“The word Amateur comes from French, and can be translated as “lover of”, reflecting the amateur’s motivation to work as a result of a love or passion for a particular activity.”
The Amateurs owe their humble beginnings to performing with Robert Plant on his 2005 ‘Tsunami Relief’ project, playing shows around the Midlands raising money for the charity. Later going on to record their first EP in 2006, they reached the final of Emergenza Unsigned Festival at The Astoria 2 in London. A year later the band returned to the studio, this time with Jon Cotton (Scott Matthews, Passing Stranger 2005) to record 'Shoot Me Now', a song that was named winner of Best Unsigned Song on Kerrang! Radio.
The Amateurs de-camped to London to record three songs with The Animal Farm, producers of One Night Only and Rosalita. The resulting tracks are soaring, emotive, piano-led pop songs that never fail to hit the right spot. Lead track Homesick bridges the gap between Coldplay and The Fray with its rousing guitar and elegant vocal performance. London Sky lifts the mood particularly well, driving the almost trademark falsetto vocals that back up lead singer Matthew Colley so effortlessly. The Amateurs are surely one for mainstream music fans to look out for in 2009.
