Videos

The Last Republic – CCTV

• 24th Sep 2010

Having already received airplay from Radio 1 DJ’s Zane Lowe and Huw Stephens, been playlisted by XFM, playlisted by Q Radio, awarded the ‘Record of The Week’ on NME Radio and handpicked by Kerrang! Radio to play a sold-out support show at London's O2 Arena, it’s easy to see why The Last Republic are many people’s tip to become the next big band to emerge from Wales.

Formed in Neath in 2008, the five-piece band scored their first big break when they beat 3500 other hopefuls to win 2009’s ‘The Road To V’ competition, receiving over 20,000 votes in the final and earning the right to play on The Main Stage at the V Festival alongside the likes of Oasis and The Killers.

Following a successful 21-date headline tour of the UK, the band then decamped to the famous Monnow Valley Studio in Rockfield, Wales, during the winter of 2009/10 to start work on their debut album with producers Chris Sheldon (Radiohead, Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters) & Tom Manning (The Enemy, Broken Records, Feeder). The album was then mixed during summer 2010 by Chris Sheldon, Andrew Scheps (U2, Metallica & The Mars Volta) and Dan Austin (The Doves, Cooper Temple Clause).

The result is ‘Parade’, a stunning debut album packed with anthems for a generation.

With soaring, bittersweet vocal melodies set against a sonic landscape of distorted grandeur, The Last Republic’s lead singer Jonnie Owens says, “‘Parade’ is very much the man looking back at the boy. I grew up in a mining town that never really recovered from Thatcher’s reign, so I couldn’t help but observe the system failing many of the people I grew up with. In many ways ‘Parade’ is about the malaise of social degradation and the subversion of morality.”

In addition to paranoia, media manipulation and anti-wars songs (‘CCTV’, ‘Perfect Stranger’, ‘The Fear’, ‘Let’s Make Bombs’), drug abuse, escapism, dysfunctional families, (‘As Darkness Calls’, ‘(C’mon) Flood The Gates’, ‘Control’), and hard earned wisdom (‘When Fools Rush In’), there is also a flipside to the album’s cold assessment of the modern world; the album is very much a call-to-arms, drawing its strength from love and, ultimately, hope.

Referring to the album’s title track, Owen says, “If you’ve got something to say, say it. You never know who might be listening. Parade your ideas.”

The Last Republic: UK Tour Dates

13 Oct 2010 – The Crauford Arms – Milton Keynes
15 Oct 2010 – Sin City, Swansea
16 Oct 2010 – The Hermit – Brentwood
18 Oct 2010 – O2 Academy 2 Islington, London
20 Oct 2010 – Play – Reading
21 Oct 2010 – Talking Heads – Southampton
22 Oct 2010 – SWN Festival – Cardiff
23 Oct 2010 – The Cavern Club – Exeter
25 Oct 2010 – The Star Inn – Newcastle
26 Oct 2010 – Classic Grand – Glasgow
27 Oct 2010 – The Dry Bar – Manchester
28 Oct 2010 – The Rainbow – Birmingham
29 Oct 2010 – Le Pub – Newport
30 Oct 2010 – The Louisiana – Bristol
3 Nov 2010 – The Portland Arms, Cambridge
4 Nov 2010 – The Soundhouse, Leicester
5 Nov 2010 – Gatecrasher, Nottingham
6 Nov 2010 – Esquires Club, Bedford
7 Nov 2010 – The Cellars, Portsmouth
10 Nov 2010 – Moles, Bath
11 Nov 2010 – The Alehouse, Salisbury
13 Nov 2010 – The Forum, Tunbridge Wells
20 Nov 2010 – Hobos, Bridgend, Wales