Some
time in early 1997 Gavin Skelhorn started 'hanging out' with Sam Kelly and
Michael Instone. Together, with only guitar, bass and drums to guide
them, they stumbled nervously through their first gigs at Liverpool's
legendary Picket, and London's notoriously hard to please Rock Garden, to
see how Gavin's songs would connect.
Though they expected
little more than a testing of the waters with these first few gigs, they
blew the audience's heads off and created such a stir that they
immediately had several journalists, A&R scouts and a TV producer banging
on their dressing room door.
Having recruited a
humongously gifted lead guitar player, Andy Munro, in the summer of '97.
Pool started about the serious business of four young guys forming a
shit-hot rock 'n' roll band. By October they were playing four songs live
on Jenny Powell's 'Hot' Sky TV Show - an achievement that's virtually
unheard of for an unsigned band.
They spent the next year
and a half in and out of the studio, developing Gavin's stunningly
vibrant, original songs and playing live - from Nice (at the ultra
prestigious Fete de la Musique and Mardi Gras Festivals) to Cambridge
Balls to London's Sound Republic and Kashmir Club (alongside Squeeze
mainman Chris Difford).
Pool
play with a vigour and intensity that reminds you of The Small Faces, late
Beatles, The Who and The Jayhawks all at once. Hot damn, this is the
real deal. Just feel the quality of the tunes ........ Of
course they also happen to play like heroes too. They create a
poignant, mesmeric, melodic sound that fits Gavin's life-affirming, vibey
songs like a rubber suit. He also sings like a cross between
McCartney, Richard Ashcroft, Paul Weller and Kevin Rowland, which is a
pretty neat trick to top the whole thing off.
So dip your ears into the
seductive delights of Pool. They're a good ol' fashioned, seriously
scintillating, shit-kicking, sexy rock 'n' roll band who make songs that
remind you of why you got into music in the first place. And they
won't bore the duck out of yer pond either. Dive in .... the water's
lovely!
And check out what the
media have been saying .....
"Pool deliver the lovely
Pretend, a harmony laden organ filled tune that really shuffles along.
Enjoy ...." (Daily Express)
"Tunes! Words! Graft!
Weller-isms! Nice work young man ...." (Melody Maker)
"It sounds like it's
walked off a 60's film set with hammond organ and moptop harmonies and
it's too catchy by far." (BBC Ceefax)
"Get some of Cast and add
in the Charlatans. Stir in 'Taxman'-esque bassline, and sprinkle on
bits of Reef. Here's one we made earlier: Pool." (What's On In
London).
