Mick Bailey is a musician from the town of Chesterfield in the UK. He started his music career in 1998 with local band 'Young Gifted and Skint' which would later go on to be abbreviated to just 'YGS'. They played many gigs up and down the country and released 4 E.P's (Keep Off The Grass - 1998, Calling Out The Masses - 1999/00, Low Down - 2002 and Dead Famous - 2004) There was also the unreleased 'Daytime Programming - 2005'. In addition to these releases, YGS also enjoyed success in local and regional battle of the bands competition and also gained some attention from labels and record industries. In early 2006 YGS called it a day sighting musical differences and went on their own ways.Mick's next musical venture came as a solo acoustic artist, playing most gigs on his own with an acoustic guitar. Occasionally former YGS drummer, Jon Griffin, would fill in on drums to create a 'White Stripes' style set up and the two would appear under the name 'The Royal Kingsmen'. He would gig anywhere for any amount of money at anytime and specialized in his own material which didnt feature on most YGS records. He released 'Attic Bedroom Demo 2006' which was a collection of songs inspiried by the demise of YGS and Mick's new found love of music stripped down to its basic form, which can be heard on the song 'Generosity Killed The String Section' which features cereal boxes, pots and pans, coughs and floorboard creeks in place of musical instruments. This E.P also featured a cover of 'Oxygen' by Willy Mason which is the artist Mick claims got him into playing as a solo artist. Oxygen and 'Nothing Will Change Our Weather' were very personal tracks for the demo.In the Summer of 2006, Mick found it harder and harder to relay his songs to an audience as a solo artist and was encouraged by his former girlfriend to put together a band. Before doing this, he began work on new songs so that the band had something fresh to work with. He previewed these songs as an acoustic act at 'The Howard' in Sheffield and was offered a slot at a bank holiday festival. Mick decided this was a great chance to showcase a new band so he went about putting the band together. Jon Griffin, formely the drummer for YGS, stepped in on bass guitar duties and Mark Watson, former drummer for local band 'Friday', filled the space behind the drums. There were a few rehearsals as a three piece but certain areas were empty so Martin Bailey (Micks Younger Brother) was drafted into the equation. After alot of discussions and deliberating the band settled on the name 'The Culture Thieves'. The Culture Thieves played their first ever gig at The Howard in Sheffield on the 28th August 2006 and from then on gained many more dates including 'West Street Live', 'The Grapes', 'The Winding Wheel' and more recently 'The Leadmill'. They still wish to spread their wings further and play to more and more audiences. Late 2006, The Culture Thieves recorded their first 'Untitled E.P' featuring songs that Mick penned about someone who was very special in his life at the time and still is. It also featured old favourite 'Generosity Killed The String Section' and a unique cover of 'Mocking Bird' by The Libertines. To read a full review of this E.P go to www.myspace.com/theculturethieves and look in the blog section.Now in 2007, The Culture Thieves have written alot of new material based on many events and situations and look to be heading in the studio very soon. They have headlined a festival at West Street Live and have also been part of the bill for a charity fundraiser at The Leadmill in Sheffield. They also have a supporting slot with upcoming band 'Flamboyant Bella' at The Leadmill with hopefully more to follow. The Culture Thieves are gaining a fan base and hope to increase this as time goes by.Mick also now features in Alternative Folk band 'Mat Wale and The Rackets' as the drummer and backing vocalist. He was drafted in when the former drummer left them in the lurch and has been there ever since. They often gig alongside The Culture Thieves.In 2007 Mick, started work on the follow up to his Attic Bedroom Demo 2006 by releasing another E.P with the same title but a 2007 date added. With more songs being added to the demo all the time, it currently stands at 24 tracks and features demo versions of now popular songs by The Culture Thieves, acoustic rarities, cover songs and acoustic versions of YGS songs. Although some of this album is recorded on a digital 8-track, some tracks have been sampled in the moment, unusually on a mobile phone. Mick continues to post these songs at www.myspace.com/mickbailey for free download.By 2008, there should be a new demo from The Culture Thieves and a new Attic Bedroom Demo so keep your ears to the ground and we hope to count on your on going support for the future.
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