Hull based funky folk singer songwriter John Cox - groove based acoustic guitar playing is at the core of his songs, and his unique chords provide him with a very distinctive style. Early influences were the strange folk of Bowie and the weird funk of Talking Heads. His sound is dark and soulful with hooky melodies and poetic lyrics.

City Of Glass formed 20 years ago in the back bedroom of my rented house on Ash Grove in Hull. Myself and my much younger brother, Phil Mower, began writing songs on a borrowed 4 track and an early version of Cubase. We didn’t know what we were doing, or how to do it. We had a few samples and loops, a cheap guitar, a djx and no songs. But somehow we managed to write an entire album filled with 11 songs. It was called Tiny Human Feelings. It was “very low-fi" but we thought it had some good songs so we thought we’d put it out for free on cd. This meant creating and printing sleeves and copying the album to cd one at a time. Armed with 700 copies we then walked into Lamp, Adelphi, Beasleys etc and asked if we could hand them out, put them behind the bar. Graciously they let us. We did this with all the albums we made: Small Town Mentality, If You Don’t Like it Then Leave, After The Fallout & Fables etc. Thousands of cds paid for by us and given away for free in bars and eventually gigs.

The cds got around and we finally met people throughout the years who helped us play this stuff live; lots of people. We played a lot of great gigs over the years in Hull and around the country. Radio play here and there. We kept going and eventually got a deal with Manchester Label, Invisible Girl Records. We released an album "Tales From The City" and single "The Apologist" with them which made its slow way around the planet. 

Then things imploded. And the band disappeared. 

So why return? Simply the songs. 6 albums were released and hundreds of other songs we never got around to were left on cds, hard drives and desktops. The songs still feel fresh, alive and relevant. The other reason is to preserve the songs. We formed when MySpace was king, Pirate Bay sailed illegal seas, CD's still existed, digital was in its infancy and bandcamp and Spotify did not hold power. In short, when City of glass shattered, most of the songs disappeared, faded, left only on the 1000s of cds we gave away for free, no doubt scratched, cracked and broken. 

We felt the songs deserved a second chance and a place to call home. 

So, 20 Years Later we have been working on the songs again. Re-recording some, reproducing, tweaking, curating and finished some older ideas off. We are going to put some of these songs out into the world again. Get a band together and play some gigs. Hopefully we’ll get to see a lot of old and new faces. Hopefully the songs will live again and find a new life. 

Get Behind The City

Audrey are an original rock and roll band from Hull. Formed three years ago when drummer Tom Small met singer songwriter Josh Darby, the pair started creating their own brand of sweaty rock and roll ever since with a sound offering a nod to simple, rootsy rock and roll of time gone by while injecting a modern day feel. With the acquisition of bass guitarist Ben Stephenson and electric guitarist Ben Farr, the band have gone on to perform alongside chart-hitters SPACE and Big Country. Audrey's self-titled debut EP (2018) and Afternoon Tea At Audrey's (2019), produced by Grant Henderson of LOOM Studios received positive acclaim from music folk and followers alike, with both records featuring on BBC Introducing Humberside. As a result, the band earned themselves a booking at this summer's LakeFest, featuring artists such as the Happy Mondays, James and the Kaiser Chiefs. 

'they're surely set to become a festival powerhouse act' 
Decade. Magazine
'What Audrey do really well is that they write catchy hooks (through their songwriting), they show that they understand how to blend several really well-done elements together'
For The Love Of Bands
'We have what you need with a manly bitch, the kind that spits big molasses loaded with nicotine, alcohol, tea, and fat British rock'n'roll'
Djolo

Jangly-guitar rock and a biting sense of humour meet in the storytelling songs of Chris Tavener. A theatrical musician with an acerbic wit, Tavener writes his lyrics from the perspective of flawed characters that he draws from 21st century life.

His cynical social commentary, dressed in punchy, guitar-driven rock and acoustic ballads has won him acclaim from BBC 6 Music and multiple BBC Introducing stations. He’s popular for his unique and theatrical live performance that has seen him sharing the stage with Super Hans, Emily Capell, Tony Hadley and Peter Hook of Joy Division while also writing songs for the likes of Sir Ian McKellen.

In 2022, Tavener released a rock-inspired EP called ‘Easy Ways To Be Happy’. The success of the EP saw him touring with viral-hit sensation Thomas Benjamin Wild Esquire. The subsequent year, he performed his own headline tour of all five countries in the British Isles (dubbed ‘The Easy Ways To Be Happy Tour’). These shows featured a glimpse of new songs coming in 2024.

“”An interesting lad with an elastic turn of phrase” – Steve Lamacq, BBC 6 Music

“Nice set. Kinks-y vibes” – Carl Barat, The Libertines

“The idiosyncratic but ever so loveable Chris Tavener. Try and see him live, he really creates an amazing atmosphere” – Mark Radcliffe (BBC Radio 2)

www.christavener.co.uk
www.facebook.com/christavener
www.youtube.com/christavener
https://www.patreon.com/christavener

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