Biography
The Royston Club emerged as a four-piece from Wrexham in North Wales, shaping a whimsical yet uplifting strain of indie rock anchored by melodic guitar lines and choruses built for arenas, in the vein of fellow act the Lathums. While still at secondary school, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Tom Faithfull, lead guitarist Ben Matthias, and bassist Dave Tute discovered a shared admiration for the Libertines, the Strokes, and Kings of Leon, prompting them to begin writing original material in 2017. A mutual contact later connected the trio with drummer Sam Jones, who came aboard in 2019, completing the lineup; the group took its name from a social club in nearby Acrefair, where Matthias’s grandparents resided. Just weeks after forming, the band self-produced and recorded its debut single “Shawshank” in Wrexham, establishing the bright, introspective, and lightly self-mocking character that would define its output. By contrast, the more swaggering, riff-driven follow-up “Waster,” issued in May 2019 and drawing from Reverend & the Makers, struck the members as inconsistent with their emerging catalog, leading them to disavow and withdraw it from streaming platforms. Far closer to their signature approach was the tremolo-laden “Kerosene,” released in October and preceding a string of shows in Manchester and Liverpool.
The quartet tracked its first EP, The State I’m In, at Liverpool’s Parr Street Studios and released it in March 2020. During the ensuing COVID-19 restrictions, the members maintained contact with listeners by posting covers online, among them a version of the Smiths’ “Cemetery Gates” that captured the Royston Club’s stylistic essence. Early the following year they signed with Run On, an imprint of Liverpool’s Modern Sky label. After additional singles and a support slot for Red Rum Club, the band issued its second EP, Lying Here, Wasting Away, that October. A January 2022 interim single, “Old Man’s Knees,” preceded a year of headline dates across the United Kingdom that also included appearances at Leeds, Liverpool Sound City, and the Neighbourhood Weekender. The 2023 singles “Blisters” and “Shallow Tragedy” previewed the fuller sound captured during a two-week return to Parr Street Studios alongside producer Alex Quinn. The resulting debut album, Shaking Hips & Crashing Cars, entered the U.K. album chart’s Top 20 that June.
The quartet tracked its first EP, The State I’m In, at Liverpool’s Parr Street Studios and released it in March 2020. During the ensuing COVID-19 restrictions, the members maintained contact with listeners by posting covers online, among them a version of the Smiths’ “Cemetery Gates” that captured the Royston Club’s stylistic essence. Early the following year they signed with Run On, an imprint of Liverpool’s Modern Sky label. After additional singles and a support slot for Red Rum Club, the band issued its second EP, Lying Here, Wasting Away, that October. A January 2022 interim single, “Old Man’s Knees,” preceded a year of headline dates across the United Kingdom that also included appearances at Leeds, Liverpool Sound City, and the Neighbourhood Weekender. The 2023 singles “Blisters” and “Shallow Tragedy” previewed the fuller sound captured during a two-week return to Parr Street Studios alongside producer Alex Quinn. The resulting debut album, Shaking Hips & Crashing Cars, entered the U.K. album chart’s Top 20 that June.
Albums
Singles
