Twisted Wheel

Twisted Wheel are an indie rock group from Saddleworth, United Kingdom, active since 2006. The current line-up is Adam Clarke, Jonny Brown and Rick Lees. The band forms in Oldham in February 2007, with Jonny Brown on guitar and vocals, Rick Lees on bass and Eoghan Clifford on drums in the early line-up. Brown and Lees grow up in Oldham and absorb music from their parents’ record collections, including the Beatles’ “blue” album.

Formation and early line-up

Before Twisted Wheel, Brown and Lees form a band called The Children with friends from college. As teenagers, they are strongly influenced by the Rolling Stones’ Loog Oldham period and the psych-pop of The Small Faces. The Children play large local venues and attract attention after a show at Night & Day in Manchester, where Clint Boon passes a demo to Paul Weller. Weller then phones the band, invites them to record at Black Barn studio, and later asks them to support him at Manchester Academy.

In late 2007, the original band splits. Brown starts solo acoustic shows, then brings back Rick Lees and recruits Adam Clarke, also known as Clarky, on drums. The trio rehearses intensively and forms the tighter version of Twisted Wheel.

Sound and influences

Their music is described as old-school, gritty rock and roll, with comparisons to the Arctic Monkeys, The Jam and The Clash. Paul Lester of The Guardian characterises the band’s sound as a collision of 1960s psychedelia and late-1970s punk, and as fast, raw rockabilly. Twisted Wheel themselves reject being labelled as a northern band, and are described as encyclopaedic about their musical influences.

The band’s name is not taken from the northern soul club of the same name, although they know of it. Their lyric writing is said to draw on urban characters and night-time experiences, with songs that move between paranoia, energy and uplift.

Career and live work

Twisted Wheel build a reputation through heavy live activity and attract supporters including Noel and Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller, Shaun Ryder, Ian Brown and Kasabian. Liam Gallagher describes them as “a breath of fresh air”, and Weller watches them at London’s 100 Club.

In 2008 they tour extensively, play a homecoming headline show at Manchester Academy, support acts including Kasabian, The View, Happy Mondays, Reverend and Ian Brown, and appear at Reading and Leeds. In 2009 they are announced as main support for Oasis, then support Oasis on their final tour, including three nights at Heaton Park in Manchester. They also tour with The Enemy and complete two tours with Paul Weller. In December 2009, PRS places them second in its list of the hardest-working bands in the country, based on live performance totals over the previous 12 months.

Releases

Their first single, She’s A Weapon, is released in 2008. It is followed by the five-track EP You Stole The Sun and then We Are Us in 2009. Their self-titled debut album appears in 2009 and reaches number 45 in the UK charts. It is recorded with producer Dave Sardy at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles.

The album includes songs such as “Lucy The Castle”, “Strife”, “One Night On The Street”, “Bouncing Bomb” and “Let Them Have It All”, with the band describing parts of the record as drawing on T. Rex, Dylan, Donovan, John Martyn and Hank Williams, as well as garage rock and acoustic British rock traditions.