Shiners

Name?
SHINERS 

Where are you from?
East London

What do you do?
We make guitar-based earworms for one and all.

Describe your style in three words?
Backward looking forward.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
A few years ago, The Police played in Hyde Park and The Stranglers supported as well as B.A.D (Big Audio Dynamite). For me, that was a pretty amazing line-up. 

If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
I’d have Suede and The Buzzcocks. We describe our sound as 'Brit-wave' which is a mixture of Britpop and New Wave, so playing with these two bands would be perfect!

Which subcultures have influenced you?
To be honest, most British Subcultures has influenced me personally at some point as they are all so iconic. Currently, my favourite is a bit of an odd one which is sometimes referred to as 'Mocker' which is an early 60s look which is neither Mod or Rocker and now quite forgotten. The best example of it is the 1962 people 'Some People' starring David Hemmings and Kenneth More amongst others. They got accused of being Teds at one point (due to their hair), wear narrow denim jeans and leather jackets which would be considered 'Rocker' clothing but then have winkle-pickers, nice striped shirts and play in a band that isn’t Rock ‘n’ Roll. It’s this cross of style which I love and is probably closest to our look.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
David Bowie. I always harboured a hope that someday our paths would cross somewhere, but sadly that was never to be.  

Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
The Waiting Room in Stoke Newington is probably our favourite. It’s a great venue and super intimate. We’ve done a couple of our headline shows there which have been rammed out and the vibe is just great. It’s kind of our local venue too I guess.

Who is your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
Nick Lowe. I doubt anyone under the age of 50 knows the name but he released some great music in the late '70s and early '80s. More importantly, he produced and wrote with people like Elvis Costello and Dr Feelgood as well as other Stiff artists and the Pretenders too. He was pretty pivotal at the time but isn’t really remembered as part of that scene so much now.

East London quintet Shiners are a self-styled Britwave band, combining elements of Britpop and New Wave - a classic British sound with uptempo keys, jaunty guitar riffs and pop-tinged choruses. They released their debut EP 'Now' in November 2017.