They are the new breed indie rock n rollers.
Able’s Army have updated the sound of the noughties for a new generation in the north.
Lead singer and guitarist Mike Foy took time out to talk ...
So how did you end up getting together?
“James Livesey (also singer and guitarist) and I were both working at the Odeon in Huddersfield. We both worked late shifts so would go to each other’s houses and started to jam and write songs together and decided that we wanted to take it somewhere.
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“We found George Corless (drummer) and Ryan Smith (bass) through friends and have been together for up to one year now.
“I’d been in bands before. Ryan has his fingers in lots of musical pies in Huddersfield. He used to be in Pinstripe Tuesdays and is still the lead singer of Palmes.”
Indie rock n roll was popular in the 2000s – do you think there’s still an appetite for it now?
“I think there’ll always be interest in it. You can’t really tell by looking at the charts as they’re not as responsive to trends as they were 10 years ago.
“We grew up listening to bands like the Manic Street Preachers, Blur, Oasis and The Smiths.
“We’ve had a good response at our gigs – they get quite lively.
“At the end of the day, we just want to make people dance.”
You’ve played in Huddersfield several times already, where else have you played?
“We’ve played quite a few gigs so far up and down the M62 – Liverpool, Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.
“Our gig van is a beat up 1970 Land Rover so we’ve not gone further afield yet because it would take us about three days to get there.”
When are you planning to put out a recording?
“We’re hoping to record some songs for an EP by August, when we’ll have our next gig.
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“But we’d like to record another late autumn, which hopefully will be produced by Joe Haigh from Huddersfield band Maia.
“I write songs about everything but at the bare bones they’re about getting drunk and having a broken heart.”
Tell us something about yourselves that people going to watch you may not know.
“Well, I’ve got a one-year-old daughter, which makes things interesting.
“Both I and James still work for the Odeon, although I’m in Manchester now. Then we have a trainee chef and a student."
