Lucky Soul

Lucky Soul are the most exciting thing to come out of Greenwich since time itself - this much is already clear on the basis of their hugely acclaimed debut album The Great Unwanted and their stunning live performances, all of which have proved incapable of inspiring anything but excited superlative proclamations, whether in the press ("melodies as colossal, memorable and irresistible as a stampede of elephants bearing down on your tent" – The Guardian).

Based in Greenwich, Lucky Soul are fronted by the beautiful Ali Howard whose voice, with its interplay of fragility and power, brings to mind Sandie Shaw, Dusty Springfield, Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval and the Ronettes’ Veronica Bennett. But it is guitarist and songwriter Andrew Laidlaw’s persistent faith in his art – and his ear for a direct, shimmering, irresistible melody – that is winning them their growing army of admirers, the Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner amongst them.

It was towards the end of 2004 that Lucky Soul began to come together in its final form. Young guitarist Ivor Sims was recruited after Andy witnessed him cutting deftly through the middle-aged “hell” at a blues jam at the Spice of Life pub in Soho. Then, in a dramatic twist worthy of Lucky Soul: the Unofficial Biography, the original singer and bassist fell in love, had a child together and ran away. After four months of searching far and wide without success, a replacement bassist was found in the form of serial Brighton mod turned nurse Toby Fogell who, in the classic tradition of that-which-you-seek-being-right-under-your-nose, was the boyfriend of one of Andrew’s friends. Meanwhile Ali Howard, who has since been described by the London Lite as having “the kind of presence that Blondie once possessed.” was discovered in the pop psychology department of a well-known bookshop and made a perfect fit as frontwoman shortly afterwards. Towards the end of the summer of 2006 Malcolm Young, a friend of Toby’s was brought in to play keyboards, the line up was completed.