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Blighty are a six piece indie rock band formed from the remains of several high-school and college bands in summer 1998. Brothers Paul and Ant Smith were joined by Kris Thompson (Rhtyhm Guitar), and Rich Swan (Bass), the recruitment of drummer Dunk Davies completed the line up, but not for long... following a change of job, Paul was forced to quit the band and moved to Chester; not long after his departure Kris also decided that being in a band wasn't really his 'thing' any more, and followed. Left with no guitarists the remaining three were forced to re-think the whole thing
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Finding two new guitarists was not the major problem that it seemed to be... first into the fray was Paul Bowers, who had just started working as a chef at the same pub as Rich. Spotting Paul carrying a guitar into work one day, Rich grabbed him and suggested he joined a band. The man agreed, leaving only the elusive second guitarist to find. This post was filled a week later by Tim, a friend of Rich's, poached from another local band. A first jam session left the band in no doubt that the new line-up was onto something special. Paul's driving rock style added a whole new dimension to the sound, taking the band away from 'Oasis Wannabes' into an original combination of the best bits of both rock and pop.
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After that everything seemed to fit into place, a flood of songs were soon written, rehearsed and ready. Following a visit to Gavin at the Magic Garden and a couple of days playing rock stars and actually recording something the band emerged tired and smelly but with a brand spanking new CD with seven tracks on it. Surprised and impressed with the quality of the demo (thanks, Gav!), we decieded it was about time that people found out who we were, and set about arranging gigs in the area.
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An appearance at Wolverhamptons Varsity followed a week later and many thanks must go to all the friends who showed up a good night was had by all ( except for the other bands who had to put up with 200 drunken hooligans who didn't want to see them, and heckled mercilessly - sorry guys! ). Gigs at the ( now sadly extinct ) Outta Limit, Wolverhampton, the Robin 2 Rn'B Club, Bilston, Redwoods in Kidderminster and Ronnie Scotts Jazz bar in Birmingham followed, to name but a few, plus most recently a residency at the Rock Tavern in Brierly Hill.
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Almost two years down the line, with many gigs gigged, more stuff recorded, some great new tracks waiting to be put on CD, and things in gerenal looking quite rosy, things seemed to take a bit of a nosedive within the band. Personalies clashed with unhappy results. At the end of December 2000, in a kind of unspoken "he goes or we go" scenario, Paul Bowers quit the band as he didn't feel he had enough time to spend working with the band, amongst other things. The effect of this change was almost immediate - a warm sense of relief and commitment returned to the practice room, along with an absolute belter of a new song, the somewhat inauspiciously titled "Breakdown". A week following the departure of Paul, an appearance at Boozestock II at Worcester's Marrs Bar (featuring Neil Davies as a last minute stand in on rhythm guitar) laid to rest any fears anyone might have been harbouring that Paul's departure would in some way spell the end for Blighty.
So what now? Second guitar position has been taken over by Paul Smith, with the band reverting to a more traditional 5 peice line up (but with no loss of vocal prowess, it has to be noted), and new material is starting to come thick and fast. More recording is planned for early 2001, and the future is once more looking shiny!
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