The Blinders. HUGE
Pictures from This Feeling at Sheffield Rocking Chair by Duncan Stafford. Matt, Charlie n Thomas - collectively, The Blinders, are three young musicians from the North of England, playing their first headline tour (February/March 2017).
The UK's most ON it, live rock n roll music, promoter, This Feeling has been staging shows with the band since their early days. The first London show (October 2016) was one of the sets that kicked off the #TFzone 10th anniversary month, it was such a jaw dropper that their second was a last minute step-in slot at The Roundhouse for Music Venue Trust's #FIGHTBACK on Venues Day.
At time of writing, The Blinders are returning to the capital, this evening, for their first London headline. Like the following two shows in Manchester this weekend, it has been sold out as fuck for weeks.
It's not hype. They're not on the cover of any national music magazine other than TF's own Listen Up magazine's #BigIn2017 special. They've picked up radio play since 'Swine' was released at the end of October, but aren't being flogged to death on the air, either.
In a different universe to this month's music award ceremonies, so many people are excited about something completely different. The Blinders are part of that. No hype required. It's the songs, it's the gigs, it's what music fans are saying to each other, what sussed independent media are expressing to their readers. It's uniqulture (i.e. the evolved accepting and friend making magic of creative, poetic souls - a world not happening on "the news" but capable of uniting the biggest march in history just a month ago) of which This Feeling is an essential part. It's all this, and something else on top.
Yeah, TheZineUK have fallen for them, but when introducing our friends to The Blinders videos and soundcloud, let alone the gigs, they fall for them too. All ages too. This is the band with something to say, hear, experience, feel that are rebooting the vitality of youth in a sharp minded yet psychadelic way.
That is such an incredibly complicated simplicity to pull off that original punks and rockers get it too. Here are 57 seconds of live clips from February 2017 that could just as well be shown on BBC4 as a cosmic moment from a 1960s Isle Of Wight Festival, perhaps they were joined on stage by Jimi Hendrix at some point? Imagination, maybe. In spirit, for sure. Soundtrack; xcert of 'Ramona Flowers', b side of the limited 'Swine' 7" available on this tour.
Acclaimed photographer, Duncan Stafford (Fat White Family, Lady Gaga among admirers of his work - and we love his passion), struck up a rapport at the (sold out, as per most of the tour so far) recent Sheffield date. As band, photographer and promoter are in the chapters of this unfolding story, stay tuned for more.
If you haven't see The Blinders yet, we guarantee that you will not be disappointed. So please do re-imagine 1967's Summer Of Love, 50 years on in this, The Darker Ages, with something completely new, invigorating and light bringing; #HOPE and #REVOLT
Cheers, additionally, to The Blinders for doing their first in depth interview with TheZineUK at the end of last year. Sound people. Click here to read.
Being realistic, it really is only early days, but follow; facebook.com/THEBLINDERSband now, anyway. You're welcome.
