- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: NEW BOY BAND "REEL" PERFORM "CELTIC POP" IN LONDON
- Date: 10th October 2001
- Summary: REEL PERFORMING
- Embargoed: 25th October 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LONDON, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Entertainment,General
- Reuters ID: LVAAJTGHIXN9O7TDI7W6DRYXSXGA
- Story Text: Boyzone and Westlife have hit the high spots of the UK music scene with their polished brand of teen-friendly pop, but the latest line up of five good looking boys to come out of Ireland are offering something a bit different. They're called Reel, and they actually play their own instuments...and they don't dance! New boy-bands are ten-a-penny these days, so it takes a bunch of lads a little more than good looks and flashy choreography to really grab the attention of the fickle teenage music audience...and that's where Reel are onto something. Of course they have the kind of boyish charm that turns teens weak at the knees, and their carefully crafted arrangements contain the kind of slick harmonies we have come to expect - but these five guys from Ireland are all very talented instrumentalists, notching up a total of 20 different ones in all between them.
"There is a slight a difference, basically the difference is that we all sing, we all play instruments, we play about 20 instruments between us, so it's something different, it's not five guys dancing on stage, we can't dance....so there are five us, we all sing, we are in a straight line formation, and we just sing and play our instruments, so that's about it really you know."
Despite their different approach to pop music, their style won them some very important admirers in the shape of Westlife, who invited them on tour - and as Colin explains, the audience definitely noticed the difference.
"When we started off the Westlife tour, for a lot of the kids when we started off playing our instruments, as Joseph said we are in a line format, you'd notice a lot of people looking up, what's going on here? But we are different as the lads were saying, we are trying something new, we have a different sound, sort of a Celtic pop, we are just singing and playing instruments so it's not that unusual, but it is different to what you see normally."
What also stands them apart is their determination to be musicians in their own right. All the guys write songs, and although their forthcoming single "Lift Me UP" was written for them, and their showcase contains a fair few cover versions, the boys are convinced that their own compositions will shine though in the end - and they won't argue over who's songs get used.
" We all write our own songs, at the moment, we didn't write the single, but as time goes on we'll get to use our own stuff, and there won't be a row as to who's song is used first or anything like that, we don't mind, obviously we would love to get our own songs on the album, and hopefully there will be a couple of our own songs on the album, which we be early next year, but I don't think there's going to be too big of a row....Once we progress, we'll write our on stuff, we've all written songs at the moment, but once time goes on we'll do our own stuff."
Although Colin, Joe, Matthew, Gary and Philip are to all intents a manufactured band, they were all chosen through auditions, they have worked very hard to create their own sound - and the hard work is beginning to pay off, "We've been together for a while now, we are only really breaking now, but when we joined the band, we tell everyone, we were actually put in a room, it was actually a basement, and told to make music, not locked away but we were away for a long time on our won developing our sound.....And it did take a while, first of all we got the sound, and then we got a record company and then we won Best Newcomer at the Smash Hits awards in November, that was a big turning point for us, all the bands like Westlife and Boyzone, all them won that, so it was brilliant to win that and then we had the Westlife tour and in March we had a single out, and then we got out UK backing, it has fallen into place now but it does take a while, first of all we started in the basement, rehearsing songs, and it takes while but I think now we actually have it."
Reel's single "Lift Me Up" will be available in the UK on the 29th October. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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