HOODLUMS

‘Literally swinging from the rafters and dancing on the tables and chairs

are support band Hoodlums. This is how all great parties end.'

NME

Lou Vainglorious - lead voice/words/guitar
Nick Pini - double bass/voice
Tino Kolarides - guitar/voice
Henry Tyler - drums/voice
Oli Wennink - keys/voice

Lou Vainglorious: ‘My dad came to see one show and I asked him what he thought. He said it sounds like music for the disenfranchised.'
If so, it's the sound of the disenfranchised partying like its 1999 - with an orchestral pop wall of sound, sing-along choruses, bittersweet lyrics... and yes, some dancing on tables.
South End-born and bred Lou Vainglorious met double bass player Nick Pini at the end of 2007.
‘He was bored shitless of the band he was in, and I was bored shitless of the band I was in,' says Lou. ‘Everyone we worked with didn't seem to care as much time as we did. It was nice to meet someone else who was as hungry.'
An immediate musical partnership was born - Vainglorious' traditional song-writing drawing on the autobiographical, while Pini adds in his own Classical / Jazz background to push the arrangements further.
‘I'm really interested in that feeling of being a bit detached for the whole of your life,' says Lou, struggling to explain what unifies Hoodlums' music, which incorporates a broad musical landscape from classic English pop to dance and hip-hop. ‘That period of being a kid turning into an adult was quite a difficult jump for me. A lot of the lyrics are in that place.'
A single with legendary indie label Nude Records prompted them to recruit Oli Wennink, Tino Kolarides and Henry Tyler, creating the unique sound of Hoodlums.
The band decided they would play any stage they could get onto, leading them to turn up everywhere from the Everyman Cinema in Hampstead, the Katy Eary London Fashion week party, barge parties for the River Rat Pack and the South Sea Festival - a gig that resulted in a stage invasion.
‘We write constantly and play constantly, we stayed out of the way of media attention until we were completely developed. People need to fall in love with it when they see it,' says Lou.
The show is ready for falling in love with, blending excellent musicianship and flamboyant showmanship. Vainglorious pirouettes, leaps into the audience and uses pool cues like chop sticks to pull girls onstage.
‘I'm an attention seeker, but only when I'm on stage. In real life I'm really shy. It builds up through the week and at the gig I go crazy. Then afterwards I crawl back under a rock.'
The set features swooning anthems-in-waiting like The Great Outsiders, the groove-led dance vibe of Forget a Friend and the melancholy melody of Not A Love Song.
The band are picking up plaudits. In December, the NME reviewed Hoodlums' live act. This followed reviews from Time Out: ‘Hoodlums have you empathy and your heart'; I-D: ‘Sit up and take notice, Hoodlums are coming to a town near you. And they're right snazzy dressers to boot'; and 6 Music's Tom Robinson, who dubbed them ‘fucking brilliant. Freshest, most original and vibey thing I've heard for weeks... restored my faith in new music'.
In February, Steve Lamacq played the band's Not a Love Song to promote the Zip It Up Fierce Panda EP which features the song.
Hoodlums will be supporting reformed classic Britpop band Suede on their two warm up gigs prior to their appearance at the Royal Albert Hall. The first is at London's 100Club on 20 March and then Manchester's Ritz the following night. After that, Hoodlums will be playing a special headline show at London's Lexington on 26 March.
Summer festivals such as Secret Garden, Blissfields, Camden Crawl and Rockness are already lined up.
With a growing army