News

Barber Shop Quartet Sign £1 Million Record Deal With Sony

• 6th Oct 2010

Sony Music announced today that they have signed a £1 Million pound record deal for the most original form of boy band – a barbershop quartet. One of the first signings to the newly reformed Arista records, the home of two of the best-selling boy bands ever, N-Sync and Backstreet Boys, these four unlikely pop stars, have signed the most unique deal that will see them receive an extra £1 Million pound ‘tip’ when the album sells platinum.

The Great British Barbershop Boys, four ordinary working guys based in the North of England could not have been more surprised when they realised they would be signing a record deal with Sony Music, home to Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen and X Factor winners Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke. “We are just four guys earning a living and getting on with our lives”, muses Joe Knight the group’s baritone who lives in Nottingham, “We have always done well with our barbershopping, but we started it as a means to socialise. This deal is just truly amazing.”

The Great British Barbershop Boys will release their debut album Christmas Time for Arista Records on 6 December 2010. A collection of classic Christmas songs rearranged to perfectly suit the unique and memorable barbershop sound, the album will rediscover the distinctive sound of barbershop quartets, recognised as the earliest form of boy band.

These four guys from the north of England were spotted when they represented the UK at the International Barbershop Convention in Philadelphia after being named British Quartet champions in 2008. However, success had never been seen as a career move, and the boys have always continued their day jobs. Tenor Alan Hughes is a teacher in Warrington, lead Zac Booles works as a sign writer near Loughborough, baritone Joe Knight works for the Nottinghamshire Police Force, and bass Duncan Blackeby is an IT project manager in York.

Alan Hughes said, “We are so excited to release our first album, the barbershop sound has survived around the world but underground for years. It will be superb to see it make a proper comeback in the charts.”

Richard Connell, General Manger Arista Records said, “The barbershop quartet really is the origin of what we know today as the ‘boy-band.’ It’s a wonderful tradition, rich in rules and regulations but above all hugely encouraging of creativity and collaboration. Communities literally come together around their local quartet where lifelong bonds of friendship and loyalty are formed. We are tremendously excited to be working with Britain’s number one barbershop group, ‘The Great British Barbershop Boys’ as their quality is clearly second to none, something we at Arista Records would move mountains to be associated with.”

The Great British Barbershop Boys debut album ‘Christmas Time’ is released through Arista on 6 December 2010.