Clocks

Clocks are four young men who formed their band at the turn of the 21st Century in the sleepy London satellite town of Epsom (obviously not a renowned rock’n’roll Valhalla) – think of the commuter-belt lifestyle that a young Paul Weller so eloquently caricatured in The Jam's seminal ‘Mr Clean’ and you wouldn't be far wrong… With a determination to escape their South-East confines and with an unbreakable bond that can only exist amongst a band who have known each other since their schooldays, Clocks set about writing and rehearsing relentlessly, honing a set of great songs that had both fans and industry bods who witnessed their initial live gigs practically wetting themselves with excitement. Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tom Hewitt bought his first guitar using the birthday money he received just after finishing his GCSEs, and together with the other members of Clocks set about building up a remarkably strong repertoire of great tunes, strongly influenced by the band members’ collective love of acts such as The La's, Love (Arthur Lee RIP), Oasis, Shack, Teenage Fanclub, The Kinks and The Beatles. In 2005, with a proper manager in tow, the band were packed off to record demo tracks with hip producer Liam Watson (The White Stripes), followed by further studio sessions with producer Nick Southwood at The Exchange Studios in January 2006. To date, Clocks have only released one strictly-limited 7" single, That Much Better b/w In My Arms, on London independent label Hungry Kid Records in August 2006, but that was enough to convince a suitably impressed Island Records who snapped the band up to a major record deal that same week.