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Artist
The 99s
12+ albums
folkindiechilloutalternative rockacoustic
about
High to the north-east of Manchester lies Saddleworth, nestled in the foothills of the Pennines in the borderlands of Lancashire and Yorkshire, its name sadly forever tarred with the memory of the Moors Murders. As fashionable locations go you’d have to concede that there are many better, but pride extends beyond shallow fashion, and melodic indie-rock trio The 99s have sidestepped the easy route of lumping themselves in as another Manchester band and instead are proud to proclaim their Saddleworth origins. The three 99ers developed their musical identity through time together at school, and grew into a band when bassist James Loughlin and drummer Adam Quigley recruited singer and guitarist Johnny West from seeing him at his stints in the local folk clubs. On a practical level there were three seats in Adam’s van. Fate decreed that the line-up was complete. The two years since have seen appearances on Clint Boon’s XFM show and the prestigious In The City festival which, added to heavy local gigging, has established the trio as a live song-writing force. 2009 saw the band take their show to London, with three successive gigs sold out at venues such as the Water Rats and Club 229, with much industry praise. Their unassuming but potent melodic rock has grown in confidence and stature, mining their own musical borderlands of pop, folk and rock, drawing inspiration as much from the folk and brass bands of their hometowns as it does from The Beatles. Their sunny, Byrds-like mel
