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Miles and his band are so glad to be back on the Chain Gang for Fulford Arms concert

Ganging up again: Miles And The Chain Gang return to the concert platform next week in York. Picture: Jim Poyner

AFTER an 18-month hiatus, Miles Salter’s York band are back on the Chain Gang, tooled up with new material to play The Fulford Arms, York, on July 29.

In the line-up are singer, songwriter, storyteller, published poet and radio presenter Salter, on guitar and vocals; Billy Hickling, from the hit show Stomp!, on drums and percussion; The Bogus Brothers and Goosehorns’ stalwart, Tim Bruce, on bass, and Alan Dawson, on lead guitar, augmented for this gig by Fay Donaldson’s flute and saxophone and Bernard Scarcliffe’s keyboards.

Miles And The Chain Gang have been working on a debut album since September 2019, recording first with Hairul Hasnan at University of York Studio, then with Jonny Hooker at Young Thugs Studios, in Ovington Terrace, York. “It’s not quite finished yet, but it’s sounding great,” says Miles. 

“We were just about to start a run of gigs in the spring of 2020 when Covid struck. Instead, we focused on recording and making videos, releasing three well-received download singles across 18 months.”

The latest was All Of Our Lives, a cover of a late-1990s’ Syd Egan song, recorded by the band in January and February, when Sam Pirt and Karl Mullen added accordion and piano respectively.

“We’ve had lots of airplay over the last year or so, on Jorvik Radio and YO1 Radio; it’s been great to hear our songs on these stations. We’ve done well, under the circumstances, but after a really long time away from playing, it’s great to get back to live sets again,” says Miles. “We’d love to see you, so do come along if you can. We have new songs and a new band member in the very talented Fay Donaldson.

“Support will come from North Yorkshire’s purveyors of hillbilly, King Courgette, who featured at our last show, way back in December 2019.” 

Tickets for next Thursday’s 8pm concert cost £7 at thefulfordarms.co.uk or £8 on the door. 

No time for vegetating: King Courgette are back in action as special guests at the July 29 gig
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York band Miles And The Chain Gang to release single All Of Our Lives on March 28

Back on the Chain Gang: Miles Salter and his band have a new single out on Sunday

YORK band Miles And The Chain Gang release their third digital single, All Of Our Lives, on Sunday (28/3/2021).

The acoustic song was written in the late-1990s by Syd Egan, a friend of frontman Miles Salter, the group’s regular songwriter.

Joining Miles and band members Billy Hickling (drums) and Tim Bruce (bass) on the recording are fellow York musicians Karl Mullen, guesting on piano, and Holly Taymar-Bilton on backing vocals.

The Chain Gang’s lead guitarist, Alan Dawson, lives in Scotland, while guest accordion player Sam Pirt resides in East Yorkshire.

All Of Our Lives was recorded and mixed in January and February by Jonny Hooker at York’s Young Thugs Studios, above the South Bank Social Club in Ovington Terrace, and filmed by Dave Thorp during Lockdown 3. 

“I’ve been singing the song for 20 years,” says Miles. “Lee Heir, a friend of the band who has been helping with PR, said we should put it out, and he kept asking me to do so. In the end, I relented. I was a bit wary because it’s quieter than our first two releases, but everybody who has heard the song loves it.” 

Set in Manchester, with references to St Peter’s Square and Oxford Road, All Of Our Lives tells the story of an ambiguous relationship. “I wanted to film in Manchester, but lockdown made everything problematic, so in the end we did it in York,” says Miles.

The resulting video features shots of Miles playing guitar, Leeds-based actor Lucy Marshall and cameraman Dave Thorp in the role of Big Issue Salesman. 

Miles And The Chain Gang have picked up airplay on Jorvik Radio and YO1 Radio, as well as on several internet radio stations, and they also have been working on social media, with content spread across numerous platforms and sites, drawing 20,000 YouTube views of their second release, Drag Me To The Light. 

“Two years ago, we didn’t have anything, but now we have a presence on Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It feels like things are building,” says polymath Miles, who is also a published poet, storyteller, presenter of Jorvik Radio’s weekly arts show and former organiser of the York Literature Festival.

One frustration for Miles And The Chain Gang has been a lack of concerts. “The last time we played a gig was at the end of 2019,’ says Miles. “Anybody involved in live music has felt the disappointment over the last year. We’ll get back to gigs as soon as we can.” 

Miles and the band have been recording songs at Young Thugs, and plans are shaping up for more releases. “We’ve got some really good songs,” he promises.

All Of Our Lives will be released on Spotify, iTunes and YouTtube on March 28. A trailer for the track and the video can be viewed at: youtube.com/watch?v=cgJxCk5xxw8.