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Welcome to the first issue of The Penny Lane! This magazine has been months in the making, years in the planning and crafted from a lifetime of passion for film and music. This magazine aims to celebrate the thriving underground scene, bringing you the newest news, features, interviews and releases as fast as we hear them. We love everything bright and creative at The Penny Lane HQ and spend hours trawling through the work of the best undiscovered artists, then beg them to draw us something awesome. In this issue we give you the lowdown on Marvel’s dramatic Hollywood takeover, brand new film reviews of Cake and Project Almanac and a definitive showdown between the five best Jazz films. We haven’t scrimped on music either, check out our articles on the rock chick revolution and Royal Blood’s crazy BRITS win. Put on your record player, grab a beer and enjoy.

EditorAnnabelle Price

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Follow us @thepennylane

THE SUPERHERO HOLLYWOOD TAKEOVER

SWING ON SCREEN

THE ROCK CHICK REVOLUTION

BJöRK IS BACK

ROYAL BLOOD BLOW UP THE BRITS

www.facebook.com/thepennylane

thepennylane.tumblr.com11 BRAND NEW FILM RATINGS

The Penny Lane reviews Cake & Project Almanac.

The Five Greatest jazz films.

Following the release of her brand new album ‘Vulnicura’, BJöRK is back in full whimsical force.

Brighton rock duo take home ‘Best British Group’.

How the women in rock infiltrated the all - boy’s punk scene.

With 29 films to be released by 2019, Marvel is leading an assault on the silver screen.

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DIRECTOR INTERVIEWS

THE SUPERHERO HOLLYWOOD TAKEOVER

OSCARS: BEHIND THE SCENES

FILM FESTIVAL NEWS

BRAND NEW FILM REVIEWS

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In recent years Superhero fans and closet comic book readers have stepped out of the shadows and into the glaring light of the silver screen. Filmgoers have been spoilt for choice when it comes to the new breed of comic book movies, and with 29 more films to be released by 2019; they’re in for a real treat.

Like a bunch of slightly geeky children on Christmas morning, comic book fans have been treated to several sets of Bat, Super, Spider, Iron and X-Men movies. We’ve had Avengers, Daredevils, Green Lanterns and at least three different increasingly credible Hulks and yet, it seems, we have barely started.

In 2015, we will see more Avengers in the ‘Age of Ultron’, another crack at the Fantastic Four franchise and the debut outing of a guy called Ant-Man, who I would guess has a superpower of carrying big bits of leaf and crawling all over your sandwiches at a picnic. Right?

And after these (bound to be) big screen hits, there are even more in the works. That’s 29 more Marvel films by 2019 to be precise.

News has just broken that Marvel is even battling off super weight production companies like Sony to secure their next big Superhero blockbuster.

Sony has released two separate Spiderman franchises, headed up by two very different actors squeezing all their bits and bobs into that famous spidey leotard.

2002 - 2007 were the highly acclaimed Toby Maguire years. The former bit-part actor helped the Spider-Man films become the sixth highest-grossing franchise of all-time. But whilst the first two films were a raving success, it was almost all ruined by the underwhelming ‘Spider-Man 3’. While a sequel to the (again, abysmal) third film was in development, Sony announced that the franchise would instead be

S u P ER H E RoTHEHollywood T A K E O V E R

Words: Annabelle Price

rebooted. Toby Maguire was out and a skinny

British boy was in. Next came the dawn of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, supported by on-screen/off-screen girlfriend Emma Stone, in the role of ‘good looking blonde love interest’. ‘The Amazing Spider-man’ reboot was a relative success with two movies, an exciting cast and some big opening weekends. But once film fans realised that the Amazing Spider- man had simply recycled the same scripts from the first few movies – the novelty soon wore off. Swapping a ‘hot ginger’ (Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane) for a ‘hot blonde’ (Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy) isn’t really a big enough plot twist Sony.

In February 2015, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures announced that Spider-Man would now be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe following a deal to share the rights of the character. It seems the web-slinger could now appear in 2016’s ‘Captain America: Civil War’, finally be included in the Avengers Clan and there’s even another bloody solo film slated for July 2018 - the superhero’s sixth lone outing. It will also mean a third actor stepping into the tight latex shoes of Maguire and Garfield. Sony have made it abundantly clear to the current Spider-man actor and the worlds press that they’re “going in a new direction”.

