Big in 2013: The Last Party

The year is hastily coming to a close and ‘best of’ lists are being compiled here there and everywhere. Here at Skiddle, we like to keep ahead of the game so we’re looking ahead to next year and wondering who’s going to be making their mark on the world of music. So over the coming weeks we’re going to be having a little chat with some of the acts who are looking to make it BIG in 2013.

Up first we introduce you to Manchester four-piece The Last Party and speak to lead singer Liam Manton, who tells us how they’re literally seeing 2012 out with a bang...

First things first, for those who haven’t heard of The Last Party can you give us a little introduction? How did you all come together?
Well, we’ve been described as the illegitimate child of The Supremes and The Rolling Stones, which we’re pretty pleased with as both are great… that’s quite an image isn’t it!? We did our first gig in November 2010 after we started writing songs in my spare room and decided we liked what we were hearing. Our sound is pretty varied – I suppose a lot of new bands say that – but our iPods are literally yin and yang, and I suppose that helps our song writing. If you come to one of our gigs you’ll hear string sections, brass, the works! Our songs have a real upbeat, positive edge to them. I think we’ve had our ‘feet finding’ period now in terms of what we think our sound should be like and as a result, our song writing is getting a lot stronger.

Since forming you’ve been pretty busy haven’t you? You’ve formed your own label too, how did that come about?
We got offered some studio time with Darren Lawson (producer – Wolfmother, The Verve, Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Klaxons etc.) after he saw us play live in London. We recorded our newest track at the time, 'Bonnie & Clyde', and it was one of those “what do we do next” moments. We’d only done about 10 gigs and not had much press, so no label was going to touch us, so we just decided to put it out ourselves, pretty easy really, probably the best decision we’ve ever made as a band. The results we got from the release have gained us a lot of respect within the music industry both in Manchester and nationally. It’s given us a good blueprint and the confidence to release our second single early next year, and do things on a bigger scale.

You’ve had airplay on the likes of Soccer AM and Sky Sports and been named XFM Xposure’s ‘Sound of 2012’; that’s not bad going considering you’ve done it all off your own back. What’s your secret?!
To be honest with you, we just made it up as we went along. We never sat down and said "right, this is what we’re gonna do", things just kind of happened. We managed to get the track in the hands of the right people - mainly through cheek and persistence - and people genuinely liked what they saw/heard. Once one person starts talking about you, others follow! I think our songs are really poppy as well. That’s not to say we sound like Jedward, but the greatest songs of all the time, no matter what era or genre they’re from, if you strip them back, there’s always a solid pop-song behind the finished product. That’s how we approach things in The Last Party.

This Friday sees you take to the stage and play in front of 20,000 people at the Manchester Christmas lights switch-on. For a relatively unknown band that’s a massive achievement. How are you feeling about it, has it sunk in yet?
It’s immense. Our bass player Adam has never not been to the xmas lights - it’s his third favourite day of the year, and we all used to go as kids. As a group of mates we’re easily excitable anyway, so this is just mental! I’m predicting sore heads all round come Sunday 11th!

I believe there was a cheeky demand made to Manchester City council to give the city back the rock and roll it is famed for. How do you feel to be the ones chosen to fly that rock and roll flag?
Yeah we were doing an interview promoting our charity night and credit to the council really, they’ve seen what we’re doing and decided it needed recognising. One of the councillors said “The Last Party encapsulate everything Manchester is about – young, innovative and creative people all coming together to make things happen… what they’re doing and what they’ve achieved so far embodies the true spirit of Manchester”.

You’ll be sharing a stage with Misha B and The Wanted on the night, is that a slightly daunting prospect given how well known they are and how different in style you are, or do you see it more as a challenge?
Neither really, we see it as an opportunity to show 20,000 fellow Mancunians what we’re about . The council have got it spot on in terms of the line-up. Regardless of our opinions and people’s opinions on the state of the music industry at the minute, in terms of an event, it ticks all the boxes. You’ve got the X-factor/family thing with Misha B, the pre-park drinking/pubescent screaming boy band thing with The Wanted then you’ve got us flying the flag for something which is a huge part of this great city’s history… and future. Non-manufactured music has never been acknowledged in this way in terms of the Christmas Lights history, so it’s an honour, especially considering there are far more established acts than us who they could have got in.

It happens to fall on the two year anniversary of the band, what a great way to celebrate! It must feel like a fitting tribute to all the hard work you’ve put in?
I know, you couldn’t script it! Definitely, it’s been said by the organisers of the event. It’s not a myth, if you put the graft in, you get the results at the end. We’re constantly working, be it putting on club nights, DJing, gigging, rehearsing or recording. There’s always something happening – and it’s starting to feel like things are happening for us.

You’ve organised a fundraising night for Nordoff Robbins on the 17th of November at Night and Day, tell us a bit about the night, what can we expect?
Well firstly, Nordoff Robbins is a great charity, its ethos alone speaks volumes, music can change lives! We’ve got live music from some of our friends’ bands, DJs and comedy in the form of Wayne & Abel, a new sketch show co-written by Ciarran Griffiths. We’ve also got Michael Spencer Jones the Oasis-famed photographer who did all their early album artwork raffling off limited edition signed prints. We’re going to raise a few quid for charity – what more could you want in a night?!

With 2013 is fast approaching, what’s in store for The Last Party?
Well we’re going to start the year with the release of our second single ‘Devil’s Lips’ and if the last one was anything to go by, it’ll be a rollercoaster of highs, highs and err more highs…  but I still think there’s more to come from us in 2012! Watch this space.

facebook/thelastpartyuk

Interview: Michelle Lloyd

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