Phantom of the Oakford

Sarah Stead • Published 13 Dec 2009 09:00 0 Comments

THE 'BBC Introducing...' nights held each Wednesday at The Oakford Social Club are usually loud, raucous affairs with line-ups of skinny jeaned foot stompers and melodic feedback.

But Phantom Limb, fresh from supporting Will Young, will be taking the pace down a notch or two with their soothing, smooth sounds.

From their tour bus as it headed towards Oxford, guitarist Stew Jackson told me: "We say our music is country soul stuff.

"Yolanda has an incredible voice and everything that you'll hear coming over the PA will be real.

"There's no one age group or anything like that among our fans - people who like music, like us!

"It's quite a small gig tonight in Oxford, the tour and the audiences have been going really well.

"We finish with Will next week in Brighton and then we're playing in Reading and Newbury two nights in a row."

Phantom Limb have supported Candi Staton and Massive Attack, and wrote songs for Will Young, but are still struggling to get the recognition they deserve.

"We've been championed by Tom Robinson on 6 Music, Clyde FM and The Independent, but we're still very much underdogs!" said Stew, which is partly why the band have just re-released their eponymous debut album.

"The album re-release is a special edition," said Stew.

"We didn't make a huge amount of the first lot, so we had to do another run anyway and thought we'd add some more songs and repackage it, and hopefully get some more press attention this time round.

"We've not got much money and our record company isn't massive, and it's Catch 22 with getting press attention and hype. If you've already got hype, it just builds."

If music tipsters are to be believed, though, it won't be long before the swirling dust clouds of press hype descend on this Bristol band.

Their secret is a basic one - all the band members are exceptionally talented musicians, and they do nothing but make old fashion good music.

Why else should you go to see them before the crowds?

"It'll be like a good meal and a conversation with a stranger," said Stew. That's that, then.

Phantom Limb play with The Screenbeats and Cats And Criminals at The Oakford Social Club, Reading on Wednesday, December 16 (8pm, free entry) and at Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury on Thursday, December 17 (8pm, £6).

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This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 10 Dec 09

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