the longsands

The Longsands... A Short Background
Last year began with the first single lodged in the charts; twelve months on, the curve is still upwards, the journey still heavy-laden with potential... Back in spring, the second single, Worlds Collide, was brought thunderously to life in the high-tech surroundings of rural Cheshire: incendiary blasts of biting power and that deliciously catchy chorus puncturing the morning birdsong and shimmering across the fields.
More and more gigs, honing and tightening the set as Summer approached, ushering in plans for the single’s launch: a national tour, zigzagging the country and including huge debut shows in Edinburgh and Glasgow and massive London and Leeds showcases, before arriving at the coup-de-grâce: a sold-out, blisteringly triumphant homecoming at the stunning Sage Gateshead that will long live in the memories of each and every lucky ticket-holder.
Still time for a personal live appearance at Newcastle’s HMV store, with fans queuing down the aisles for CDs and autographs, then back on the road in the autumn, building the single’s sales momentum, headlining the official opening of Northumbria University’s shiny new campus development, and once again receiving heavy airplay at each and every Newcastle United home fixture.
No surprise, then, that the football club approached the band late in the year with a request to perform and record a new version of traditional folk song ‘The Blaydon Races’, to be played as the Magpies take the field on match days; no surprise also that the band threw themselves into the task, adding a hard-edged Longsands feel and tell-tale calling-cards to the hardy old perennial. The finished article, buffed to a shine and tight as a tourniquet, will be the band’s third official release in the coming weeks. Christmas saw a return to London and to Band Republic, headlining, as previous winners, the current roster at the famous Marquee Club, and a second year running at the prestigious Cluny Christmas party back home in Newcastle.
And, all the time, building, building; edging forward and ever onward. Already, a tour of Greece beckons in 2008, as mainland Europe prepares to fall under the spell. A live experience with few rivals, and an increasingly confident presence in the recording studio; from Cramlington in the north-east England, encompassing a cocktail of infectious blues riffs, driving indie beats and soaring melodies;
The longsands.
Welcome to the future. There’s no turning back now.
(Find out more and keep yourself updated by joining the mailing list at www.thelongsands.co.uk )