Hardwicke Circus, from the unlikely rock’ n’.roll hotbed of Carlisle are building a name for themselves. This is no overnight sensation as I actually saw an earlier line-up as long ago as 2017 supporting Southside Johnny (and am vaguely flattered GRTR’s review is still quoted on their website).

They are building some friends in high places, playing Glastonbury, gaining Paul McCartney’s (literal) thumbs up and being managed by a legendary industry figure in Stiff Records Dave Robinson, who was in attendance this night.

More prosaically, they are putting in the hard yards gigging up and down the country- even including a tour of prisons!- and I was delighted if surprised this included one of my regular local haunts in the Eel Pie Club, a refreshing departure from their usual roster that tends to focus on older acts paying tribute to the ‘Thames delta’ blues scene of the sixties associated with nearby Eel Pie Island.

Watched by a crowd of mixed ages, the opening songs confirmed those original impressions of the E Street Band and Asbury Jukes and Van Morrison, but as the set wore on I spotted fewer influences from sixties R’n’B and felt the energy and delivery called to mind a variety of new wave and post-punk acts from the late seventies and early eighties, from Dexys Midnight Runners to Graham Parker and the Rumour, or even more recent bands like the Hold Steady.

‘Reason to Believe’ was the first song to really make an impact while frontman Jonny Foster not only has one of those characterful storyteller style voices, but a series of amusing anecdotes and original inspirations for songs. Laddish drummer brother Tom chipped in with vocals from time to time such as on ‘Rejection is Better than Regret’, while the harmony vocals from band members were outstanding throughout.

Far from the usual lead guitar heroics of the rocking blues acts that are the Club’s usual staple, instrumental colour was primarily provided by dapper young saxophonist Jack Pearce and the long haired Lewis Bewley-Taylor playing a varied palette of piano, synth and organ sounds from a massive bank of keyboards.

They jammed impressively on a cover of ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ though originals made just as much an impact, notably recent single ‘Johnny Come Lately’, one of those with a more indie influence and’ examples of interesting songwriting twists in ‘Lets Make New Mistakes’ and ‘True Love and Near Misses’. The first set ended with an unexpected but note perfect cover of one hit wonders The Jags single ‘Back of My Hand’ was unexpected but note perfect, carrying me back in time to 1979 and the tail end of the new wave.

The second half saw them joined by a second drummer in Roy Lowe (Dad Nick was another celebrity present tonight) and began with ‘Nowhere Left to Run’ which was very much in the early E Street mould with that chaotic, joyful wall of sound. ‘Night Train to London’ – preceded by an anecdote about fare dodging!- was pure Madness and saw Jack wander through the crowd playing sax while ‘Down in the Hole’ was closest to the Eel Pie’s usual blues fare.

The set was getting better and better with the chorus of ‘Hands Up Don’t Shoot’ turned into a left versus right audience participation, and best of all, preceded by a hilarious anecdote about Jonny stalking the boxer on Morecambe Sands, the Tyson fury tribute ‘Ballad of the Gypsy King’ had a chanted wordless chorus that stuck in my head for days after.

After the set ended with some catchier numbers in ‘Its Not Over Till It’s Over’ and ‘Walking on Broken Glass’, the encore began with a funny moment as Jonny singled out an audience member with the shout ‘No More Dogging’, not quite as blatant as the title might suggest but an old blues song delivered tongue in cheek in Chas & Dave ‘knees up around the ol’ Joanna’ style. Finally, a cover of ‘The Weight’ went back to earlier influences with each member taking vocals at various stages.

It is not hard to see why they are attracting such attention, as while taking on board a range of inspirations and not always the obvious ones, an original approach to songwriting and an exuberant sound makes them offer something very different to the majority of other young pretenders. Something very special is definitely stirring in Cumbria.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)