The Glitterati
Trash can: Rock'n'roll has lost its sleaze factor, but five guys from Leeds are determined to bring it back again. The Glitterati are the antidote to anodyne, unsexy rock, and they're ready to swagger into the pantheon of classic trashy rock'n'roll bands - just as soon as people buy their records and make them as famous as they already think they are. "We're not called The Glitterati for nothing," says singer Paul Gautrey. "We want to cause a reaction; even if they hate us, we've done something right." So far, fans have loved The Glitterati's brash brand of glammed-up, wild'n'wasted rock. A gang of glimmer kids in the vein of The Stones, Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, The Faces, Black Crowes and G'N'R, The Glitterati do it the old-fashioned way: looking good, playing killer gigs and brimming with cocksure confidence. "We're into the whole idea of rock'n'roll bands getting in a van, playing a great show, meeting girls and learning how to be the best there is," says Gautrey.
Big appetite: The Glitterati are hoping to dazzle with their self-titled debut album, released shortly on Atlantic Records. Recorded in LA and produced by Mike Clink, who helmed Guns 'N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction, the album is the culmination of a two-year odyssey that began when this motley crew came together in Leeds, having played separately in numerous local bands. Finding their hometown scene a little too constricting, the band moved to London, where they shared a house and rehearsed in a derelict church. For The Glitterati, life in London was like The Monkees' Head, Mick Jagger's Performance and Withnail & I all rolled into one.
Highly charged: Being unable to afford the finest wines known to humanity, The Glitterati had no choice but to accept support slots with such boring, staid, Coldplay-lite bands as Jet, The Vines, Kings of Leon and The Datsuns. They also played high-profile sets at the T in The Park, Download and Reading/Leeds festivals, as well as a series of secret gigs under the pseudonym The Highly Davidson. Their combination of turbo-charged rock and burning rubber sexuality attracted a phalanx of female fans, who were willing to provide a mind-boggling range of backstage favours. "We do seem to get a lot of attention after our gigs," says Gautrey, "and the next thing we know is we're getting all sorts of offers."
Dress sense: The band released their debut single, Do You Love Yourself?, on Alan McGee's Poptones label; Atlantic Records loved 'em and signed them to a worldwide deal, and though The Glitterati are unlikely to outshine label forebears Led Zep, they may just squeeze a few lemons. Kerrang! gave them the devil-horns-up, while the Times deemed them major league material. The band have been touring the UK all this month. But, when you see them in concert, don't expect to witness a bunch of glam tarts in platform boots and bacofoil. "I think people will be intrigued by us," says guitarist Nic Denson. "We're called The Glitterati but we dress like tramps."
