The Travelling Band are an English folk-rock band, formed in 2006 and based in Manchester. The band members are Jo Dudderidge, Adam P. Gorman and Nick Vaal, Harry Fausing Smith and Sam Quinn. Previous full-time members include Steve 'Snaf" Ballinger, Steve 'Mugger' Mullen and Chris 'Spenny' Spencer. Previous touring members include Chris Hillman, Tanah Stevens and Hannah Nicholson. The band have released four studio albums Under the Pavement, Screaming is Something and The Big Defreeze and SAILS. They have also released two EP's If this is a gag, i'm in. and The Redemption of Mr Tom as well as two live albums Arrears Not Careers and Live at The Met.
History
The Travelling Band formed during a recording project in 2006 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The band recorded their debut studio album'Under The Pavement' with producer Eric 'Roscoe' Ambel, which was later released in the UK in November 2008 to receiving critical acclaim from the UK media. The album featured as BBC Radio 6 Music 'Album of the Day', BBC Radio 2's 'Single of the Week' with the song "Only Waiting", which also featured in the TV series Skins. Album track "Angel of the Morning" also featured in the Ian Dury biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Although the tracking for Under the Pavement was completed after a second session in NYC in October 2007, the album did not appear for another 12 months and was finally issued on their own 'Sideways Saloon' imprint—also the moniker of their Manchester-based, monthly club night. Two hand-crafted, cloth-packaged EPs helped to create a local buzz in the run up to the album's release, while acclaim came from further afield when the band won the Glastonbury Festival 2008 New Talent award. Festival organiser Michael Eavis personally chose the band as winners and said of the band – "they take me back to my roots... marvellous music to saviour and enjoy". The band toured extensively for two years following their debut's release with appearances at Glastonbury Festival, End of the Road, NXNE and Tbilisi Open Air Festival. In 2009, the band became the first British act to visit and perform in Kosovo performing several times in Podujevo and Pristina as part of a peaceful commemoration organised by Manchester Aid to Kosovo of a massacre that had taken place in Podujevo in 1999 during the Kosovo War. In 2010, the band began to record their second album with an initial recording session on the Isle of Mull followed by overdubs in their home studio set ups and at Moolah Rogue Studios in Stockport. They returned to New York City to perform at CMJ Festival and it was during this trip that they were scouted by Cooking Vinyl Publishing. In 2011, The Travelling Band signed with the record label, Cooking Vinyl to release their self-produced second studio album Screaming Is Something, recorded on the Isle of Mull, which received notable reviews. The band toured extensively that year with notable appearances at SXSW Festival, Green Man Festival and Cropredy. In April 2011, the band performed at two fundraisers for the charity compilation Ten which was curated by lead singer Jo Dudderidge. The album featured Manchester artists and bands such as Elbow, Cherry Ghost, Doves, Josephine Oniyama, Liz Green, Jo Rose and Liam Frost as well as The Travelling Band who performed with Badly Drawn Boy as his band on the launch nights. The album sales and concerts raised over £15,000 for the Manchester Aid to Kosovo charity. Further fundraisers took place at the Eden Project in Cornwall where the band performed alongside Fleet Foxes, The Flaming Lips and The Bees on two separate occasions. In early 2012, the band took a break from the road and began writing third album. They ran a successful crowd funded Pledge Music campaign which they raised the money to record with producer Iestyn Polson at The Church Studios in Crouch End, London. The album was released in the UK and Europe in August 2014 on Sideways Saloon via Republic of Music.
Theft of equipment
In December 2014, The Travelling Band made headlines in the national press after their van containing £30,000 of equipment was stolen from a street in Levenshulme, Manchester. The band appealed for help on social media and their story was quickly picked up by many local news outlets including the Manchester Evening News and BBC Manchester before being published in the NME and the Daily Mirror. On 12 December, Greater Manchester Police announced that they had recovered both the van and equipment and The Travelling Band later announced a special one off gig at The Deaf Institute in Manchester to celebrate the return of their van and thank their fans for the help in the recovery of the vehicle.