The constant stream of Superhero films in cinema have led cultural commentators to declare this the end of Hollywood. In the eyes of the a few

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overly dramatic film writers, big-budget studios seem to have given up on true cinema to throw all of their money at films with secret identities, human flight, game-level CGI and a Marvel script.

Of Course this means that we, as filmgoers, have lost interest in ‘proper’ films and our attention spans are now shorter than ever. But have superhero films taken over or are they just the trailblazers for a different type of filmmaking? Are they overthrowing home-grown cinema with their fancy green screens and motion censor cameras?

When these comic book heroes were born, no longer imprisoned in the imaginations of their wildly innovative creators, it was the 1930’s and ’40’s. Theses times were dark and difficult, where a comic book symbolised a cultural escape. There was an opportunity for avid readers to put down the monochrome broadsheets and immerse themselves in colourful, artistic comic strips.

The times we live in now could be considered as similarly grim. But the difference with children

(and adults) today is a shortened attention span. In the 21st century a cultural escape is better observed in moving image.

So why apologise for looking forward to ‘Batman v Superman’ and ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ in 2016, ‘Wonder Woman’, ‘Black Panther’ and yet another Wolverine movie in 2017 (Hugh Jackman won’t ever go out of fashion) or even ‘Aquaman’ in 2018, whose only superpower is … swimming?

Films like Batman and Superman are not narratively on a par with great Shakespearean classics or Aesop’s fables, but they offer something new. Big budget superhero films are celebratory of cutting edge cinema technology and creativity. These films are made to be fun, to be enjoyed and not to win Oscars.

Whatever your opinion, this is undeniably the era of the Superhero movie. And with Marvel’s team consisting of the hammer-wielding Thor, that smart arse Iron Man and green powerhouse The Hulk, it’s not looking like anybody has the power to stop it.

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Whiplash (2014) was Damien Chazelle’s exhilarating and provocative foray into jazz cinema, a film that has been an overwhelming success at the box office and a token winner at countless award ceremonies. In celebration, The Penny Lane has compiled a list of the top five films to successfully pair cinema with the hearty, hard-hitting rhythm of jazz music.

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Three years later St Louis Blues (1958) hit the silver screen, documenting the tumultuous tale of blues composer and musician William Christopher Handy. Handy, widely known as the “Father of the Blues”, remains among the most influential of American songwriters and has even been credited with giving blues its contemporary form.

The film starred jazz and blues greats Nat “King” Cole, Pearl Bailey, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald and Eartha Kitt, as well as actress Ruby Dee.

In conjunction with the film, Nat “King” Cole recorded an album of W. C. Handy compositions and Ella Fitzgerald incorporated

“St. Louis Blues” into her live performances.

Despite the incredible company, it was still Handy’s music that remained most prominent in the final film. More than ten songs from his successful repertoire were used.

The film became more than a celebration of Jazz, instead acting as a faithful ode to Handy and his dedication to the genre.

St Louis Blues offered Nat “King” Cole his only lead role in a Hollywood film, whilst 85-year- old Handy served as a consultant. But in a heart-breaking twist, the legendary musician died shortly before the film opened.

Mo’ Better Blues is a 1990 drama starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes and Spike Lee. The film follows a period in the life of fictional jazz trumpeter, Bleek Gilliam (played by Washington), as a series of bad decisions jeopardise both his relationships and musical career.

Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes did not play their instruments in the film but were instead trained to convincingly mimic the playing of them. Experienced musicians Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison spent hours tutoring the pair in

how to ‘fake’ play the trumpet and saxophone.

Once filming was completed, Washington admitted that he was lucky if he could play three notes of a simple tune prior to working on the film, but ended up being able to perfectly mimic most of the songs he had to perform.

The music recordings that can be heard when the actors are “playing” was performed by ‘Branford’s Working Band’. In the nineties the band were well known as the house musicians for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno .

In 1988, American biographical film Bird was released. The tribute to the life and music of jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker (played by Forest Whittaker), was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood.

The motion picture is lovingly constructed as a montage of scenes from Parker’s life, starting with his childhood in Kansas City and through to his early death at the age of thirty-four.

Although Bird was not Eastwood’s first directorial outing, it was the first of his films to win an Academy Award. Unsurprisingly the film collected the Oscar for ‘Best Sound’.

