Fanfair to support The Wanted on 2012 arena tour!

Now how's this for an ace pop line-up? Not only do you get everyone's fave boy-band The Wanted in an epic arena setting, but supporting them will be one of the hottest up and coming girl groups, Fanfair! We've covered them a lot on the blog in the past and are overjoyed to hear they'll be teaming up with the boys to bring you guys an awesome show.

The tour kicks off in February next year, so there's plenty of time to book tickets if you haven't already done so. This follows a number of summer dates the girls supported The Wanted, but this tour sees them really stepping up to the big time with an assortment of great pop tunes to match the boys' own.

For a full list of dates, check out the diary section of Fanfair's website: http://www.fanfairmusic.com/diary/

The Kixx - Album preview

A few weeks ago I saw new band The Kixx supporting Olly Murs on tour at the prestigious Hammersmith Apollo and came away truly impressed by what they had to offer. Their debut single Already Gone is a fizzing, immensely energetic bit of pop/rock and a storming introduction to a group who are sure to be making waves in the music world shortly.

Listening to The Kixx's album sampler, the first thing that strikes you is the sense of energy - like a lightning storm trapped in a bottle and then suddenly let loose.

Tracks like Already Gone are at that moment of release, propelled on a jet-stream of catchy hooks and passion that was plain to see for anyone who caught them on tour. Dashing around the stage, guitars swinging, they played like it wasn't just a support slot, but their own headline show.

A real favourite of mine is Standing Where You Left Me - another massive upbeat track, full of bonkers techno synths, but also a surprisingly real grit to the vocals too.

With lyrics of 'Pretty lies are no concern, when we love we never learn', the song details a pessimistic outlook on the dangers of a fractious relationship. This isn't a Disney-fied sugar and smiles account of love and life, but rather something far more visceral and real.

Another thing The Kixx do really well? Laddy chants - they're stamped all over the album, especially on the punky There She Goes Again.

On a slower note though, there's Breathless, a lush piano ballad with real maturity to it. With a song like this, the crux of it is really believing the band means what they sing, and Breathless feels thoroughly authentic. Throughout the song, and the album as a whole, there are little quirks of melody as well as the overall scale of the sound that really help to elevate this into something truly alive.

When I saw them live at Hammersmith, you got a sense of the real benefit gained from them functioning as a complete band who all play their own instruments and who know exactly what they're doing. There's just a much fuller sound, and that's something reflected here on the album sampler too. Listening to Begin At The End, there's a satisfying throb of the bass in the verses, a real crunch to the guitar in the chorus - a musical intricacy that you just don't get with other boy bands.

A lot of comparisons have already been made with bands like Busted or McFly, but in truth the similarities don't really go much further than that they're all groups of guys playing catchy pop/rock tunes.

The Kixx's sound is their own and where they really shine is that they seem to have really pinned down what that unique sound is for them. Whereas other bands might spend their first album or two trundling along in first gear, The Kixx are already kicking it up to fifth.

Already Gone is available to download now.

All The Young - Welcome Home

Coming on like a tough, gritty blend of Hard-Fi and Oasis, the new single from All The Young is an invigorating exercise in recapturing the beating heart of 90s Brit-Pop. Big, expansive choruses and angular guitar surge up sweep by in a blur - Welcome Home is a resounding anthem for a band that have every intention to make themselves known.

Speaking of the track, band frontman Ryan Dooley says 'It means business that one. There's no way you can play it without your heart and soul fully in it.' And that 'business' is there for all to see - first and foremost in its professionalism, but also in just how persuasive a calling card for the band it is. You hear this, and you want more. You want 'in', to join the club.

All The Young have also been invited personal by Morrissey to support him at Hanley's Victoria Hall - and when it comes to rock accolades, well, you don't get much better than that.

Welcome Home is available to download from iTunes now.

