'.

Their feverish debut album released in 2004, 'Who Killed The Zutons?', was deservedly shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize although the band eventually lost out to art-rockers 'Franz Ferdinand'. However it spent 36 weeks on the charts, gaining a second wind after it was nominated for the Mercury Prize, spawning three Top 40 singles and, with a couple of songs that were used in adverts, the band were also in the running for a Brit Award.
Their ever-growing popularity had seen them propelled onto the international festival circuit, making flying visits to venues around the UK, Europe, America and Japan, in the process building themselves a reputation as a ferocious live act, with their exhilarating performances winning them fans everywhere.

In 2006 they released a new album, 'Tired Of Hanging Around' which reached No.2 in the Album Chart. The first single from the album, 'Why Won't You Give Me Your Love' and the second single 'Valerie', later to be a hit for Amy Winehouse, both peaked at 9 in the charts. They appeared on Jools Holland's 'Hootenanny' New Years Eve show that year and performed their songs 'Valerie, 'Why Don't You Give Me Your Love?' and 'It's The Little Things We Do.'

In the July of 2007 they announced that guitarist Boyan Chowdhury had left the band, citing "musical differences" so Paul Molloy, formerly of 'The Skylarks' and 'The Stands', joined the band later that year.
Paul Molloy played lead guitar on the band's third album, recorded in LA, 'You Can Do Anything', which was released in June 2008. The single 'Always Right Behind You' was released the same year and in the summer of 2008, 'The Zutons' had their first UK tour in 2 years.
On the 26th of July 2008, they performed at Japan's Fuji Rock Festival for the third time and that August they headlined with 'The Prodigy' at the Indie Festival, Jersey Live. However over the 2008 Christmas holidays, they were dropped from Sony/BMG and following a series of festivals in 2009, the band quietly disbanded. They would reunite 7 years later in celebration of their friend, actor and former 'Tramp Attack' singer Kristian Ealey and that led to them re-forming. In 2019 Dave McCabe said, " It was great to just get back in a room again and play together. I think we needed that time apart so we could really miss each other again. It's only with hindsight that you realise how special something is. It's easy to take things for granted when you're younger. After playing that charity gig, everyone felt like there was so much more we could do. It’s been almost a decade since 'The Zutons' quietly disbanded, but now feels like the right time to get the old gang back together. We wanna play together again. And I don't think there's a band about like us." So what separates them from the rest? "Well, songs for a start. Saxophone, and general musicianship – and me being really good looking." He laughs. So McCabe, joined by Sean Payne on drums, Boyan Chowdhury on guitar and Abi Harding on saxophone embarked on a massive UK tour to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their 2004 Mercury-nominated debut LP, 'Who Killed The Zutons?'.

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2020/04/pool-of-sound-stands.html?q=The+stands