Earning Their Stripes: Pull Tiger Tail

Two giant tigers lie in wait for their prey. Only a few feet away from the guarded safety of a barrier, onlookers are assembled wearing bright tiger masks, as they too wait for the action to start. No, this is not a description of feeding time at a zoo, the tigers are in fact life-sized synthetic props, and honorary members of Pull Tiger Tail’s live act; the reason for the masked gathering inside this London nightclub tonight.

After a recent stint headlining the NME tour, and the release of their fourth single 'Hurricanes', the London based three-piece are being heavily branded with a ‘band to watch’ tag by both the music and national press, but the humble boys relaxing backstage at London’s Scala tonight are not phased by this. “It’s hard to tell what that means, does it mean we’re going to sell loads of albums or win loads of awards?” giggles Davo McKenzie- McConville, PTT’s bassist and synth operator, continuing he adopts a mock commentary. “Or does it mean, they’re ones to watch, doing what their doing, and maybe they’ll do a good album somewhere down the line?”.

Despite rising expectations in the media, in the short time since they quit their degrees and emerged as contenders among the London music scene this time last year, the band have toured the UK constantly, played abroad and recorded their album, leaving them little time to reflect themselves. So was giving up their studies amid their final year, a tough decision? Singer and guitarist Marcus Adere (who was studying for an English degree), explains: “It was hard but it was probably the only reason I would have given up university. Ultimately it was always our choice, but it did take on a life of its own. When you look at how much we’ve done this year, it’s literally been non-stop.”

Life changing decisions aside, has there been any other crucial or bad times during their time as a band? Marcus responds with a laugh. “No it’s been quite plain sailing really, we’ve known each other for a long time anyway, and been through some pretty low points before this.” Pull Tiger Tail officially formed while the trio attended Goldsmiths University, where drummer Jack Hamson was taking Design studies, and Davo was studying politics. However the band picked up their instruments collectively several years prior to this, during secondary school in Stratford-Upon-Avon (where they originate from), and it was here they forged their firm friendship.

So, where did their unified love for felines derive from? “It’s more of an animal thing, and a general wildlife theme,” says Davo. “It’s not something we started a band to talk about, but it is something we grew up with, and, well, Marcus was going to be a vet.” Other career plans the band also left behind, include Davo’s administrator and civil servant career, and Jack’s plans of being in the Big Brother house.