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The Slow Readers Club

The Slow Readers Club120 posts

The Slow Readers Club is a band from Manchester, England, originally formed as Omerta in 2003. The members are Aaron Starkie on vocals, Kurtis Starkie on guitar, James Ryan on bass, and David Whitworth on drums.

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10 Sep, 2018

The Manc Meets interview

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Aaron and James are interviewed by The Manc, for The Manc Meets interview series. On the Manchester scene:

AS: It’s good. In the early days it was tough, because there’s a big shadow you have to operate under. But now, with bands like The Blossoms, Cabbage and ourselves, breaking through and doing decent sized shows, there’s something happening again in the city.

JR: There’s loads of venues opening up now…The music scene’s good, but starting out, back in the day, sometimes it was hard to get away from that big, old Madchester scene. If you’re from Manchester because people will automatically think, “I’ll compare them to a Manchester band”.

9 Sep, 2018

MCR Live interview

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Aaron and Kurt are interviewed for MCR Live about their upcoming acoustic album, For All Here To Observe. Aaron:

We’ve done a few radio sessions and acoustic stuff, as well as supporting James at Albert Hall at the end of last year. We figured we’d just get it recorded.

Kurt:

When we’ve done radio sessions before, me and Aaron normally turn up with an acoustic guitar and now and then we’ve had Jim on acoustic bass so we decided to mic up the drums and use brushes. It really gave the whole thing a different texture.

26 Jul, 2018

Radio X session and interview

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The band records a three-tracks live session for Radio X [Link to Session], including LunaticSupernatural, You Opened Up My Heart, and I Saw A Ghost. In an interview, Aaron talks to Kennedy about the band’s progress.

We’ve got a strong commitment to memorable melodies…We’re ‘all killer no filler’…I spent a lot of time when we first started out, trying to sound more like everybody else, trying to sound more indy. But I’ve got a reasonable range and as I’ve developed and become more confident in what I’m doing it’s become more honest and truthful. It seems to be working.

29 Jun, 2018

Manchester Evening News article

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The band are profiled in Manchester Evening News. Aaron talks about playing Manchester’s Apollo on their upcoming tour:

It’s a venue we’ve always wanted to play. There’s something special about the Apollo. There aren’t many places bigger in Manchester. Except the
arena – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves…

On their rising profile:

When you hear the likes of James, The Charlatans, and Clint Boon talking about you in positive terms, to get their
backing, it’s awesome. It makes it all worthwhile when you’re playing the Roadhouse to 20 people and you think maybe you’re mad for sticking with it…It feels a bit mad to be
honest. This is always the nervy bit. Just as tickets are about to go an sale and you wonder if you’re going to get that extra boost. It’s squeaky bum time. But we’re just going to enjoy it…We’re just so grateful to [our fans]. They’ve really driven it. They’ve dragged their mates along to shows or shouted about us on the internet. This gig is as much about them as it is us.

12 May, 2018

Rock City interview

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The band are interviewed before their show at Rock City, Nottingham. On the crowd reaction on the tour:

Aaron: We’ve had good crowds everywhere. There’s one in particular that the crowd have really got on top of, and bouncing around. Manchester’s probably the first gig we had when we had people on people’s shoulders. The energy in the room has been fantastic…On the TV in particular, it’s got a really strong riff from Kurtis and a very direct chorus. The first few days on the tour the album wasn’t actually out, but you could see that people were getting on it in the moment. People were singing the riff through the tune, and before we came on for the encore.
Kurtis: My take was that when we first did the first couple of gigs before the album came out. I thought Supernatural was getting the best reaction. But it’s changed since the album came out.

THE SLOW READERS CLUB INTERVIEW (2018)

4 May, 2018

Build A Tower track-by-track video

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The band release a series of short videos where they talk about each track on Build A Tower.

The Slow Readers Club - Build a Tower - Album Track By Track Interview

27 Apr, 2018

Big Sports Breakfast interview

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In advance of their Leeds show, Aaron talks to Darren on Proper Sports’ Big Sports Breakfast, about how their previous tour with James came about.

