The Travelling Band

The Travelling Band emerged from Manchester in 2006, occupying a space that blended the warm, roots-oriented U.K. Americana associated with Grand Drive in London and the more wry, irreverent version of the style cultivated by the Broken Family Band in St. Albans. Two years later the group generated modest attention with its first full-length release, Under the Pavement. A collaborative writing process modeled on Teenage Fanclub allowed the distinct contributions of multi-instrumentalists Adam P. Gorman, Jo Dudderidge, and Stephen Ballinger to stand out clearly on the album, which was captured in New York.

Gorman, Ballinger, and bassist Chris Spencer had previously played together in the psych-rock outfit Brothers with Different Mothers, while keyboardist Steve “Mugger” Mullen and drummer Nick Vaal had performed earlier in the decade in the Vox, a group often likened to Wilco. The sextet’s refined blend of folk, country, and restrained psychedelia grew out of those earlier projects yet was further shaped by the support of longtime friend Lee Gorton, formerly the frontman of Alfie.

Although the basic tracks for Under the Pavement were finished in October 2007, the record did not surface until a full year later, appearing on the band’s own Sideways Saloon label—the same name given to its monthly club night in Manchester. Limited-edition EPs packaged in cloth helped stir local interest ahead of the album’s arrival, and wider recognition followed when the group received the Glastonbury New Talent award in 2008. Among the album’s highlights were Ballinger’s “Angel of the Morning” and Gorman’s “Lanes of Names.”

Sessions held on the Isle of Mull in 2009 yielded a banjo-driven, folk-leaning cover of “Waterfall,” the indie staple first recorded by fellow Manchester act the Stone Roses. The track was issued digitally on the very August day the 20th Anniversary edition of the Roses’ debut album reached stores, securing the band a measure of radio exposure.