10:40am Friday 27th August 2010
By Rebecca Cain
A MUSICIAN who used to be seen ironing trousers at Marlow dress hire shop Jolliffes will today take to the main stage at the Reading Festival.
Young Guns formed seven years ago but really hit the ground running last year. They have toured with the Lost Prophets, supported Bon Jovi in front of a crowd of 20,000 and appeared on the front cover of music magazine Kerrang!
Drummer Ben Jolliffe, who has been to Reading festival since the age of 13, assumed it was an April Fool's joke.
He said: “It is just incredible. I still don't believe it is going to happen. We are going to play on the main stage with the likes of Guns and Roses.
“We found out we were playing on April Fool's Day. We assumed it was a April Fool's prank and it took an hour for our agent to convince us it was true.”
They wrote the album, All Our Kings Are Dead, in the practice studio at Jolliffe's mum's house in Marlow which reached number 43 in the album charts.
He said: “Last year we released out first EP in July. We didn't expect that to do as much as it did and to do as many shows.
“We have got some incredible tours. It wasn't until the end of November that we managed to stop and say we have got to write an album which we only had five weeks to do it in.
“We all write together which is the only way we have ever been able to write. We are all best friends. We all know what we like.”
On Sunday they will be playing at Leeds festival and touring later in the year, with plans to write a second album on the road.
The band members played in numerous bands but have all known each other since the age of 14 and Jolliffe said they used to play at the White Horse “all the time.”
The band moved and changed and the current line up of Gustav Wood on vocals, John Taylor on guitar, Fraser Taylor on guitar, Simon Mitchell on bass and Jolliffe on drums was formed about two years ago.
Jolliffe said it was then they had realised that they had the right line up. He said: “I was working at my dad's shop Jolliffes until a year and a half ago. I was working there ironing trousers and serving customers their suits.”
As the band got more and more gigs they made the decision to give up their day jobs and do it first time.
Jolliffe mused: “Only now are we starting to be able to afford to buy lunch. It has definitely been worth while. Everyone said to me it is such a risk but you cannot do it half heartedly.
“I am still going to think we are still a small band. People say how does it feel but I don't know- I just go along with it.”
They will be returning to High Wycombe on October 2 to play at the student union. Public tickets are £5 from www.seetickets.com.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.ealingtimes.co.uk/trade_directory/