An interview with The Sherlocks – the ones to watch in 2019

Walking away from a gig by The Wombats at Liverpool Students' Union in October 2015, I felt that the ever-impressive Scousers had been somewhat upstaged.

That's because a raw, relatively unknown band from South Yorkshire took to the stage as a support and stole the show with a swagger you'd associate with early Arctic Monkeys.

Having seen them numerous times since, it is clear that this is a band that is going from strength to strength, outperforming themselves at each successive gig.

It is unsurprising, therefore, that the lads put on such a show when you consider the bands that inspired them, with The Libertines, Oasis and The Jam being some of the groups that led the quartet down their musical path.

The two sets of brothers, Kiaran and Brandon Cook, and Josh and Andy Davidson started out in 2010 and played their first gig in a small village pub, The Sandhill Tavern, Barnsley.

It is fair to say that the band have certainly outgrown these humble beginnings. In August 2015, the band played the Festival Republic stage at Reading and Leeds and over the course of the next eighteen months, they would play at South by South West festival in Austin, Texas and support The Libertines on their UK arena tour.

This was a whirlwind period for The Sherlocks and so it is no surprise that, upon its release their first album, Live For The Moment, jumped straight into a coveted top ten spot, at number six, in the albums charts.

With an effervescent mix of songs, it is easy to see why the album was such as triumph. The crowd favourite Chasing Shadows always rouses a cacophony of vocals across UK arenas, whilst the more sensitive Turn The Clock shows the group's versatility.

Meanwhile, in terms of personal favourites from the album, the band declared that they "all love Nobody Knows" whilst also admitting their affection for "Live for the Moment, and Will You Be There?"

There's been a few gigs and a whole album between their first performance at The Sandhill Tavern, but for the band their have been a few standout shows that will live long in the memory.

"I think a gig that stood out to us was playing The Ritz in Manchester, it was one of those moments where we knew something special was happening. At this point we didn’t even have the album out, I think we only had a few singles.

"A very special gig for us was supporting Kings of Leon at Sheffield Arena. Another was playing Summersonic last year, Japan is great!"

Having supported numerous acts such as Liam Gallagher, The Libertines and The Wombats, the lads cannot look further than the Kings of Leon as their favourite to warm up for: "they're a proper band."

Looking ahead, it looks like we are going to be hearing plenty more from the Yorkshire outfit in 2019.

The Sherlocks begin a festival tour in May at Live at Leeds and will return to the city a month later to support the Kaiser Chiefs at Elland Road Football Stadium.

Sandwiched between these two, the lads will be one of the headline acts at Handmade Festival in Leicester, along with fellow indie outfit Metronomy.

July sees the lads play the Castlefield Bowl in Manchester as a support for ever-popular The Kooks.

In August, The Sherlocks have a date with The Zutons and The Manic Street Preachers at the Hardwick Live festival in Stockton, followed by Victorious Festival in Southsea, a week later.

However, with regards to new music the lads are keeping their cards close to their chest…

"2019, that’s all we can say [in terms of release], but it’s worth the wait, this 2nd album is full of singles."

And given their rousing first album it will certainly be one to get excited about.