Teesside-ish based Housemartins and Beautiful South tribute. We don't do the dressing up thing and we don't always play the songs how you might know them but we're "pretty good" according to Paul Heaton and that'll do us. A live CD is available to buy at thesouthmartins.bandcamp.com :)

Ted Key is the original bass player and songwriter for the 1980s iconic, ground-breaking band The Housemartins. He received BPI gold discs for his contributions to the albums “London 0 – Hull 4”, and “Now That’s What I Call Quite Good”, and toured with the Housemartins for almost two years before leaving to continue with cult Hull punk-abilly band The Gargoyles, with singer Eddie Smith and drummer Hugh Whitaker. They released two seminal albums, “Mrs Twodinners” and “Steamflapper” on Reasonable Records and a handful of memorable singles.
In 1990 he diverted into a 25-year career as a Maths teacher, during which time he still managed to spend ten years as guitarist with internationally-acclaimed Johnny Cash tribute band, Keep it Cash. Continuing to write and record throughout this period he released a critically-acclaimed debut album, “Madolescent Street” in 2011, then in 2016 wrote a Hull musical based in a local history class called “The All New Kingston Ramblers’ Audio Guide”.
While supporting legendary Mighty Wah! front-man Pete Wylie in Hull, Ted was spotted by promoter Paul Greendale who brought him to London for a handful of solo spots. From this was born the current project, Ted Key and The Kingstons, in March 2017. With Paul on bass and renowned Ladbroke Grove drummer Nick Harrison, they formed a folky, funked-up reggae protest trio, with memorable tunes and thought-provoking, story-driven lyrics, powered on with blazing harmonica.
They have now performed 15 gigs in Hull and London, including supporting The Vibrators, headline slots at Portobello Live! Festival, and a series of killer shows at the famous KPH in the heart of Ladbroke Grove. A video for “Anarchy in Argos” was shot in May at O’Rileys and other locations around Hull. Ted & The Kingstons are currently preparing material for their first LP, “Work Like You’re On Holiday”, in advance of more shows across the UK in the Autumn

vesverity is following