Tiscali Showcase - The Boyfriends

The Boyfriends are a classically English, warmly emotional, melancholic yet noisy guitar group who've been cutting a swathe through the indie circuit for the last year and a half. Consisting of Martin Wallace (vocals), Richard Adderley (guitar), David Barnett (bass) and Paddy Pulzer (drums), they've already released two of their demos on an acclaimed split EP with The Long Blondes, had a song featured the second Angular Records compilation, recorded a session for John Kennedy's Xfm X-posure show and had an entire live set broadcast on the same show. They've received plaudits from NME and the Independent On Sunday, been included by Xfm's Lauren Laverne in a published list of her ten favourite new bands, tipped by Simon Amstell as new band to look out for on Channel 4's Popworld, seen their live shows attended by members of Suede, Radiohead and The Futureheads and won accolades from a host of fanzines both online and off. The Boyfriends have also been featured as the lead band in a recent Underground London issue of Boyz magazine, supported The Hidden Cameras, played successful concerts in Germany and Finland, and been a strongly supported presence on London's live music scene.

Their story began on 25th February 1999, when friends Martin Wallace and Richard Adderley wrote their first two songs together after Martin had been invited to contribute to a series of one-off singles a new independent record label. Unfortunately, the label had folded by the time they handed in the demos but the pair continued working on songs together at a slow but steady rate over the following couple of years. Early in 2002 they enlisted friends David Barnett and Paddy Pulzer with a view to forming a group to perform the songs they were writing. A series of sporadic and experimental rehearsals began but it wasn't until the autumn of that year that the rehearsals became more regular and the group began to stumble across a signature style, containing elements of both New Wave abrasiveness and classic, anthemic pop. It was with the arrival of their name (chosen "because we are all such good boyfriend material," according to Martin) early in 2003 that the group really began to develop an identity.

By the winter of 2004, this had evolved into a something truly distinctive. Visually, the band have been likened (by Playlouder.com) to sexually ambivalent East End ruffians, while Artrocker.com dubbed them "a real fearsome looking crew who give the air of being happier on the terraces than singing tender love songs". Lyrically, they mingle aggression and romanticism with extreme optimism to create a sound described by joyzine.co.uk as "violently hopeful". Musically, The Boyfriends can be dark but are always ultimately uplifting. Their song 'No Tomorrow' was described by Xfm "an anthem for a new generation".

The Boyfriends' gigging career has been extensive and illustrious. Their first show, on June 6th 2003, was an almost sold out appearance at London's Bull And Gate, the day before Martin's 24th birthday. To Richard's delight, it was attended by Jim Reid from The Jesus And Mary Chain, who professed The Boyfriends to be "quite good". Since then, they've played over thirty rapturously received gigs including dates with The Long Blondes and Michael Dracula in London and Bath, at the GoJohnnygogogogo festival in Leeds, one-off gigs in Dresden and Helsinki, as well as headlining Club Fandango at The Dublin Castle and gracing the stage at the legendary 100 Club, The Windmill in Brixton, On The Rocks in Shoreditch and Bethnal Green Working Men's Club. Their website, theboyfriends.com has received well over 10,000 visitors from all over the world since it went live in February 2004, while their music has received airplay everywhere from Radio 1 in the UK (by Steve Lamacq) to RDU in New Zealand and been played by DJs from the Queens Of Noize to Italy's Martini Brothers.

The Boyfriends are currently writing songs, planning more live appearances, talking to a variety of record companies and looking to put out a limited edition single in the new year. As the momentum around them gathers, it seems difficult to argue with NME, who described them in a live review as "the most captivating prospect of this oncoming winter - and "about to go a very long way". In short The Boyfriends are an unstoppable force, for all our tomorrows