Music Spotlight: Belgrade hope to fill void left by disbanded groups

Mar 23 2011 by Will Harris, Crewe Chronicle

WITH festival time approaching in Crewe, we’re ready for a whole new generation of bands to shine.

Much-missed Sgt Wolfbanger, Sumo Kings and Bleached Wail all made a huge impression during Live ’08 and subsequent Volume Festival.

And as the town gears up for another stellar showcase this May, Belgrade are among the new blood hoping to make an impression.

Tom Pugh (vocals/guitar), Josh Flynn (vocals/bass) and Kieran Schofield (drums) have already attracted attention with gigs at both The Box and The Sugarmill over the past few months.

“We only really started in October,” explained Josh.

“All three of us are on the same course at South Cheshire College so we met, study music and practise there.

“I’d call what we do alternative rock. It’s a mishmash of all our influences coming together really.

“Kieran is more into Arctic Monkeys and indie bands, I like alternative stuff like Muse and Radiohead and Tom is on metal.

“It had to work for all of us.

“We started off putting reverb on the guitar over the base line and thought it sounded good.

“There are heavy parts but it’s not over driven.”

Josh admits the trio were blown away by the reaction to their Box debut with a whole lot riding on it.

“We’ve only just started gigging and we’re all going to uni in September so we’ll see what happens and where we end up,” he continued.

“But we do take it seriously and love putting on a show.

“We’re quite proud of the stuff we’ve written and it’s good to get it out there at gigs like at The Box.

“It’s our local venue, they are not afraid to put on local bands and the music community thrives on it.

“The Box is diverse too, it’s not just indie and it’s not just rock or metal and we can’t wait to play there again.

“After we play our first gig, a lot of people came up to congratulate us which was weird.

“It does feel good – we weren’t nervous about messing up because we’re capable musicians and we could have covered it.

“But we were nervous about the reaction our material would receive.

“We put a lot of work into it and we’d have been upset if it hadn’t gone down well.”

Ahead of their appearance at Crewe Live ’11, Belgrade return to The Box in support of Manchester indie-electro outfit Run Toto Run on Friday.

From NME to Steve Lamacq, praise has arrived thick and fast for the headliners who have performed live with the likes of Ellie Goulding, The Noisettes, Everything Everything, Neon Indian and Gold Panda.

“I’ve had a listen to Run Toto Run and I’m sure they’ll have everyone dancing,” concluded Josh.

“We’ll be sticking around with the rest of our crowd and it should be a top night.”

Doors open at 8pm, tickets are £5.

For more information on Volume’s events, promotions and PR services contact them at their Nantwich offices on 01270 625384 or visit www.volumepr.co.uk.