The garage gospel of Thee Vicars

By Richard Haugh

Thee Vicars headed back to the church for BBC Suffolk Introducing

Refusing to be dragged down by the 'boring' Bury St Edmunds scene, Thee Vicars are having to gain recognition further afield than Suffolk.

Some would say it's a damning reflection of the current state of the music industry that Thee Vicars find it difficult to play in their home town.

"I wouldn't say there's much of a music scene in Bury at all," said singer Mike Whittaker. "There's no venue.

"There are bands around but they all seem to play the same music."

The four piece performed at the 2007 BurySOUND competition shortly after forming from the ashes of The Punctuals but have become despondent at the lack of other opportunities provided by their home town's music scene.

"When we were growing up there did used to be loads of bands and a huge music scene around Bury, but it just seemed to disintegrate and there's not really anything now.

"I think the venues have tried to put bands on but found they haven't made enough money from the nights because not enough people come along.

"We're mostly playing in London now.

"I do like BurySOUND but I don't think we'll be doing band competitions again. The idea of bands competing, it's hard to say how you judge how good a band is.

"It's just people's opinions, and people have different tastes."

Thee future

Guided by manager Lee Sullivan, who is trying to turnaround the town's credentials by promoting gigs, Thee Vicars are making the move away from Bury seem a logical decision.

Mike is the only member of the band who isn't in full-time education but they've managed to gig regularly around the country as well as landing prestigious gigs in Spain (alongside key influences The Mummies) and in New York.

Thee Vicars' shared mantelpiece, if there is such a thing, also boasts a Best Punk Band award presented to them by The Buzzcocks at the 2008 Indy Awards.

"It's going great and it's keeping us busy," said Mike, who hopes Thee Vicars will become a full-time occupation once his bandmates finish their studies.

"We're thinking of giving it a go as a full-time band, it's what we'd like to achieve.

"I'd basically like to make enough money from playing music to live on."

As for their music, Thee Vicars are a blast from the past.

The fuzzy rock is reminiscent of great bands of the 60s such as The Sonics and the recordings make it easy to visualise what a Thee Vicars live show would be like.

Mike Whittaker says Bury St Edmunds is missing a good venue

I wasn't surprised to see The Sonics listed as an influence, but wondered how teenagers in 2008 are introduced to such bands.

"It's hard to say how we got into that kind of music. I'm mostly into 60s bands like The Remains and The Seeds.

"We basically got into punk music and followed that on to 60s garage.

"It's raw, fuzzy, garage punk with elements of old rock n roll in there too."

A year after their incarnation Thee Vicars are receiving attention from the national press, with Vice magazine hailing them as a welcome legacy of The Horrors.

Equal amounts of attention was paid to the Southend band's clothing as to their music, and Mike admits to sharing their dedication to looking good.

"We like to dress quite smartly - image is important to us I'd say."

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A year after originally speaking with the band for the above, Thee Vicars performed for BBC Suffolk Introducing in September 2009.

Take a look at the photos using the link on the right.

Earlier in the year the band were selected to play at BBC Radio One's Big Weekend, after we tipped them. Upload your music using the link on the right to be considered for future opportunities.