"Apparently United are the new City. There's no prizes for being fourth" spits out Danny Tourette determined that even if they don't win over any new fans no-one will ever forget them. Chances are no-one will forget this band who look like the Sex Pistols and sound like Motley Crue and why would we want to think of anyone else when the only other alternatives are Kubb, a band who are a watered down version of Keane, and the rest of the British music scene is trying to recreate a night in the life of Pete Doherty. Towers Of London are a band who don't want to look like the man on the street, if anything they've already got ASBO's keeping them off the streets of most cities they've visited as they seem to attract trouble and kick the shit out of some unsuspecting fool who happened to shout leery at them in his lacoste sweater.

Musically it's everything the Ga Ga's and the Glitterati have been trying to achieve for the past couple of years. At times it's hard to recreate the spirit of rock'n'roll and the Towers Of London realizes this isn't just something you turn on and off when you walk on stage. You can guarantee you won't get a quaint hello off TOL when walking down the street, unless you're one of the many groupies who want to get with the band, and even then you're sure it's a means to and end with a swift kick out the tour bus the moment the bus gets off the M6. "How Rude She Was" is the closest the band to get to a ballad and even so it sounds like the Manics "Motorcycle Empytness" played twice as fast. The rest of the set flies past with the likes of "F*ck It Up", "Kill The Popscene", an obvious target but none the less enjoyable for it, and "Good Times" which sees Tourette mount the pinball machine.

By the time they've left with "I'm A Rat" Towers Of London have proved why they deserve to be getting all the attention they have so far. The numerous court appearances and bloodied fights may be incidental to some, but it certainly makes an interesting story round some fiery rock n roll bollocks. And lets be honest there's enough bands out there that are all about the music man, we deserve more from our bands than that

Words:  Alex McCann
Photos: Shirlaine Forrest  www.shirlainephotos.co.uk