It was an amazing opportunity for us. They tweeted one of our tracks that we performed — I Saw A Ghost — acoustically in Manchester Central Library. It was like a guerrilla thing. We just turned up and did it for a YouTube channel. Jim Glennie tweeted via the James account, and we were like  ‘Christ, gotta get on to this’. Luckily enough for us they had a new album and tour coming up. There’s a guy who’s supported us for years that’s written about us in Manchester that we knew did their sleeve notes and knew the band. So I manged to get a CD to the band via him. Then a week or so later we got a note from their management offering us 14 dates on their tour. We ended up playing Brixton Academy, Manchester Arena, Liverpool Echo Arena. That was massive for us. It gave us an audience all over the UK.

27 Mar, 2018

Fab Radio International interview

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Aaron and Kurtis appear on the It’s Only Rock’N’Roll show on Fab Radio International. On their growing support:

Kurtis: One thing you notice is audience sizes. Going from doing the smaller venues where the odd pockets of people knowing the words, and then getting to the stage where people are all singing it back and chanting ‘Readers’ is a different level.

Aaron: The connection with the crowd is incredible now…David Bowie said, “Don’t play to the gallery”. That sticks in my mind: you get down and sing to those that are buzzing at the front, and you see it roll back through the venue.

On the upcoming album:

Aaron: A lot of the stuff in the past has been introspective and existential (Kurtis: mean and moody!). I wanted to explore different territory anyway and be a bit more positive anyway. But then Brexit happened, and Trump, and the world seems to be getting very polarized. The trajectory of the planet seems to be completely different. So I thought I was important not to be majorly political, but put a positive message out. Songs like Through The Shadows are about getting through difficult times and the most important thing being about those you love. A more positive message than before, but more universal, and bits of social commentary. Whereas, before it was a bit more about my own insecurities and demons…We’ve sold nearly 2000 pre-orders so far. If we get a decent chart position it leads on to other things.

Too Many Blogs interview

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The band are interviewed by Too Many Blogs, talking about their upcoming album, Build A Tower, which will be released on May 4.

The Star Wars thing is just a coincidence, we won’t be doing a gig in Jedi robes or anything.

On songwriting:

We have developed a lot as musicians since Cavalcade, so there is more invention in terms of melody, rhythm, song structure…Some tracks are very personal and explore the feeling of being in love with someone and the delicious fragility of it, the sense that it could disappear before your eyes (‘Supernatural’). Some tracks refer, very specifically, to the external political environment (‘Lunatic’/’On the TV’).  Musically, it’s probably more consistent in terms of style, as the album was written in a tighter time-frame than the last album. It’s pretty inventive – hopefully, our existing fans will love it and, hopefully, it continues the work of the previous album (in winning over most people that hear it).

25 Feb, 2018

Reyt Good Road Trip

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Aaron and Jim are interviewed by Reyt Good Magazine, while being driven through Salford, Manchester. They talk about their early days, the support of the band by James, and the changes since they signed.

We now have all the machinery established bands had. Before we were doing it all ourselves…we did our best to look around other cities and see what they were doing…if you go to a city where a promoter’s built a reputation, you do get music lovers turning up to see what’s going on. It gves you a chance to get in front of new people.

RGM : Reyt Good Road Trip with The Slow Readers Club (Part One)

20 Dec, 2017

Fred Perry playlist

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In an interview with Fred Perry Subculture, the Slow Readers Club talk about their favourite music, and share a playlist.

A British icon or band who inspire your sound? 
James: We always get asked this and it’s really hard to answer because as a band we listen to all sorts of stuff… Some better than others. We’ve been compared to the likes of Depeche Mode and Joy Division. Possibly because our sound is quite dark and has some synths. Aaron also sings in a low range at times. We’re not moaning though, they’re both quality bands.
Aaron: Yeah sound wise, it’s a lot of different stuff as Jim says. Lyrically it’s Lennon and Morrissey are probably the biggest influences – I like stuff that’s personal, honest and semi-autobiographical.

10 Mar, 2017

Bido Lito! interview

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Aaron Starkie is interviewed by Bido Lito!, a Liverpool-based music magazine. He talks about the influence of Joy Division, and the influence of Liverpool bands, as well as the pressure of the band still having day jobs:

I won’t lie, it has been difficult for all of us to balance the band, work and home life especially in the last year or so. At times it has been physically and mentally draining. Aside from the logistical challenges of managing to write, rehearse and tour around work, we also do a lot of admin/business stuff as we have no manager, agent or label. That said, we have been rewarded for our hard work with amazing experiences. We ended last year with sold out headline shows in Manchester, London and Dublin. The Ritz in particular felt like a real celebration for us and the fans that have followed us over the years and helped spread the word.

