Often when a British band releases a first CD in the United States and comes to tour, they arrive with the glow that comes from being overnight sensations.
Choose a recent import (the Arctic Monkeys, the Magic Numbers, the Doves), and chances are the band has been splashed across the covers of British music magazines, have had a single or two rocket up the British charts and generally have been anointed the next coming of the Beatles, Oasis or whichever famous British band is in fashion at the moment.
It’s quite common for much-hyped British bands to book a short tour that hits only the biggest American cities, do a few TV shows and print interviews and then return to England, figuring that should be enough to conquer the American scene.
The Subways aren’t following that script.
“We’re very intent on building a sense of community with the American audience,” singer-guitarist Billy Lunn said in a recent phone interview. “A lot of bands, especially British, head over to America with the idea of breaking it. It’s completely the wrong idea.
“… We love the idea of starting from square one, because that gives us purpose. That means we have a hell of a lot more work to do and that’s only ever a good thing.”
Lunn speaks from experience.
The Subways haven’t been overnight sensations in England. Instead, the London-based band built a respectable following through touring and the sheer quality of the group’s music.
The group was formed by Lunn, 20, about five years ago after his younger brother, Josh Morgan, took up the drums. (Lunn is their mother’s maiden name, Morgan the last name of the brothers’ father.)
Charlotte Cooper became the bassist in the Subways not long after she had started dating Lunn.
“Charlotte’s always been musical,” said Lunn, who is now engaged to Cooper. “She can play the piano, the clarinet, the flute, the trumpet, the saxophone. Give Charlotte something and she’ll master it.”
After a year of songwriting and rehearsing, the Subways hit the London club scene. In 2004 came a first big break, being booked to play at the Glastonbury Music Festival, England’s largest music festival.
Energized by the experience, Lunn, Morgan and Cooper quit their day jobs and self-booked a 36-date tour of the United Kingdom – a long tour by England’s standards. Two more tours followed, the last of which wrapped up in fall 2005 on the heels of the release of “Young for Eternity.”
The Subways have been putting that work ethic into action in the United States, with the band’s current tour its third run of dates in the States.
The touring will give fans a chance to hear a band that, based on the quality of “Young for Eternity,” should be a bigger sensation soon. The album delivers a multi-faceted collection of energetic and catchy rock that reveals a fairly wide range of influences, while not slavishly imitating any of them.
The Subways: Josh Morgan (left), Billy Lunn and Charlotte Cooper
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