You may have seen or heard the name Sleaford Mods by now, and perhaps you have assumed they were ‘60’s influenced mod band that grew up listening to The Who. Now, they ARE fans of The Who, but they don’t sound a thing like them, or any other mod band. They were, however, fortunate to be invited to open for The Who and Paul Weller in Hyde Park in 2015. At the time, they thought that would be the climax of their career, but that was only the launching pad.
Technically, Sleaford Mods aren’t even a “band,” but rather a vocalist, Jason Williamson, and DJ, Andrew Fearn, who triggers the music from his laptop and dances next to Williamson on stage.
Williamson originally formed Sleaford Mods with his mate Simon Parfrement in 2007, performing karaoke style on street corners in their hometown of Nottingham, England. Parfrement would prop this boom box on a milk crate, and Williamson would “sing,” or rather, spit out working class post-punk rants to a crowd that would gather and post these performances on social media. It wasn’t long before they went viral and released four albums on various indie labels.
In 2012, Parfrement stepped aside and handed over music and production duties to Andrew Fearn, but still remained on board as the band’s photographer and media producer. Soon after, Williamson and Fearn were offered a deal with Rough Trade Records.
TERAGRAM BALLROOM
Los Angeles, California
April 28th & 29th, 2022
They are currently on their 11th album, “Spare Ribs,” which was released in January 2021, climbed up the charts to number four, and has even been nominated for the prestigious Ivor Novella Award. The award ceremony takes place May 19, 2022.
Sleaford Mods have spent the last few weeks warming up for their US tour by performing sold-out shows all over Europe. As they enter the stage, the crowd sings the old “We are the mods” chant from “Quadrophenia,” modifying it to a new version, “Sleaford Mods, Sleaford Mods, Sleaford, Sleaford, Sleaford Mods.” And with all their success, they have now upgraded from a milk crate to an upside-down trash barrel as their stage prop.
They are heading stateside at the end of April, kicking things off with two nights in Los Angeles at the Teragram Ballroom on April 28th and 29th, then continuing across America and ending their tour in Washington DC on May 21st.
