Loudhailer at Ten: Band named by mistake celebrates 10th year with gig at O’Rileys

By Simon Bristow

A band that took its name from a mistake on an Adelphi leaflet is celebrating its tenth year with a gig next month.

The first outing took place at the De Grey Street venue on March 27, 2014, under the name Loudhailer Electric to complement the Loudhailer Acoustic nights Rich and Lou Duffy-Howard had been running at Willerby’s Methodist Hall.

The plugged-in performance featured Rich on guitar, harmonica and spoken word; Lou on guitar, bass, harmonica and vocals; Rich Walker on drums; Amanda Lowe on violin; and Jeff Parsons on guitar.

After a set by another band, The Invisibles, Lou, Amanda, Rich Walker and Jeff took to the stage under the name Things Change and performed “a lengthy space dub jam which was the springboard for some inspired playing all round”, Jeff recalls.

It was only on the night that the musicians noticed how the line-up had been billed on the leaflet.

Jeff said: “Adelphi supremo Paul Jackson had obviously thought that Loudhailer Electric was a promotion company rather than an act, so he rendered it as “Loudhailer Electric Co presents The Invisibles + guests” on the Adelphi flyer, which prompted Rich and Lou to suggest this as the new band’s name. The others agreed so Loudhailer Electric Co was adopted for the next gig in July, by which time the line-up’s core repertoire was firmly in place.”

LOUDHAILER DECADE: Loudhailer Electric Company playing live at O’Rileys. Picture by Sydpix

After Chris Heron replaced Amanda on violin in June 2015, the group was invited by producer and engineer John Spence to record a song for the Fairview Studio CD Fairview at 50, but they managed to record two, giving them the impetus for an album.

That album, Cursus, was launched at Kardomah, then the band’s favourite venue, on November 12, 2016.

After other recordings and performances, the group was set to play a gig on March 20, 2020 – three days before the first Covid lockdown – under the name Loudhailer Electric Country, featuring Americana-influenced songs from their repertoire, but this was cancelled at the last minute because of the pandemic.

Now an established and finely-honed four-piece, comprising Rich, Lou, Jeff, and Dave Burnby on drums, Loudhailer Electric Company will play at O’Riley’s, their new favourite venue since the demise of Kardomah, on Sunday, May 14, supported by The Last Bastions of Bohemia.

Loudhailer will be recording their set for a proposed live EP featuring unreleased songs.

• Tickets are available from Skiddle.