The Blinders are a three-piece English Alternative rock band originally from Doncaster, now based in Manchester. The band is made up of vocalist and guitarist Thomas Haywood, bass guitarist Charlie McGough, and drummer Matthew Neale. They released their debut EP Hidden Horror Dance in 2016, followed by their first LP Columbia in 2018 on Modern Sky Entertainment.
History
The band was formed in 2014 while its members studied at Manchester University. They spent 2015 touring the local circuit while writing and recording their first EP which would follow in 2016. Bass guitarist Charlie McGough spoke of the band's formation: "We all knew each other from school and had played in school bands together, so to speak. After secondary school Thomas and I went off to the same Six Form and Matt went off to some music college. Thomas then spent a couple of months nagging Matt to leave this band he was playing in and come down for a jam." In October 2017 the band announced that they had signed to Modern Sky UK.
''Hidden Horror Dance EP''
On 26 May 2016 The Blinders released a 4 songs EP titled Hidden Horror Dance, recorded at Vibe Studio in Manchester.
''Columbia''
September 2018 saw the release of The Blinder’s debut albumColumbia. The album was produced by Gavin Monaghan and was recorded in a month at Gavin's studio Magic Garden in Wolverhampton. The album is loosely based around the concept of Columbia as "an alternate world informed by reality" and follows the fictional persona of Johnny Dream on a spiritual awakening. The album is inspired by the literary touchstones of George Orwell and Jack Kerouac as well as artists such as Nick Cave, Kanye West, and The Wytches. Columbia also features the 2017 single "Brave New World", familiar from its use in a William Hill TV advert.
''Live At The Ritz''
Following the release of their debut album Columbia the band played a sold out show at The Ritz in Manchester. The band released a live recording of the set titled Live At The Ritz, released in collaboration with Blood Records. The album features 3 previously unheard songs taken from the band's forthcoming second full length record, entitled Fantasies of a Stay at Home Psychopath. Limited to 500 copies, the album sold out within a week of its release. The Live at the Ritz album was launched at a fan event at 23 Oldham Street in Manchester on the 2nd November 2019.
''Fantasies of a Stay at Home Psychopath''
The Blinders second studio album was released on July 17th 2020.
Touring
To date the band have toured within the UK and Europe with the likes of The Charlatans, The View, Cabbage, and Blossoms. Alongside this the band have a long list of festival performances under their belt, including headlining the BBC introducing stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2018 and a main stage appearance at Kendal Calling. 2019 has seen the band perform at South_by_Southwest and a set at Glastonbury Festival 2019 on the Leftfield Stage. For their April 2019 UK tour The Blinders teamed up with adding "Making our gigs a safe place is something we are deeply committed to as a band, and we urge anyone who sees anything untoward to speak out" Ahead of the 2019 UK general elections the trio embarked on the 'For The Many' tour, from which all proceeds have been donated to the local Labour Party.
The band are described as being "known for their energetic performances and politically driven lyrics, and in-your-face punk attitude". Their influences include Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, and Nick Cave. A particularly formative influence for both Charlie and Thomas came from an arena gig by Pink Floyd co-founder, Roger Waters. “We watched Roger Waters do ‘The Wall’ in Wembley and that was completely life-changing, it was theatre, it was performance” said Thomas. The band are most commonly categorised as Alternative rock, though they have also been referred to as Punk rock and new wave.
