John "Waz" Waring: Vocals/ Guitar/ Keyboards
Sharon Leach: Vocals/ Keyboards/ Percussion
"Concrete" Andrew Newman: Keyboards/ Drums/ Guitar/ Bass/ Percussion/ Vocals
Martin Hall: Guitar/ Bass
Thom Allott: Bass/ Guitar/ Keyboards/ Percussion/ Vocals
Kerry Edmonds: Drums/ Keyboards/ Percussion
How: The internet is responsible for lots of things. Contrary to what the middle-class tabloid rags would have you believe, it's not all pornography and dodgy old men. Like any place where people convene, there are good things and bad things. One of the good things is a natural gravitation of people with similar musical ideals. Like a random magnet, six very different people were drawn to one music site, some by a mutual love of music, some by chance. Through this random collection of numbers and data, geographies were altered and friendships were formed, making the virtual into the very real.
One fateful day, an advert was posted: "Musicians Wanted". Meetings were arranged, studios booked, songs written, sax players lost. When the dust settled, The Gresham Flyers were formed; a nod to childhood and advancing technology.
After spending 2005 working up their repertoire, playing extremely well-received gigs and developing a natural bond as a group, the band entered 2006 fully ready to take on the world; the loss of drummer Dan Morton to his own world tour was cushioned by the jaw-dropping ability of replacement Kerry Edmonds, and the release of much-acclaimed debut 7" Shiftwork.
Who: The Gresham Flyers are now a comfortable London-based six-man line up even though two of the six men are women. Between them, they represent the professional and the novice, the north and the south, the buoyant and the melancholy, all merged together into one exciting explosion of music.
The sound of the band is a conglomeration of their favourite records, striving to be on a par with their heroes but aiming for the unique. The various band members frequently defy categorization through their versatility and fondness for instrument swapping. Though none could be called virtuoso (or would have any desire to be), each has mastered at least one instrument, if not more. Martin's solid, powerful rhythm guitar acts as the foundation of the sound. Waz's inventive semi-lead/ semi-rhythm playing adds subtlety, inventiveness and flair. Thom and Andrew move around the stage grabbing whatever suits the sound best - the sassy combination of home-made synths and analogue technology help to push the songs into the realm of the truly special. Then the listener's cake is well and truly iced with Sharon's life-affirming cool-as-a-cat trill, or Waz's sadly optimistic (or happily pessimistic?) delivery.
Why: Being first and foremost music fans, all of the band recognize and appreciate that some of the most treasured music isn't heard by the masses; it's something you find buried on an obscure compilation, or a piece of spontaneously-purchased vinyl. The kind of music treasured by a small following, who don't understand why everyone else doesn't "get it".
The Gresham Flyers want to make music that fans can treasure in exactly the same way; every song, whether a-side, album track, b-side or whatever should exude the same shining quality. Shiftwork is the first step on this road. What matters to The Gresham Flyers is the power of a chorus, or a heart-melting couplet, or a killer hook. Something that will represent the first joyous flushes of romance, the sound of rain beating against the window on a dark, slow Sunday afternoon or punching a goose in the throat with a studded knuckle-duster.