Initially, when Columbia owned the project, the studio executives wanted to hire musicians to re-record all of Parker’s music. This was largely because most of the original recordings were in mono and considered

of insufficient sound quality to accompany a feature film. But before the recording process could begin, Clint Eastwood was taken aside by Parker’s widow, Chan. She gave the director a collection of her husbands lost recordings from a secret bank vault. Eastwood then had a sound engineer electronically isolate Parker’s solos and invited other musicians to simply play the remaining parts. Contemporary artists such as Ray Brown, Walter Davis. Jr and Ron Carter all recorded accompaniment for the award-winning soundtrack.

Although the saxophone playing in the film is original Charlie Parker performances, Charles McPherson performs the body and finger work on screen. The actor had to learn to move, and even breathe, exactly like Parker did in the recordings.

In 1955, Otto Preminger joined forces with the superstar-of-the-moment Frank Sinatra, to make The Man with the Golden Arm. The American drama tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world, only finding solace in a gifted drum set.

Frank Sinatra jumped at the chance to star in the film before he had even read the entire script. Completely immersing himself in the role, the Hollywood legend even chose to spend time at a drug rehabilitation clinic observing addicts going cold turkey.

The Motion Picture Association of America had originally refused to issue a seal for the movie because

of the intense drug addiction it showcased. But within a year the production code had been altered and films could now deal with drugs on screen. The Man with the Golden Arm became one of the pioneering firsts to address the issue.

Unlike in Whiplash, Sinatra didn’t play the drums like his character did. Despite his years spent as a professional singer, Sinatra cannot even read music, instead learning songs by ear.

The hands that can be seen on screen belong to Milton Birle. Oddly, Birle was not a professional drummer either, but the host of his own successful primetime TV show.

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The most obscure jazz film on our list is the 1976 Swedish blockbuster, Sven Klang’s Kvintett, directed by Stellan Olsson.

The scripted drama re-creates the 50s music scene of a small town in southern Sweden. The film explores the turbulent career of a dedicated jazz group, The Sven Klang Quintet.

Originally a band of four musicians, they are a content group until a sax player known as Lasse, joins the ranks. It seems that he inspires all the players but bandleader Sven Klang, questioning the front mans authority and causing endless issues for the small

town band.The black-and-white feature film

was a runaway hit in Sweden at the time of its release but is often forgotten when it comes to listing great jazz films.

Despite the films lack of notoriety on the International circuit, at the 13th Guldbagge Awards the film was presented with the ‘Special Achievement Award’ for its unprecedented success in Sweden.

The film was then honoured in 2012, 36 years after it’s initial release, as one of the ‘25 Best Swedish Films of all time’.

Words: Annabelle Price

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REVIEW

CakeDirected by: Daniel BarnzStarring: Jennifer Aniston, Anna Kendrick, Sam WorthingtonRelease Date: 23rd January 2015

Jennifer Aniston stars as Claire, a rich woman on the verge of suicide who pops Percocet to ease the (physical and emotional) agony caused by a recent car accident. Aniston also wears baggy clothes, tells lies constantly, is freakishly obsessed with homemade cakes and complains, all the damn time.

Aniston’s Claire takes class-conscious and an unsentimental nature to a whole new level, whilst making exceedingly good use of the word “bitch”.

Claire is a whizz at deadpan humour. She stares intently at the grave of someone’s beloved wife, then asks: “Is that granite? I’m thinking of putting a kitchen island in the back garden.” The morbidity of Claire’s character, teamed with the daily chronic pain she endures, strangely makes for an achingly optimistic film. My personal hardship of having to deal with running out of milk in the mornings, doesn’t seem to be as

heartbreaking when you look at it in the persepctive of somebody suffering with chronic pain.

Poor Aniston continues to be defined by the striking brilliance she displayed in Friends. Although it’s lovely to see her face without make-up and her hair limp and lifeless (a personal victory for ‘normal women’). She eloquently finds a way to convey damage without pleading for sympathy.

Patrick Tobin’s script explores the fuzzy nature of pain (Can it always be conquered by a “fighting spirit”?) with genuine care but I can’t help think that Cake is too serious and yet, not serious enough. The serious subject of chronic pain is somewhat undermined by the constant deadpan humour and dry sarcasm. The patronising use of humour kind of just gets on my nerves. Still, if you’re already feeling frayed, it might just hit the spot.

