Scoundrels are a blues-rock band from London. They were originally formed in 2007 but the current line-up was completed in 2009. The band were signed by the original founders of

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

, legendary A&R man

Seymour Stein Seymour Steinbigle (April 18, 1942 – April 2, 2023), known professionally as Seymour Stein, was an American entrepreneur and music executive. He co-founded Sire Records and was vice president of Warner Bros. Records. With Sire, Stein signed ba ...

and producer/songwriter

Richard Gottehrer Richard Gottehrer (born June 12, 1940) is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive. His career began as a Brill Building songwriter in the 1960s. His first number one record as a songwriter and producer was " My Boyfr ...

, to the revived Blue Horizon label. They were the first UK signing to the label. Their début album ''Scoundrels'' was released on 27 June 2011. Their second single, "Loud n Proud", reached the top of the

5FM 5FM is a South African FM radio station forming part of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), South Africa's public broadcaster. 5FM follows a Top 40 music format aimed at a youth market, together with news and sports coverage. ...

"Buzz Chart" in South Africa which led to a feature in ''Heat Magazine'' South Africa.

History

Ned Wyndham, Alex 'Billy' Hill and Josh Martens shared a love of 50's

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

, roots,

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

, and

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

, which led them all to the London Centre of Contemporary Music. During their college years, they were able to hone their skills, putting on rootsy nights at

Notting Hill Arts Club The Notting Hill Arts Club is a music and arts venue in Notting Hill, central London. The venue holds club nights every night of the week. Its range of events include interactive crafts, themed Soviet nights, and a Death Disco club night run by ...

and The Troubadour. They recruited the final member of their band, George Elliot, after original guitarist, Adam Callan, left in the Summer of 2009. Their début album was recorded at an extended stay in Louisiana, where the band lived on a houseboat moored on the swamps at McGee's Landing Henderson, Louisiana, recording with Swamp Pop legend C.C. Adcock as well as in Chicago with

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

, where they recorded at his own

Electrical Audio Electrical Audio is a recording facility founded in Chicago, Illinois by musician and recording engineer Steve Albini in 1997. Hundreds of independent music projects have been recorded there. Unlike most producers, Albini refused to take any roya ...

studio. The ''Sniff It Up EP'' was their first release for the Blue Horizon label, which featured five tracks selected from the forthcoming album. The band toured in support of the release in the UK with fellow Brit-blues-rockers Kill It Kid. They then took a residency at London's famous

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

, which ran throughout the summer of 2011. Scoundrels played numerous UK festivals over the summer of 2011, including a main stage slot at

Jamie Oliver Jamie Trevor Oliver Order of the Star of Italy, OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and o ...

's inaugural Big Feastival. In October 2011, they were invited to support

The Kooks The Kooks () are an English indie rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The current lineup consists of Luke Pritchard on vocals and guitar, and Hugh Harris on bass, guitar, and synthesiser. Their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s Br ...

on their UK tour. Later that month they travelled back to the United States to play at college radio festival

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

Band members

* George Elliot –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Alex "Billy" Hill –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Joshua Martens –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Ned Wyndham –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

Discography

Albums/EPs

*''Sniff It Up EP'' (2011) *''Scoundrels'' (2011) *"Sexy Weekend EP" (2012) *"Music From The Arch" (2020)

Singles

*"Gulf Of Mexico" (2011) *"Loud n Proud" (2011)

References

{{Authority control English blues rock musical groups Rock music groups from London