After a near 10-year hiatus, The Ordinary Boys are back with a new eponymous album and 27-date tour.
The new album brings with it a sound reminiscent of their 2004 Top 20 debut Over The Counter Culture.
A return to their former sound is no surprise, since the reformed line-up consists of the original trio – Preston (vocals), James Gregory (bass) and Charlie ‘Chuck’ Stanley (drums) – plus new member Louis Jones from celebrated power-pop band Spectrals on guitar. Preston met Louis stage-diving at a Cribs gig and, “knew immediately that I wanted him to be my new best friend/collaborator.”
The album and tour marks a return to the limelight for Preston who spent the last eight years building a reputation as a successful songwriter, penning hits for John Newman and Example as well as a number one for Olly Murs with Heart Skips A Beat, after his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006.
However, as fulfilling as his “day job” is, Preston says, “hanging out with Louis, all we wanted to talk about were the punk and hardcore bands that had made us pick up guitars and form bands in the first place. I made Spinal Tap-esque phone calls to James and Chuck. After promising several times that it wouldn’t sound anything like the questionable third album, we met for some beers and started rehearsing. We were 15 again.” That ‘questionable’ third album How To Get Everything You Ever Wanted In Ten Easy Steps scored the band three Top 10 hits in 2006. Its predecessor, 2005’s Brassbound, was also a Top 20 hit, as was its lead single Boys Will Be Boys, which was re-issued in 2006 and went to No.1 in the UK charts.
“We think we have made a really special, exciting record,” Preston says. “One that has been fuelled by reunited childhood friendships, new friendships, rediscovery of the records that shaped us, and the drive to create something undeniably great. I’ve had the best year of my life making this album and we are so excited to finally be able to share it!”
The Ordinary Boys perform at Night and Day on 8 November 2015.
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