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REVIEW

Project AlmanacDirected by: Dean IsraeliteStarring: Jonny Weston, Sofia Black - D’EliaRelease date: 16th February 2015

Project Almanac tells the story of a group of teens that discover secret plans of a time machine and (stupidly) decide to build one. But of course, they find that building a time machine isn’t without its problems and things don’t go to plan. While Project Almanac’s plot is not particularly innovative, it does appear to be the first of a new hybrid film, crossing “time-travel” with the “found footage” genre.

I’m sure the film would be a splendour for avid time travel fans, there are endless whirring visuals, long science-ey words, cool robotic inventions and an exciting mix of camera techniques. But the dreaded “shaky cam” makes a return to the big screen and it is a love/hate apparatus, which I personally hate. I can deal with the handheld camera feel for a couple of minutes at most and then I begin to feel slightly seasick, even more so when being subjected to an

hour of the unbalanced camera angles on a huge cinema screen. A lot of the dialogue-only scenes would have been better served by a more traditional style of camera work, constantly holding onto a camcorder doesn’t seem plausible a lot of the time (and it’s rather annoying).

The characters as a whole felt generic, with the unknown cast taking on the roles of a number of stereotypical teen characters (i.e. the outgoing boy, unruly boy, and the ‘sometimes I have poor judgment’ boy). Admittedly the actors did an impressive job of bringing the teenagers to life, but that’s probably because they’re the exact age of the kids they were playing.

Despite an interesting plotline and well put together cast of Hollywood newbies, the film spent too much time developing the storyline. By the time the action finally began, I was beyond disinterested.

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Björk is backTwo months before its original March release date and just a week after announcingit via a handwritten note, Björk released her new album Vulnicura. An artist famed

for her whimsical musical stylings and celestial voice, the Icelandic songstress is ready and raring for a successful 2015.

Vulnicura (“Cure for Wounds”) is the follow up to Björk’s skittering, science-inspired album Biophilia, released three years ago.

The eighth album by the cult artist is a self-penned and arguably self-indulgent album that chronologically charts the singers heartbreak surrounding her split from longtime partner, Matthey Barney.

Addressing the writing of the album, Björk admitted on Facebook that one year into writing she realised she was making a complete heartbreak album. Though she initially worried about the self-indulgent nature of her songs, Björk eventually “felt it might make it even more universal”.

She added:” Hopefully the songs could be a help, a crutch to others and prove how biological this process is: The wound and the healing of the wound. Psychologically and physically, it has a stubborn clock attached to it.”

Björk is notorious for her fierce individuality as an artist and when it comes to recording her albums, the singer tends to be similarly guarded. But the making of Vulnicura marked a change for the multi-

award winner, who accepted the help of a Venezuelan-born and New-York based producer.

Arca, who specialises in dessicated deconstructions of apocalyptic dance

music, and who worked with Kanye West on Yeezus and FKA Twigs on LP1, approached Björk with the opportunity to make some music together in 2011 and she graciously accepted.

Although the album was due to be released in March in conjunction with the Björk: Archives book and an exhibition about Björk’s career at the Museum of Modern Art, an internet leak forced the singer to bring her release forward.

The album, named Billboard’s most anticipated of 2015, has received rave reviews since it’s early release. Being followed up by the anouncement of a number of live shows across America for the veteran performer.

It appears quite evident that after a career spanning more than twenty years, Björk has no intention of slowing down just yet.

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THE ROCK CHICK REVOLUTIONThe punk rock scene was once notorious for being an all-boys’ club, where women could be in the crowd at a show or on the arm of a rockstar, but they had no place on stage. Thankfully as music has evolved, attitudes towards women have too. In recognition of International Womans day on March 8th,

we look at the story behind the rock chick revolution.Words: Annabelle Price

“When we started touring, there were next to no young women fronting bands like ours”, said Hayley Williams in a recent interview with MTV.

The flame-haired 26-year old is arguably the 21st Centuries most famous woman in rock. As the vocalist in grammy-nominated and multi-platinum selling punk band, Paramore, Williams has spent the last ten years touring and asserting herself as a role model for aspiring rock singers. She has recently been awarded Billboard’s first ‘Women in Music Trailblazer Award’, which acknowledges how the unassuming 5 ft 1 Nashville native, can kick higher and spit further than any boy on stage.

But as a 16-year old girl touring in a punk rock band, with her four best (male) friends, Williams was as rare as they came. And audiences didn’t always respond to her in the most heartwarming ways; “There were the odd nights where pretty much all I was

good for was a sounding board for various meatheads who’s chivalry peaked at “Take off your top!”. But I stood my ground and never walked off any of those stages.”