Next month also sees the band setting out on tour, with the dates as follows:

July
2nd – Delamere Forest (as support to The Courteeners)
5th – Hanley, Victoria Hall (as support to Morrissey)
6th – Wrexham, Central Station
8th – Winchester, Railway
9th – Wakestock Festival (opening main stage)
10th – Brighton, Jam
12th – Southampton, Joiners
14th – London, Water Rats
15th – Leigh, Bar Bliss
16th – Middlesborough, Empire
19th – Laugh Inn, Chester
20th – York, Duchess
21st – Hull, Fruit
23rd – Leeds, Cockpit 3

August
5th – Derbyshire, Y NOT Festival

INTERVIEW - The Ultra Girls

The Ultra Girls are Lauren, Lucy, Amy and Laura – currently supporting Kylie Minogue on tour, they’re bringing their own unique brand of girl power to the world of pop. Their brilliant debut single Girls Will Be Girls is out in April and it comes with an absolutely brilliant airport-inspired video. I caught up with the girls for a quick chat during a break in their hectic rehearsals for the tour.

Hi girls! So, what have you been up to today?

Lauren: Teen press! Going round chatting to loads of people really.

Lucy: We’ve been eating lots of snacks to keep our energy up. We’re really craving a Nando’s though! Maybe one day if we’re very lucky we could get one of those cards that let you get free Nando’s.

I think there are even some celebs who’ve done promotional stunts to get one of those cards...

Amy: We’d do it! Like eat as much Nando’s as possible in a time limit or something like that.

So, you’re supporting Kylie on the UK leg of her Aphrodite Les Folies tour. That must feel pretty good, right?

Lucy: She’s not had a support act in about seven years so it feels amazing to be going on tour with her.

How long is it until the tour starts now?

Lauren: A week!

Laura: We’ve just been rehearsing loads and it really gives you a sense of what it’s going to be like on the night. The whole thing is just feeling more and more real every day. It’s really starting to sink in.

And with all this rehearsing you’re doing at the moment, do you get a real buzz from it?

Lucy: We love it. It’s mental! The thing with rehearsing is that it makes sure you know exactly what you’re doing, and then you feel alright. It really calms your nerves. Every day we just love coming in and doing it. We can’t wait for everyone else to come see us!

So, do you all have a favourite Kylie song then?

Amy: On A Night Like This!

Lauren: I love Red Blooded Woman!

Lucy: That’s where she’s on the truck isn’t it?

Laura: I like the one where she’s walking around in combat trousers and a vest... Love At First Sight!

Lauren: Oooh, and Get Outta My Way as well!

Amy: What I really love is how on the video for Slow where she has all the people lying on towels around her, when they filmed it they had to glue the towels down because they kept slipping.

The video for your single Girls Will Be Girls is set at an airport... but it wasn’t a real airport that you filmed in though, was it?

Lucy: Nope, it wasn’t actually filmed at one. The one in our video would make a great airport though! It’s so colourful! We were thinking about going to Leeds & Bradford Airport to do it but then we thought let’s just get them to design it all on the computer.

And in the video each of you has a certain job that you’re acting out...

Amy: They were kind of all jobs that we had previously done in real life. Like I actually used to be a flight check-in girl. So it was kind of nice to revisit that ha!

Lucy: I’ve never really been a cleaner though! But I worked part-time at a hair salon and they made me mop the floor.

You nearly hit someone with your mop in the video.

Lucy: That was one of the most dangerous things we did when we were filming!

Laura, you’re a waitress serving out food - did you eat any of it?

Laura: Yeah, I ate some of the mushy peas. They were really cold though, and they weren’t green!

In the video you do a special ‘Trouble with a capital T’ dance move, will we be seeing that on tour?

Amy: We want it to catch on! We’d love for everyone to join in and do the dance move with us at the live shows. There’s going to be lots of fun stuff on tour, loads of energy and running around on stage. It’s all about getting the audience really hyped up.

And do you like to cause a bit of trouble yourselves?

Laura: You should ask our tour manager that question ha!

Lucy: It’s been a troublesome day, you could say.

Amy: We’ve had four interviews today and we’ve ended up talking about bogies... farts... poo?

Lucy: No, we didn’t talk about poo! Well... I guess we have now! Hahaha!

Laura: Hmm, what else? Twiglits!

Lauren: Boys!

Laura: Mashed potato... burps.

Lucy: We’re very boyish. Very vulgar actually. Vulgar with a capital V!

That’s the next single! Ha! Going back to the video, how did it feel filming something like that for the first time?