On new material:

We should be releasing something, be it singles or an EP toward the end of the year. We are looking at the start of 2018 for the next album. In terms of what is influencing what we are writing, that feels pretty hard to pin down. Personally, I consume music mainly through listening to 6Music with the occasional bit of Absolute 80s ha ha… Lyrically, much of what I written so far has been quite personal, existential. I will try and broaden things out a little I think. Obviously the political environment, in a post-Brexit, Trump world will have an impact in some way. I think it will be interesting to see how all art forms respond to the political climate in the coming years.

Jan 2017

SOUNDS TV interview

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The band appear on Sounds TV.

SOUNDS TV Interview with The Slow Readers Club (Jan 2017)

18 Nov, 2016

Ritz backstage interview

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The band are interviewed by BBC Manchester before their Ritz concert. James Ryan:

It’s been the best year for the band so far. In December last year we were playing Gorilla over the road. And that sold out, but if you had said then in a year’s time we’d be over the road at the Ritz, we wouldn’t have believed it.

Aaron Starkie:

We’re an unsigned band, so to be able to do this…and it’s just social media’s been great. James support has been great. And the fans.

What’s next:

Aaron: There’s men in suits have come up from London.
James: We’re writing, we want to do another album as well.

27 Oct, 2016

ShoutOut interview

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The band are interviewed by a Portuguese music blog where they talk about their sound, touring with James and a few favourites, including a wish to one day play Glastonbury.

First and foremost we write and perform great songs with infectious melodies and lyrics that connect and mean something to people. Whatever happens with the band, it is amazing to think that our music has been listened to and enjoyed by people around the world.

Oct 2016

Inside United interview

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The band are interviewed in Manchester United’s Inside United magazine, where they talk about their love for the team.

My dad bangs on about Best, Charlton, and Law — I’d love to see them up close now and compare them to today’s greats.

16 Sep, 2016

Northern Soul interview

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The band are interviewed by Northern Soul, a music blog. Aaron Starkie:

Last year when we played Ramsbottom it felt like the time that things were starting to kick off, and we were getting one or two festivals. And word started spreading.

On new songs:

We’re getting evicted from our rehearsal rooms, which doesn’t help. Someone’s bought the building and they’re turning it into a block of flats. We intend to have a month of writing and perform new material at the Ritz.

The Slow Readers Club - interview

31 Aug, 2016

Skiddle interview

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The band are interviewed by Skiddle, where they describe 2016 as “mind-blowing”.

We supported James in May on ‘The girl at the end of the world’ tour and played venues up and down the country including Kentish Town Forum, Brixton Academy and Manchester Arena. We were blown away with the support we got from James and their fans. Jim and Saul from the band would watch our set pretty much every night. We had to do an acoustic set for one of the gigs as David our drummer was unavailable. I think Saul could sense we were a bit nervous and surprised us by joining us on stage to play violin on a track of ours called Forever In Your Debt…Manchester will always be the centre of our universe, it always feels great to play Manchester especially recently our show at Gorilla at the end of last year was unreal. We were all really proud of getting that far so the Ritz should be another level again…We are writing in the run up to the Ritz so should have a new track or two, we will also be writing more in the new year. I guess we will tour again once we have a bulk of new stuff.

27 May, 2016

Mouth Magazine interview

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The band is interviewed by Mouth magazine, from their Manchester rehearsal rooms. They talk about the James tour:

We’ve been very warmly received by [James] fans and the band. The most we’d done on our own was 600, but the lowest  for James was 2500 going up to 5000, and then 20,000 at the Arena. They couldn’t have made us feel any more welcome.

And new music:

Aaron: The intention is, for the Ritz gig that we’ll have a few tunes. We’re kicking around six or seven ideas that aren’t sort of fully formed yet. It’s usually me that holds it up. I wait for the last minute for the lyrics.

16 May, 2016

Manchester Arena interview

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The band are interviewed after their show,supporting James, in Manchester. Aaron:

The first gig we played in Bristol, I shit myself. I was like, I never want to do this ever again. What am I doing? We’d done our own tour before, but this was in front of a few thousand people that were cold. I just went into myself, but after a few shows it was alright…It’s been amazing watching James be so relaxed about it.

They also reveal that the acoustic performance on the tour was because David Whitworth’s  twins were born.

Slow Readers Club interview at James, Manchester