Tom McKean & The Emperors

This is a new band of disappointed idealists and disillusioned optimists.
We’re 18 months into Tom McKean & the Emperors and in that short time we've seen and done many new things. Some have been uplifting, some frustrating, at times surprising, often exhilarating and sometimes just downright depressing but always faithful to our band’s absolute commitment to writing great music and playing the most exciting shows we can - we might be miserable buggers but we still want you to have a good time.
So far in the little universe of the Emperors we’ve recorded an album’s worth of tracks (join our mailing list if you want to download them for FREE by sending an email to [email protected]), played some packed shows in the UK with special mention going to the twice filled-to-the-rafters Borderline in London, headlined the incredibly civilized Bloomsbury festival, got a little practice in drunken crowd-control at the slightly more rowdy Wye Fayre, discovered that not everyone at the Big Green Gathering is into peace and love and turned down a record deal.
We’ve also been invited to the US to record with a top producer (of which more info to follow later in the year if we can find someone to pay for it) and recently found ourselves on stage with Nick Cave, Barry Adamson, David McAlmont, Immodesty Blaize and a 30-odd piece orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.
In short, things are looking pretty interesting. But, dear reader, that means nothing to the fickle lover we find ourselves courting so we will continue to write, rehearse and play for the sheer love of music and maybe some of you will be kind enough to listen.
The Emperors consist of multi instrumentalists Andy Simms (hammond, horns and clarinet) and Iain Ross (drums, mandolin, lap steel), guitar ace Bobby Williams, Ed Miller on bass, singer and guitar player Tom McKean and an evolving coterie of strings players and other part time Emperors.
Some of us have had a bit of success in the past with other bands but there’s something different about Tom McKean & the Emperors. Through the vagaries of luck and hard work we’ve found ourselves making the kind of music we always wished we could.
The four tracks featured here were recorded live at Livingstone studios in London. We haven’t spent days building layers and overdubbing. It’s 5 guys in a room playing the songs the way they did in the old days – 3 or 4 takes of each track, pick the best one and then move on. Hopefully this means that they capture something of the moment. We hope you enjoy them.
We wish you every success and hope that one day you might like to buy our music but, until then, fill your boots – it’s all free!
All the best,
Tom McKean & the Emperors
Tom McKean & the Emperors are based in London, UK.
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST AND GET FREE DOWNLOADS BY SENDING A MESSAGE TO [email protected]