The King Blues

The King Blues are one of the UK punk underground’s best loved bands.

Their first break came in early 2006 when a demo of ‘Mr. Music Man’ made it into the hands of Mike Davies of Radio 1’s The Lock Up, who gave the band repeated plays. Support from Zane Lowe soon followed and The King Blues grabbed the attention of the UK’s biggest punk label, Household Name, who signed the band and released their debut ‘Under The Fog’ – recorded in their living room in the space of four days during June 2006.

A postcard of modern Britain sent from the street level, ‘Under The Fog’ created an immediate buzz through the UK punk scene and enabled The King Blues to morph into a full live band – though they prefer the term ‘collective’ - to describe their fluid line-up, which generally features Johnny Rich (vocals and bass), Jim Parmley (percussion) and Gumby (drums). Tours were undertaken with likes of Gogol Bordello, Bedouin Soundclash and Capdown, not to mention shows with scene mainstays such as Jerry Dammers and Attila The Stockbroker; The Streets’ Mike Skinner meanwhile confirmed himself as the latest King Blues fan.

Things stepped up a gear at In The City in September 2006 when ‘Mr Music Man’ was universally praised during a new music panel. This brought the band to the attention of Field Recordings, established by life-long reggae fan Rollo of Faithless and backed by Island Records. By the close of 2006, The King Blues ranked highly in numerous music polls including second biggest selling album in independent outlets and ‘Best Song of 2006’ for ‘Mr Music Man’, as voted for by listeners of The Lock Up. Nevertheless, the band started 2007 without an agent or a manager, uncertain who would release their next album. They ended the year with an arena tour with Hard-Fi, including a show at Wembley Arena – the last time they played the venue was in the car park.

The King Blues were formed by Itch and Jamie as duo in 2004 in Hackney’s creative squat scene. Early ‘shows’ were played to queues outside other bands’ gigs, at squat parties, at political demonstrations and, in one mad day, six impromptu gigs in six cities. The band’s simple set-up was as much out of necessity as anything. “It’s easier to run away when you’re only carrying a ukulele,” laughs Itch.

Featuring two acoustic guitars, a ukulele and a Melodeon, The King Blues’ music is a heady and life-affirming concoction of soul-tinged ska, street poetry, working class/protest folk, dub bass lines and doo-wop melodies, all delivered with a punk attitude. They are part of a musical lineage that goes back to the political end of Jamaican reggae of the 70s, takes in the Two Tone scene and US ska-punk originators such as Operation Ivy and Rancid and onto more recent UK exponents like Capdown. Theirs is the gritty flipside to the slick ska-pop of today; a dub-heavy summer sound with a raised fist.

The King Blues have a commitment to politics and resistance culture, and are vocal supporters of anti-racism and anti-capitalism. Though they have played most of the UK’s major rock festivals they are just likely to be seen playing Zapatista benefit gigs, squat shows and Love Music Hate Racism festivals as they are the more traditional touring circuit. They do however refuse to rigidly define their politics, instead pooling individual beliefs for a wider common goal.

“Growing up in punk, politics was always an accepted part of music,” says Itch. “It was never a conscious thing. That said, we do have an agenda that’s quite simple: we want to unite people. We see a lot of dividing and conquering going on in society and that’s upsetting to us. We’re freedom fighters and activists. We want to cross all divisions.”

Another memorable show was at Reclaim The Future, the UK’s largest squatted one day festival, which saw police battling punters outside, while the band partied on inside with the band chanting “No justice, no peace. Fuck the police.” A free May Day show at the heart of London’s financial district was nixed when the band were stopped by police and threatened with ASBOs for attempting to play their music.

Far more than just posturing punks, The King Blues are also actively involved in a number of community projects in and around East and South London. It’s a scene fuelled by positivity that exists under the mainstream radar – but one where partying is as important as politics. It’s this spirit that infuses The King Blues’ music with a righteous sense of ire and fervour, frustration and celebration – check the heavy dub of debut single ‘Come Fi Di Youth’, the uplifting ode to the unabashed freedom of youth of ‘We Ain’t Never Done’ (acoustic Oi! with a whistling solo, anyone?) or the cheery East London punk patois of ‘Mr Music Man’.

February 2008 saw the re-release of the ‘Mr Music Man’ single featuring a remix by Gallows, and a new version of the ‘Under The Fog’ album. Their second album will follow in October, and will be preceeded by the single 'Let's Hand the Landlord' on August 4th.