Much more than a small fish in the music world, Beccy Owen of Sharks Took the Rest tells SAM WONFOR about their keenly awaited first album
WHEN Sharks Took the Rest made their live debut at The Journal Culture Awards 2008, everyone in the room quickly realised we’d all witnessed the start of something rather special.
A seven-piece ensemble, which embodied the notion of synergy, the Newcastle-based band blew us away with their brand of what has since been categorised as panoramic and chamber pop.
Since then many more have been converted to the cause, including the likes of BBC Radio 6’s new music guru Tom Robinson, Steve Lamacq and Mark Radcliffe who were collectively charmed by the band’s EP, Grounds for Hearts to Swell.
And that’s to say nothing of the Glastonbury crowd who packed into the BBC’s Introducing ... tent in June to enjoy a welly-clad set from The Sharks.
Led by songstress Beccy Owen and buoyed by the widespread and excitable welcome they have received, the band are about to release their debut single, Rename the Planets, next month at a special gig inside the atmospheric confines of the Turbine Hall at the Castlegate venue in Newcastle.
“To be honest, for us the single is as much about the launch party as it is the actual (single) release,” says Beccy. “We like to put on a big, beautiful live show in Newcastle Gateshead at least once a year because we love playing here, and we like to make something theatrical and intimate happen all at once.
“It’s a hangover from the days Adam (Kent, keyboards and composition) and I used to be more involved in theatre work I guess, and we really like to make our own gigs that are really memorable and special for the people who come to see us.”
The digital release of the single will also serve as a precursor to the band’s inaugural album, which is set for a yuletide unveiling.
“I suppose we’ve been itching to make an album for ages and people’s response to our gigs and the EP has really inspired us to keep going – the encouragement has been amazing,” says Beccy.