Introducing: The Cuckolds

Originally hailing from the buzzing metropolis of New York, the Northern streets of Leeds, the calm isle of Guernsey and, erm, Guildford, The Cuckolds have been turning  heads in their now native city of Liverpool for quite a while now. With an acoustic-based, badwagonesque sound with an edge, we at Gigwise think it’s only a matter of time before they become too big for Liverpool and the whole nation is won over by their delectable sound. 

Having all met at university in Liverpool, except American drummer Trevor Gerrard who met through keyboardist John Sealey, the foursome formed The Tom Brookes Band (named after their lead singer and songwriter, naturally). After treading the boards for a while, they switched their name to The Cuckolds –  a derogatory name those eagle-eyed Shakespeareans amongst you will no doubt have spotted. As Tom explains: “It’s a word for a bloke whose woman’s playing behind his back.” Of course, the band are quick to deny this is based on personal experiences.

As for past influences The Cuckolds claim their varied musical background has helped shape who they are – whether it be Tom’s penchant for The Doors and the lyrical dexterity of Leonard Cohen, or double bassist Harry’s (Hugo Harrison) history of playing in jazz, funk and rock bands – all of this is reflected in their music. Tom says: “I find it (their sound) pretty hard to explain really. There’s loads of different sounds in there; jazz influences, rock and acoustic sounds. I suppose I’d say it’s catchy singable music.” And their music is a top priority, as Harry says: “We’re more bothered about getting good records out.” Tom adds: “With so many bands today there’s a lot of emphasis placed on image and haircuts, whereas we only care about playing music and writing songs. For us, it’s music first, then image second, whereas a lot of stuff these days is image first.” Clearly A&R men agree, the band have attracted interest from major labels in recent weeks.

Managed by Gary of The Bandits fame and with many eager journalists drawing parallels to the clutch of recent Liverpool bands, The Cuckolds rubbish any such comparisons. As Tom says: “I don’t even know what the music scene is now really, because the thing with The Coral and The Bandits and all that has died down now. They’ve either gone off and become pop stars like The Zutons, or disbanded.” Of course, they acknowledge the real reason they’re different to such bands is because they’re not even scousers.

Looking to the future then, and The Cuckolds are set to perform shows in Manchester and London this April, on top of a prestigious support slot with The Coral. And their aspirations as a band, Tom says: “Yeah, I want to stop working in a kitchen! That’s my main ambition at the moment.” Trevor, however, looks skywards: “We want to create some of the greatest records of the 21st century.” You go lad!

Photo By Nick Kendall