Wiliams’ determination has helped to pave the way for a host of talented front women, but she was certainly not the first of her kind.

The 1970’s was an era of experimentation; the hair was bigger, the platformed shoes were taller and the attitude to sex, drugs and rock & roll was far more freethinking. But finally for women in rock, there was a blossoming market for ‘girls with guitars’. There was an emergence of talented female musicians and singers on the rock scene in the seventies, who shunned the soul and pop genre’s where most women were safely successful. For the first time, performers such as Joan Jett, Patti Smith, Suzi Quatro, Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks were being given a stage to sing on, guitars to play and an audience who loved every minute of it.

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“I definitely now, more than ever, embrace the fact that I’m a woman on stage. I love being an underdog and proving people wrong.”

Hayley Williams

The Runaways were one of the first iconic all-girl hard rock bands to hit the market. They stormed onto the male scene wielding guitars like axes, an untouchable talent and a musical prowess that acted as a giant middle finger to the patriarchal scene that had once ignored them.

The Runaways offered up a serious brand of blistering rock, a territory that few other females had ventured into. Later, Heart would explode onto the scene with the Wilson sisters Ann and Nancy serving up some of the most polished guitar - based rock ever released.

The female rock stars of the 1980’s led a valiant continuation of the progress for women in the scene, progress that was initiated so impressively in the decade previously. Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees was an early dabbler in the London punk rock scene of the mid-70’s, who proved to be one of the most influential and maverick artists of the post-

punk era. Siouxsie and the Banshees immediately achieved U.K. success with their avant-garde, early Goth rock sound. In the 80’s alone, the band released an incredible seven studio albums and toured relentlessly.

The post-punk era also allowed for women who had been in succesful punk bands, to begin solo careers. Joan Jett, founding member of The Runaways, embarked on a solo record with her dedicated and capable backing band, The Blackhearts. Jett had proved that she appealed to fans of punk rock, hard rock, mainstream rock and even heavy metal. Her versatility as a rock artist personified her solo work as she maintained her ‘badass rock chick’ aura that had made her such an influential player in the scene. She also managed to blend an undeniably sexy feminity with an aggressive image, an approach that was usually reserved for the testosterone-heavy lineups of the majority of hard rock bands (We’re looking at you Mick Jagger).

Along with artists such as Liz Phair, Tori Amos and Hole’s Courtney Love, Alanis Morissette rose to prominence in the Nineties and represented a new wave of women in music who were outspoken, unhinged, aggressive and overtly sexual. After riot grrrl -the underground punk movement- had exploded at the beginning of the decade, it wasn’t long before the mainstream music world welcomed a number of opinionated female rock acts. These were the heroines of their generation, women who rejected their mothers’ brand of feminism and deconstructing femininity by playing hard and playing loud.

Morissette’s real success in the punk rock scene came in 1995, with the release of ‘Jagged Little Pill’, an album laced with unapologetic rage. Morrisette wrote brutal lyrics such as “It was a slap in the face how quickly I was replaced/ Do you still think of me when you f**k her?”. In response, Rolling Stone magazine famously put her on their cover with the caption “Angry White Female”.

The era of the angry rock chick began to die down in the late nineties and early noughties, with a new breed of frontwomen such as Gwen Stefani of No Doubt. Stefani chose to use her tousled blonde hair, enviously rock hard abs and sweet voice to represent her femininity on stage. Stefani was lorded over by rock fans for her sex-bomb status and cult-celeb following but she continued to maintain a strong female stance in an overtly male scene.

In 2009, Stefani and her bandmates joined forces with the newest leading lady in rock, by inviting Paramore to tour with them on their North American arena tour. The 45-date tour was an epic celebration of two of the best frontwomen in punk rock history and a call-to-arms for other rock chicks to don their skinny jeans, put on a pair of scuffed converse and jump onstage with them.

Women were once seen as nothing more than a pretty face, being used to draw in audiences whilst an all male backing band carried the group musically. Whilst Gwen Stefani and Hayley Williams are the only women in their respective bands, Stefani is a talented pianist and producer whilst Williams plays three instruments and was initially drafted into the band as a drummer.

The punk rock pair are not alone in their musical talent – there are the multi-instrumentalist, grammy award winning Haim sisters, drummer Meg White

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of the White Stripes and keyboard playing Sydney Sierota, of MTV’s 2015 ‘Artists to watch’, Echosmith.

