Alan Dearling watched them providing some nice musical anarchy in the centre of Manchester
‘Revolution’ live from the Robin Hood tour in Camden Town 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsEUW8QyDiI
April and May 2025: The Gulls are on the road to promote their first studio album, ‘Lavender and Tobacco’. They are elemental. A powerhouse trio of the Old Order of R&B/ rock ‘n’ roll/blues. They have built up an enviable reputation. The album launch tour starts in their home-town of Brighton, then hits London, Bristol and Manchester, followed by them being the support act to Jesus Aguaje Ramos and his B.V. Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre. On the streets on a recent Saturday morning in Manchester, punters were afforded a great musical treat. I wrote on my Facebook page: “Fab Old Skool (originals) band, The Gulls provided some musical anarchy in advance of their studio album launch. It reminded me of Free meets Taste, with a bit of Ten Years After mixed in, which has to be good.”
This is what the pundits say about them online:
“This trio never fails to get the crowd going with their high-energy fusion of rock, funk, folk, and psychedelia. Known for their outrageous antics; staging massive unauthorized concerts across the country and playing on the back of moving vehicles—they’re ready to take it up a level.”
They really do have a heck of a lot of charisma and it is a great blend of high-energy rock, funk, folk, and psychedelia. It’s wonderfully raw and visceral. I bought their 2023 live album, ‘Live at Glastonbury Tor’, which hints at what they have now become, which is a tight and extremely exciting live, power trio.
In 2023 straight from the Solstice at Stonehenge, The Gulls persuaded dozens of punters to haul a full PA system up to the top of Glastonbury Tor. Their fellow Solstice revellers formed a human conveyor belt to lug all the PA up the Tor and they then put on a fully amplified rock concert at the summit. It was a tumultuous, magical musical event – a first in history. In fact, they are frequently causing mayhem and chaos and have even performed outside Glasgow nightclubs at 3 am.
2023 live ‘Nothing’s gonna stop me feeling good’:
Here’s another snippet from their musical history:
“In 2022, they pioneered The Robin Hood Tour—a free outdoor concert tour that raises money for UK food banks. A contingent of their fans joined them on the road, forming The Robin Hood Convoy. Together, they paraded through UK cities and camped out on beaches and fields across the country, pushing the limits of the DIY music scenes.”
Back in 2023, the band secured a record deal with American record label, SSK Records, which is headed by Steven Machat (Ozzy Osbourne, Yung Lean, Soft Cell, Peter Gabriel).
So far, their most successful single to date, ‘Freedom’, earned them a spot on Spotify’s Funky Heavy Bluesy. Catch them live while you can…it’s worth a bit of effort. They have recently opened for Kula Shaker, and played at major festivals in the UK (Boomtown, Victorious Festival, and on the main stage of Beautiful Days.) And last year, The Gulls performed at European festivals in Germany and Italy during their June tour. And they also toured music venues across the UK and Ireland, supporting Cam Cole.
‘Lightning’ – a slice of anarchy in the Edinburgh!
