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Recently christened Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles, the four-piece band are poised to play a series of tour dates throughout the UK from January-March 2016.
The Winter Tour 2016 coincides with the release of Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles’ debut EP in February 2016. The show in Manchester at Night & Day Café will serve to launch this new record, celebrating the culmination of an 18-month process of stepping back, taking stock, and starting afresh.
Billy Bibby, co-founder and lead guitarist from 2007-2014 of the North Wales rock quartet, Catfish and the Bottlemen, can already lay claim to a UK certified gold disc and top 10 album for his guitar composition and performance on CATB’s debut album, The Balcony. Bibby is immensely proud of that body of work and the breakthrough international success that his former band has achieved. Determined, driven, and armed with the work ethic and experience of his Catfish days, Bibby now aims to replicate that success story on a foundation of well-crafted songs penned and performed with heart. The debut EP Bide Your Time will be the first chance for audiences everywhere to discover and connect with Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles’ new material.
Embarking upon a new musical journey in the summer of 2014, Bibby set out to write new songs, trial them acoustically in front of live audiences, and form a band. On November 3, 2015, Billy Bibby and the band released a debut single, ‘Waitin’ for You’, greeted with ample praise and repeat radio play in the UK (BBC Wales, Radio X, Sine FM) and abroad (UIC Radio Chicago, Radio Kaos Caribou International). See earlier press release HERE for additional background on the band’s formation and first single.
Bibby and the band then ushered out 2015 by playing three very well-received UK shows at Telford’s Warehouse in Chester, The Drawing Room in Barrow-in-Furness, and Milo Bar in Leeds.
Speaking openly, with his characteristic frankness, Billy Bibby elaborates, “The three gigs before Christmas were the perfect way to end the year. The year was all about getting to that point and finally looking over my shoulder and seeing a band behind me playing songs I’ve written, and be like ‘Fuck me, these guys are good!’ Playing Chester, Leeds, and Barrow made me feel that, and I wasn’t sure if I’d get that feeling ever again with a band. Well I did… I just didn’t know when that’d happen. It’s here. It happened. The EP is gunna blow your mind and I’m more excited for this tour than any other I’ve ever done before.”
Those seeking meaning behind the EP name may puzzle over the fact that Bide Your Time is neither a track name, nor a lyric on the record. Bibby sheds light on the matter, explaining that, “Bide Your Time is the first line of a song I wrote that means a great deal to me. The song is not on the EP but will be released in the near future. That’s another reason why I chose this particular title for the EP: right now I’m focusing on the future and what it holds for myself and the band.” Bibby continues, “In my opinion it also explains the music business well in that you have to be patient. Things don’t happen quickly. You’ve got to regroup, take your time, and make the right decisions without rushing it. To have another pop at becoming a successful artist, biding our time is what we have to do. I couldn’t be more determined at the moment though, and I’m enjoying every minute of it.”
Bide Your Time is a collection of four singles, including ‘Waitin’ for You’, which pre-released on November 3, 2015 to universal accolades and radio play in the UK and abroad.
In describing what he hopes to achieve with the band’s first EP Bide Your Time, Bibby alludes to a gap in the modern day repertoire that he hopes to fill by crafting new classics with depth and diversity. “I want to bring back something like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours or Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms where there’s a bit more going on; there’s a bit more depth to the songs, in the vocals, in the harmonies. That’s what I focused on a lot with this EP: getting those harmonies to a point where they’re doing something that hasn’t happened for a while in most modern records. It’s pop-infused, but not just simple pop. It’s not country, but it’s got a bit of a twang to it. It’s indie and it’s rock. It’s got a little bit of everything. I think the time is right for it.”
Bide Your Time Tracklist:
Don’t Fall
This Kind of Summer
Waitin’ for You
Believe Me
Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles are:
Billy Bibby, age 25 – lead vocals, guitar
Rob Jones, 21 – lead guitar, backing vocals
Matt Thomas, 21 – bass, backing vocals
Mike Pearce, 21 – drums
BILLY BIBBY & THE WRY SMILES WINTER TOUR 2016 DATES
Additional dates may be added. Please check Billy Bibby’s Facebook page for updates.
JANUARY
15 Bradford | Glyde House
28 London | 229 The Venue
30 Talgarth | Tabernacle (acoustic)
FEBRUARY
04 Winsford | De Bees
05 Manchester | Night & Day Café
06 Stoke | The Underground
11 Liverpool | Studio 2
12 Edinburgh | Sneaky Pete’s
13 Inverness | Ironworks
18 London | The Garage
19 Doncaster | The Leopard
20 Preston | The Ferret
21 Alderley Edge | The Yard **
24 Brighton | The Prince Albert
25 Bristol | Thunderbolt **
26 Stroud | The Prince Albert
27 Exeter | The Cavern
MARCH
02 Glasgow O2 ABC2 **
04 Aberdeen Cafe Drummond **
12 Swansea The Scene **
13 Merythr New Crown Inn **
17 Crewe The Box
18 Chester The Live Rooms
19 Sheffield The Cremorne **
20 Leeds | Milo Bar
26 Gravesend | Middle Eight (acoustic)
** Just Added
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