London’s Capital FM’s head of music George Ergatoudis, recently researched which audiences preferred which specific genres of music. Unsurprisingly, he found that there was a strong appreciation of rock music among teenage girls.

“Gender stereotyping is a big part of the story here. There’s an expectation that girls will like pop and R&B, but there are plenty of girls who don’t want to be within that stereotype”.

And there are plenty of girls who want to read about rock music too. Kerrang! is the biggest selling weekly rock magazine and their readership is 51% female. Young women are choosing to immerse themselves completely in the genre and their dedication can no longer be ignored.

Thanks to the passionate rock chicks of the seventies who blazed through the male dominated scene with sheer determination and unquestionable talent, women have mercilessly infiltrated punk rock in the last three decades. More women than ever are selling out arenas, having their songs played on the radio and winning awards for their unrivalled success in a music scene that used to severely lack a female presence. There is still work to be done for the women in punk music today, but in the face of adversity, these girls are kicking some serious ass.

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Brighton rock duo Royal Blood were the surprise winners of ‘Best British Group’ at the 2015 Brit Awards, crushing competition in the form of Alt-J, Coldplay, Clean Bandit and, what was that other one? Oh yeah, One Direction. But with a debut number one album and support slots with Muse and Foo Fighters already under their belts, Royal Blood have been on the road to musical domination from day one.

Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher turned up to the

Brit Awards late in February in classic rock star style. The pair wore matching leather jackets, black skinny jeans and a steely stare as they strolled along the red carpet, posing for the odd photographer along the way. The friends were nominated for three Brit Awards, with Royal Blood vying for a win in the ‘Best British Group’, ‘Mastercard British Album’ and ‘British Breakthrough Act’ categories.

Despite their impressive number of nominations, when rock icon Jimmy Page announced Royal Blood as the ‘Best British Group’ the unassuming band were more than a little shocked.

“This is a huge surprise for us - it’s probably more of a surprise for people here as you probably don’t know who we are,” said the band’s Mike Kerr, as he struggled to compile a last minute winner’s speech.

It completed a startlingly successful seven days for the hard rock duo, who a week before had won the ‘Best New Band’ and ‘Best Live Band’ prizes at the NME Awards.

The BRIT Awards were uncertain territory for the Brighton rock band. Once again the awards were severely lacking in rock music, choosing to pit bands such as Royal Blood against manufactured pop groups like One Direction. It is this outdated sentiment that ignores the differences in musical genre and meant that Royal Blood were never really deemed to be in contention for such a prestigious accolade. But thankfully, the bands damning and undeniable

breed of hard-drumming, explosive riff driven rock music was something that could not go unnoticed.

Incredibly bassist/singer Mike and drummer Ben only formed Royal Blood in 2013, recieving an early boost when Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders wore a Royal Blood T-shirt during their Glastonbury headline set that summer. A recommendation from the rock juggernauts meant that Royal Blood were destined for big things with the release of their debut album.

Low and behold, when the self-titled CD was released in August 2014, it went straight to No 1 in the UK charts and was the fastest-selling British rock debut album in three years, according to the Official Charts Company.

The pair only started playing to significant audiences a year ago. “That was the weirdest feeling,” Kerr told the Guardian last August. “Going to places you’ve never been to or played and there’s 200 people there. That concept is pretty mind-blowing.”

The days of Royal Blood playing to 200 people are long gone, after winning their BRIT Award in front of a packed 02 Arena they went on to perform an electrifying live version of their hit single ‘Figure it out’ in front of the 10,000 strong crowd.

The performance, complete with lasers and strobe lighting, was ferociously loud and fiercely energetic. Royal Blood have warranted critical acclaim for their live rock show that is so exhilariating you forget you are watching a band of just two people. Aside from their powerful stage presence and impressively catchy songs, the pair are multi-talented insturmentalists. Kerr uses a uniquely tuned guitar that allows him to play both lead and bass simultaneously, whilst Thatcher drums harder and faster than anyone we’ve ever seen.

Their status as one of the hottest new rock bands has even secured them a support slot with the legendary Foo Fighters (and fellow 2015 BRIT winners) on their UK arena tour later this year.

Mark our words, Royal Blood are about to blow up big time and you’re going to love watching it happen.

Words: A

nnabelle Price