By Wayne Bordoli
For those old enough to remember the golden age of narrative pop – the harmonious sounds of The Everly Brothers, Peter and Gordon and the contemporary Paul Heaton resonate in the memory. For those who’ve never had the opportunity to experience the delicious soaring harmonies and yearning lyrics – local band The Hightowns bring the sound back to life.
Formed through a mutual love of The Everly harmonies and Paul Heaton’s storytelling, the band wear their influences on the sleeves of their sharp retro suits. They write wistful, humorous songs about small towns and its people. The album is evocatively titled Stories in the walls and is a track on the album.
Out of work actors, anniversary and souvenirs, give us clues to the bittersweet ache of the lyrics,which are brought to life by the soaring harmonies,uplifting violin and a rhythm section of double bass and drums as crisp as their suits.
They’re very much a local band and only played their first gig in May 2023. They recorded their album live at Simpson Street studios at the end of last year to get that authentic sound. The band is fronted by Ben Holland and Pete Moffat on guitars, backed by Katya on violin, and Neil and Tom on double bass and drums who are from North Shields, Whitley Bay and far-flung Heaton. The beautifully presented artwork is by vocalist and artist Ben, who works from his Whitley Bay studio.
The exciting news is their debut album Stories in the Walls launched at The Klurb venue based in the North Shields Catholic Club Cecil Street on the 4th May. Tickets have sold very fast and again a sellout for Steve Willis and the Club which is filling the void that’s been left by the Maggie Bank in by providing a large capacity venue for music events and a platform for young and upcoming performers.
Support is from Brick, a fusion of the extraordinarily talented Bridie Jackson, multi-instrumentalist Nick Pierce and the excellent Americana influenced Sam Shields.