Amy: It felt really weird when we first walked out on set. We were just a bit like ‘What do we do? What do we do?!’

Lauren: The guys filming it will say stuff like ‘Quiet please, artist on set’ and you’ll be like ‘Oooh! Is that me?!’

Amy: Everyone was so nice to us which made the whole thing go really easily.

People getting you lots of cups of tea and stuff?

Amy: We got our own ha!

Laura: It was a bit weird doing everything against a green-screen, having to use your imagination to think about what’s there.

And was it a long day?

Lauren: Oh yes! It got to like one in the morning and we hit a wall of tiredness ha!

Lauren, you used to be in a band with Tom from The Wanted or something like that?

Lauren: People keep saying to me ‘You were in a band with him?!’, but we weren’t ha! Basically we both worked for the same company and we performed tributes. So I did the Spice Girls and Girls Aloud and he did Take That. So that’s how we know each-other.

So do you have a favourite Girls Aloud song then?

Lauren: The Show! I love that one.

There’s a brilliant video on your official YouTube page where you’re all in a car dancing away to JLS.

Amy: They put that up without telling us! And we were like... What?!

I take it you like a good party then? How’s the nightlife up in Leeds?

Laura: Yeah! It’s really good!

Lucy: We actually haven’t been out in a while, so we’re overdue a good night out ha!

You guys have done a brilliant mash-up cover of P!nk’s Get The Party Started and Blur’s Song 2. How did that come about?

Laura: We were just throwing ideas around really and it kind of grew out of that. It always amazes me too how even little kids know the Blur song.

So are any of you rock chicks at heart then?

Amy: I love 30 Seconds To Mars! Jared Leto is amazing!

Lucy: Ask her to name three 30 Seconds To Mars songs.

Go on Amy, name me some!

Amy: Hurricane!

Yes! With Kanye West!

Amy: Oooh, I didn’t know there was a version with him on it! I’ve got the six minute long album version on my iPod.

And there’s Kings And Queens...

Amy: Yes! *sings* “We were the kiiingssss and quuueeeensss!”

Lucy: Which is the one where he takes his top off in the video? Ha! Amy loves Jared Leto!

How did you come up with the name ‘The Ultra Girls?

Lauren: Well we were ‘Project A’ when we started out on the X Factor, but that was a bit of a work-in-progress; we weren’t really keen on it. So we were just trying to come up with some stuff and ‘Ultra’ really felt like us being determined to succeed and being fun.

Lucy: We’re also girls who are nice!

Lauren: And we can get away with anything!

A lot of bands live together when they’re first starting out, what about you?

Laura: We’ve had to really! We live out of our suitcases. It was a bit different for us as we’d already known each-other for about five years so it kind of cut out that ‘getting to know the other guys in the band’ phase.

You recently went on a tour round various schools across the UK, how was that?

Amy: It was cool! Really fun to do!

Lauren: The kids loved it!

Lucy: They were very responsive and really got what we were about. Just loving pop music and everything.

They don’t hold back do they?

Laura: They were all getting up and dancing! At one school we had this little boy that sung on his own, bless him.

Lauren: He was so good!

If you search on YouTube there’s a Spanish version of your song Girls Will Be Girls called Soy Como Soy.

Laura: We’ve been trying to sing it... Soy Como Soy!

Lauren: We might learn it at some point haha! Do a little rendition.

In their video they dance around with really not that many clothes on...

Lucy: Ours is the PG rated version!

Amy: Something for a wider audience.

And can you tell us anything about your plans for the rest of the year?

Amy: Well, Girls Will Be Girls comes out in April, then we’ll probably release two or three more singles and then the album will hopefully be out around September.

And what can we expect from the album?

Lucy: It’s a real goody bag of stuff! A variety pack of cereal!

Amy: We’ve got a few ballads on there. Then there’s some really powerful stuff, lots of good strong bass. Stuff that gets you in the mood to go out!

Lauren: We’re hoping to do some CD signings and we’ve got a lot of radio tours lined up too.

Amy: We just did a nice intimate acoustic performance for student TV which was really cool.

Lauren: We can’t wait to get out on the road and meet lots of people on our travels!

Interview originally featured on M Is For Music.