'We're The New Sound Of Manchester' - Twisted Wheel

“I’d say right, to blow me own trumpet, that we are the new sound of Manchester. Fuck everyone else.” Johnny Brown, frontman of Twisted Wheel, is brimming with confidence right now, and why shouldn’t he be? His band is currently touring the UK with last year’s biggest thing - The Enemy. He’s just finished a world tour alongside Oasis – who he will be joining again in the summer. His band has also had the pleasure of sharing the stage with The Happy Mondays, Ian Brown and The Buzzcocks to name but a few. Oh yeah, and they’re also set to support Paul Weller in the summer too. Not bad for a three lads from Oldham, only releasing their debut album this week. 

The inevitable hype machine will once again take a kick into overdrive, as with any bright emerging talent, especially from Manchester. However, there is something alluringly different about this trio. An honesty in their approach and power in delivery is about the simplest assessment. Liam Gallagher puts it plainly, as he was quoted as calling Johnny and the band a “breath of fresh air”. Difficult to argue at the best of times, but certainly in this case.

Speaking of air, Johnny barely takes a breath when he’s on stage or talking on the phone. He spits out the lyrics like a machine gun ready to penetrate the wary as much as the devoted. An asserted presence with true rock ‘n’ roll grit beaming from the white’s of his eyes. There is control to the confidence, however. His more humble nature comes across as he explains about where he would like to be this time next year. Johnny obviously admits he’d love to be “fucking massive” before openly revealing: “I’d like to be the level where The Enemy are at now, I think that’s a happy medium.” The right thing at the right time is a concept Johnny has imprinted in his mind as the discussion leaves the traps of hype.

So lets take a few steps back, to school in fact. Johnny and bass player Rick Lees had always talked of starting a band together. They knew drummer Adam Clarke from school as well, but it wasn’t until a meeting at Leeds Festival one year that the three became close friends. Fast forward to Christmas time 2006 and the guys were putting the wheels in motion to do something serious. January hit, and the band started jamming together, before playing their debut gig after just four rehearsals. Half a year later there was much label interest and a plethora of bands wanting them as a support act.

Being on tour with Oasis was a “dream come true” experience for the band, who were keen to act as cool as possible in front of their heroes. They spent their time wisely with the Britpop legends, by learning form the best. Guidance came in the form of watching one of the best live bands in the world every night. Johnny explains: “You get more advice just watching what they do. When you’re on tour you see how everything works and how they deal with it – you learn a lot from that.”