Portsmouth boys The Mudlarks prepare to get mucky as they head for the Edge of The Wedge in Southsea

The group stakes its claim to the name which comes from the old tradition, indigenous to the British isles, where people would go in search for buried goodies on shorelines, in harbours and in rivers. It was a well-known pastime for the youth of Portsea from the late-19th century through to the 1960s.

The band formed in early 2016, armed with a fierce drive and tenacity to stop trains with their brick wall of raw energy – citing influences grounded in old school rock’n’roll but referencing current affairs and the filthy youth of modern Britannia. Their sound takes Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, crossed with the gritty zest of punk.

The boys built up a bit of a buzz around town after a few local gigs, but were forced to put the band on hold when real life intervened.

After a two year hiatus to sort out family matters and other misdemeanours, they’re back with a vengeance.

Recording sessions to lay down the new songs they’ve been frantically writing are booked in for next month at The Old Chapel studios in Nutbourne and a string of gigs and festivals are scribbled in for later on in the year.

Frontman Ben Brookes says: ‘New songs from the Mudlarks camp have been coming quicker than a drugged-up racehorse in the Grand National.

‘There is a giant Morrissey-sized hole in the music scene at the moment that needs filling with ballsy exciting music – something that people can get their teeth into and really feel a part of.

‘Something heavier, akin to the music that was blaring through our speakers in the late ’80s, through the ’90s into the mid-2000s. It kind of started to peter out around 2006-7 and then for me, it died in 2009 when Oasis split.’

And the band are aiming high: ‘Imagine The Mudlarks pulling of something the size of Knebworth!’

The rhythm section of Kris Walden and Luke Walker, are the driving backbone of the band, while guitarist Charles Harris plays his instrument without a care in the world.

Earlier this month they tested the waters with an impromptu acoustic set at Acapulco on Albert Road in Southsea.

As they modestly claim: ‘We’re tight and well-rehearsed with a sound that rivals the best of the best ,and could entertain even the most abstemious of audiences and keep heads bopping and feet stomping all night. Let’s help push the music to dizzy new heights. We are Mudlarks.’????????????????????????????

THE MUDLARKS

The Edge of The Wedge, Southsea

Thursday, February 21

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