THE KING'S PARADE
Genre: Soul, Blues, Pop
Location: London, England
Band: Olly Corpe, Sam Rooney, Tom English, Chris Brent
Discography: Vagabond (2015)
Record Label: Independent
Our next showcase band are firm favourites here at LCM. London based 4-piece The King's Parade are releasing their new EP on the 4th September at Oslo, Hackney. The King’s Parade formed in 2012 after a spot as house band on a Hawaiian cruise liner made them enough money to move to London and start the live circuit in the UK.
The four-piece’s assured touch of melodic, crossover pop with classic Detroit blues has frontman Olly Corpe and the band evoking the credible sounds of Bill Withers, or Leon Bridges. This is a classic sound honed by musicians playing together more than 40 hours a week on a cruise ship. Think the Beatles’ unknown early gigs in Hamburg strip clubs and you’re about there.
The King’s Parade quickly showed their technical chops securing a residency at legendary blues institution Ronnie Scott's - and since then the band have played tastemaker shows at The Great Escape, Bestival and Reeperbhan Festival this year as well as embarking on their first European tour in April.
Their debut track ‘Bunched-up Letters’ with its blues licks and wandering troubadour vocal is at once recognisable and something new. The classic, credible theme that runs through this band from cruise liners to Ronnie Scott’s to TGE marks them out as a pretty unique, yet undeniably gifted new force.