Fleetwood Mac and Bob Dylan, The Dunwells are the first to admit they're an atypical proposition for the Yorkshire music scene, which has become synonymous with swaggering indie bands rather than countrified banjos and blues. “We've never been part of 'the Leeds scene',” explains Dave. “We just do our own thing. But we've always had a really good following in the city, and we always sell-out our gigs. “We get such a wide range of people at our shows. We get the older people who grew up with classic rock bands, we get teenage girls who
THE BOYS DUNWELL
They've been dubbed “Mumford & Sons times ten” and hailed as the breakthrough act of 2012. Leeds band The Dunwells spoke to Mark Butler about drunken sleepwalking, being big in America, and their rise from busking to the big-time.
Photos: Ami Barwell O
nly a year ago The Dunwells were five anomymous lads playing pubs and busking in the streets, struggling to scrape together enough
money to fly out to Memphis for the annual Folk Alliance conference. Fast-forward to the present day and they're being hailed as the breakthrough band of 2012, backed by music's most influential movers and shakers, and tipped to be a huge hit in America. It's fair to say it's been a whirlwind twelve months for the Leeds folk-rockers. Indeed, when beyond meets up with the boys ahead of a sell-out gig in North Yorkshire, they still can't believe what's happened to them. “We've gone from being just a bunch of guys, working our a*ses off to raise the money to get to Memphis, to being a band where doors are opening for us and all the right people are behind us,” says multi-instrumentalist David Dunwell. “It's an exciting time.” It was their impact at the influential Folk Alliance
showcase in the US last year that propelled The Dunwells into the big league. Thanks to their electrifying live shows, they swiftly became the band everyone was talking about. “By the second night people were literally climbing over
each other to try and get in to our gigs,” recalls guitarist Dave Hanson. “Then we started getting recognised out and about and Jonny, our drummer, became a bit of a celeb. “We got called the breakthrough act of the alliance. It
was just incredible. Any band who say they don't want to break America are talking out of their a*se. Everyone wants to break the US, and we're no different. It's the home of rock and roll.” In the space of just three days the boys' fortunes had completely transformed. Folk Alliance chief Louis Jay Meyers dubbed them “Mumford and Sons times ten” on Voice of America radio, and the band caught the attention of Texan music bigwig Kevin Wommack - who promptly signed them to his record label. If that wasn't already enough, they were then invited to play the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville – a legendary venue
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which has played host to all the biggest names in country music, from Garth Brooks to Taylor Swift. “It was a bit strange coming back to Leeds after all that,”
muses Joe Dunwell, David's brother and the lead singer of the band. “It was,” laughs drummer Jonny Lamb. “I was walking
around Yeadon saying 'why aren't people recognising me?!'” They may have had just a glimpse of the celebrity
highlife, but The Dunwells – whose line-up is completed by Jonny's cousin Rob Clayton on bass – could soon be famous faces on both sides of the Atlantic. They are touring with major US rock act Los Lonely
Boys in February and March, are returning to the Folk Alliance this year as headliners, and HMV has also picked them out as the Next Big Thing of 2012. When you hear the music itself, it's not hard to see why. The band's forthcoming debut album, Blind Sighted Faith, is a fine collection of melodic, folk-infused rock that is instantly enjoyable and brimming with luscious harmonies. Its quality is no surprise given that they recorded it at
Willie Nelson's studio in Texas, with legendary Smiths cohort and former Roxy Music musician John Porter – a fellow Leeds native – performing the production duties. “It was amazing walking into the studio,” says David. “It's a '70s country club that Willie Nelson bought and converted. Sadly, they concreted over the pool a while back – I think too many rock and roll stars had driven too many cars into it.” The easy-going boys admit they're not the wildest of bands themselves, but their exploits thus far haven't been entirely without incident. “When we were on tour in Sheffield one night
everybody went out and got drunk, and back at the hotel I started sleepwalking,” recalls Dave. “I woke up in the corridor in my boxers, realised I'd locked myself out of my room, and I had to spend the entire night sleeping on a sofa in a corridor freezing my nuts off.” Armed as they are with a distinctive brand of
Americana-inspired rock, and influenced by the likes of
are interested in Joe and Jonny, and then we get all the middle-aged women who love David.” That said, despite all the hype surrounding the band, and the high
expectations of fans and backers, the lads insist they're keeping their feet firmly on the ground and not getting carried away with it all. “We're not putting any pressure on ourselves,” says Joe. “We've never done that. It's just naturally fallen into place for us, and though we'd love to become an established band, we just want to carry on playing shows and making music. That's the important thing.”
Blind Sighted Faith is out on March 5th.
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