Taking inspiration from artists such as Fleetwood Mac and Paul Simon, the band formed during warm weather training in Magaluf, with Patrick (on the Rhythm guitar and vocals) explaining how “it was kind of an idea that was thrown out there as a joke, then someone said, ‘oh well, when’s the first rehearsal gonna be” he went on to explain how “from there it really just spiralled into what it is now which is really nice.” Few bands can trace their origins to a Magaluf sprint session, but it seems that Ilford Road is not most bands.
With their first gig in early May, this relatively new band met within the athletics team, so naturally, their first gig was to preform at the athletics ball, leading to one of their original songs being created; 'Limoncello'.
They stated “after our first gig, at the ball, we all went to the bar, and we all hadn’t been drinking because we wanted to give our best performance we could, so we thought what can we all have to celebrate, so we had a shot each of Limoncello, and that kind of became a bit of a staple”. Certainly, creating an original post-show ritual or rather a post-show palate cleanser.
"We know that we’re the new kids on the block, so what we may lack in experience, we certainly make up for in energy and hopefully in passion.”
The band consists of five members, Susi (Vocals), Patrick (Rhythm guitar and vocals), Joe (Drums), Chris (Piano and Bass) and Jack (Lead guitar), who when they’re not running laps, run through set lists, leading to rehearsals taking place often before or after a training session. Patrick expressed how with the band being relatively new, preshow nerves are at a high: “We’re all quite nervous. We were looking at some of the other bands and they seem really cool, they all seem really established” going onto say how, “We know that we’re the new kids on the block, so what we may lack in experience, we certainly make up for in energy and hopefully in passion.”
If the name Ilford Road itself rings any bells, you might be more familiar with the metro line than you think, “it was meant to be a placeholder name, because that’s our nearest metro station”. Seemingly starting as fun past time, the band hopes “the sky’s the limit” aiming to release some of their original songs. “We’d like to come up with an album, just so we have something that we can look back on in years to come”. As to what expect on the 1st, the band hopes for “lots of energy, we like to engage with the audience as well, so hopefully people can sing a long, we will be preforming a mix, but hopefully most of our own songs actually”.
Ultimately, they aim to give everyone an enjoyable night “We’re a group of friends, really keen to try something new, we all really have a passion for this and we just want to have fun really.”