The Lapels - The band dominating the Midlands music scene

Offbeat sat down with The Lapels, a band based in the East Midlands who have been described to have “pure energy and power” by Derby Live. They have dominated the music scene throughout the Midlands and will be releasing a new singles as well as live shows in 2019.

The Lapels

Tell us a bit about yourselves and the band?

The Lapels are: Nathan Pointon, 19- guitar and vocals, Andy Lewis, 20- guitar and vocals,Will Sabey, 20 – bassandAdam Bloor, 15 – drums. Andy and I met each other first around 3-4 years ago at college.But, when we first met we didn’t really get on with each other and it wasn’t until around 2 years ago that we actually decided to start playing together. At first we played shows as a duo, with me playing acoustic guitar and Andy playing electric guitar.

How long have you all been playing for?

The Lapels have been playing as a full band since January 18’. But, our first gig wasn’t until March so we haven’t been gigging an awful long time. Since then, we have been doing at least one gig a week and sometimes two, so we quickly got a lot of experience under our belts.

How would you describe the sound of your band?

I’d describe our sound as raw and high energy but also polished.

How did you get involved with the BBC?

We got involved with the BBC through our booking agent and promoter Paul, who got in touch with Dean Jackson at the BBC introducing our new single, ‘Come and Have a Go. We also have a live session recording with Martyn Williams at BBC Radio Derby to look forward to.

What bands do you look up to?

In terms of bands, we look up to The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, The Jam, Blur, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene and Arctic Monkeys etc.

Have all your gigs so far been based in the East Midlands? If not, where have you played?

Most of our gigs so far have been based around the East Midlands with a lot of them being in Burton/Derby. But, we’ve played in Nottingham a few times and we’ve been down to Banbury and we also did a few gigs down the Isle of Wight last August for the scooter rally.

What can we expect to hear in your upcoming single?

You can expect to hear 2 minutes of high-energy raucousness.

When will we expect an album release?

We’re not sure about a debut album quite yet as we think it’d be premature but we’ll keep releasing singles and maybe so EP’s but we think an album is for later down the line.

How would you describe the band's style?

I’d describe our style as having good taste. We all take influence from things going back to the 60’s and then make it our own.

What sort are things are you doing to create hype for your upcoming single?

We’ve tried to maximise the hype for our upcoming single as much as we can by coinciding radio play and interviews for when it’ll be released and of course plaster it all over social media and just give a little announcement about it when we play gigs.

How would you describe Derby's music scene?

I couldn’t answer about Derby’s music scene in any great detail as I don’t really have my finger on the pulse with current stuff. But, I’m pretty sure if there was anything decent I’d know about it so I’d say it needs a proper band to come along!

Where will you be playing on your UK tour?

As for a UK tour, hopefully anywhere we can. None of us are fussy about playing anywhere as long as we get a rowdy audience that want to see us really.

What advice would you give people who want to start a band?

My advice to people starting a band is making sure you get the right line up. There’s nothing worse for me than when you see a band that’s clearly got a weak link and it just detracts really and also make sure you get some good rehearsals in before you go out giggling so you can all play it in your sleep and then you just got to live and breathe it!