Twisted Wheel (band)

Twisted Wheel
Twisted Wheel Performing at Heaton Park in Manchester June 2009
Background information
Origin	Saddleworth, Greater Manchester, England
Genres	Indie rock, punk rock, post-punk revival
Years active	2007–2014
Labels	Columbia Records, Ignition Records
Website	thetwistedwheel.co.uk
Members	Jonny Brown Max Lees Adam Birchall Blair Murray
Past members	Rick Lees Adam Clarke Eoghan Clifford Stephen Evans

Twisted Wheel are a former indie rock band from Saddleworth, Greater Manchester, England.

Twisted Wheel formed in February 2007 in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester by guitarist and singer Jonny Brown and bassist Rick Lees, later joined by drummer Adam Clarke. Frontman Jonny Brown heard the name in a Paul Weller track "Into Tomorrow", where the lyrics say "Round and round like a twisted wheel, Spinning in attempt to find the feel" and thought it suited the music. Twisted Wheel were booked as one of the support acts for Oasis's 2009 Heaton Park concerts. Embraced for their strong melodies, psychedelic themes and Brown's irreverent poignant lyrics, the band gained a following amongst old mods/punks and younger heads looking for music which represented their generation. They were labelled as punk rock although influences span folk and 1950s/1960s bands too. Twisted Wheel cite Davy Graham, Bob Dylan, The Stooges The Small Faces, The Who, The Jam, The Rolling Stones and Oasis among their main influences.

The band signed to Columbia Records in January 2008. Their first single, "She's A Weapon", was released in April 2008 to high acclaim by Radio 1's Zane Lowe, NME and Q. Their follow-up record, a four-track EP entitled You Stole The Sun, was released in July 2008. The band's debut album Twisted Wheel, produced in Los Angeles by Dave Sardy (producer of Oasis' Dig Out Your Soul and Don't Believe The Truth) was recorded in June 2008 and released on 13 April 2009. The first single from the album, "Lucy The Castle", was released in November 2008, with the follow-up, "We Are Us", released in March 2009.

The album received mixed reviews, but has gained them a following throughout the UK, at a headline gig at Manchester's Academy 1 in particular. On 10 April 2010, Twisted Wheel announced that the unreleased song Tell The World was to become available as a free download to all of the fans on their mailing list, as a thank you for the support they have received on their tour.

The band have spent the last three years on the road building an audience without major radio play. Despite no immediate follow-up to the album, the fan base has continued to grow. Twisted Wheel have supported heavyweight rock bands like Kasabian, The View, The Enemy and were the main support acts of Oasis in the homecoming tour of 2009. They have supported Paul Weller on tours and played at Reading, Leeds, T in the Park, Glastonbury and other large UK festivals. The band have toured Japan, as support with Jet as well as on headline shows. They were voted PRS second most gigged band in 2009.