Little Barrie

Fronted by guitarist Barrie Cadogan, the London-based trio Little Barrie merges hard rock, blues, soul, and funk in a style that evokes 1960s acts such as Traffic and Cream. Early releases including We Are Little Barrie established their core approach through intense, high-volume execution, while later works such as 2011's King of the Waves and 2017's Death Express introduced surf and pop touches. By the appearance of Quatermass Seven in 2020, the band had secured a fully independent sonic identity, and Cadogan had secured recognition among the era's top guitarists.

Cadogan, Wayne Fulwood on drums and vocals, and Lewis Wharton on bass formed Little Barrie in Nottingham during 2000. After issuing several singles on modest imprints including Stark Reality and Showdown, the group signed with Genuine Recordings and began their debut album under the supervision of indie pop figure Edwyn Collins, whom Cadogan had encountered during employment at a guitar shop. We Are Little Barrie reached stores in February 2005.

Over 23 weeks at Collins' studio, limited to Wednesdays because of his schedule, the band produced an album that combined careful construction with raw energy. The release, paired with the group's vigorous concerts, established Cadogan's standing as one of the scene's strongest young players and led to temporary work filling in for Morrissey's guitarist plus joint sessions with Johnny Marr that prompted Collins to resume guitar playing. Artemis Records brought the album to American listeners at the close of June 2005. Fulwood, weary of touring demands, departed before the next recording cycle.

Stand Your Ground, the follow-up, was tracked in 2006 partly in New York under Dan the Automator with Blues Explosion drummer Russell Simins and partly in London with Mike Pelanconi producing and new drummer Billy Skinner. PIAS/Wall of Sound issued the album in 2007. Virgil Howe, son of Yes guitarist Steve Howe, took the drum chair in 2008. That year Little Barrie also supported Paul Weller on portions of 22 Dreams, while Cadogan joined Primal Scream as a touring guitarist. Cadogan later contributed to Weller's 2010 album Wake Up the Nation and to Edwyn Collins' Losing Sleep.

The trio resumed album work with Collins and returned to the studio. Surf-tinged King of the Waves appeared on Tummy Touch Records in 2011. Cadogan maintained his association with Primal Scream, performing on their 2013 album More Light, and added sessions for Texas, Pete Molinari, and the Chemical Brothers. Little Barrie extended their partnership with Collins on the fourth album Shadow, cut in North London with engineer Seb Lewsley and released on Tummy Touch Records in 2014. Cadogan continued guest work with Collins, Primal Scream, and Texas until 2015, when the music director for Breaking Bad commissioned a theme for the Better Call Saul spinoff; the band supplied thirty seconds of off-kilter blues riffing that became instantly recognizable. The single "I.5.C.A." followed in 2016, and the self-produced Death Express arrived in mid-2017 on the band's Non-Delux label. Howe died unexpectedly later that year at age 41.

After a period of reflection, Cadogan and Wharton elected to continue under the Little Barrie name and recruited Heliocentrics drummer Malcom Catto for the Quatermass Seven EP. Cut at Catto's basement studio using vintage equipment and issued on Madlib Invazion in late 2020, the release displayed a freer, jam-based direction.