Back Room gig will be a psychedelic birthday for Loudhailer’s Rich

REBEL ROCK: Loudhailer on stage. Pictures by Sydpix

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

Loudhailer Electric Co. will bring their original psychedelic sound to the Back Room in Cottingham next month in what promises to be a family affair.

The gig at the Hallgate venue on Saturday, December 13 coincides with rhythm guitarist Richard Duffy-Howard’s 60th birthday. Rich is married to bassist and vocalist Lou Duffy-Howard and to mark the occasion two of their sons, Corey and Dexter, will open the show with a one-off performance.

It will also be the third outing for new Loudhailer drummer Mark Hurton, who has replaced Dave Burnby, who had played with the band since 2021 but has now retired due to a hearing condition.

The band, who celebrated their tenth anniversary last year, have a big history on the indie scene, with Lou also playing with recently reformed indie chart-toppers Red Guitars, and lead guitarist Jeff Parsons being previously of post-punk guitar band Dead Fingers Talk.

Together they deliver “original psychedelic sounds, an eclectic blend of rebel rock from across the ages, with tacit nods to garage punk, psychedelia, Americana and acid folk/rock”.

‘HEAVY PULSE’: New Loudhailer drummer Mark Hurton

Rich said of the line-up change: “This will be the third gig with our new drummer, Mark. Our previous drummer Dave Burnby decided to retire due to a condition with his hearing. We hoped he would continue playing our stripped down Americana-style set, but he wanted a clean break.

“We had two gigs coming up, one at the Fulford Arms in York, and one at The New Adelphi Club in Hull. Luckily for us, we knew Mark because he is a friend of one of our sons and he agreed to play with us. Mark did an excellent job, adding a solid heavy pulse to the sound, and we had a great time together.”

Jeff added: “We are delighted that Mark has joined the Loudhailer fold. We have recorded our first new track together, with Mark as studio engineer and producer. We’re excited about it – look out for it soon!”

Lou said: “We thank Dave for the time he has spent as part of the band and wish him all the best for the future. We’re now looking forward to returning to The Back Room. It’s a really nice mostly seated venue, newly refurbished, with a bottle bar – and pizza too.

“We’re expecting a busy night as it’s Richard’s birthday, and two of our sons Corey and Dexter will be our special guests for the evening opening the show with a set of acoustic guitar and violin jazz songs and tunes, as a one-off performance, especially for this show.”

Doors open at 7.30pm with the first performance at 8.30pm. Tickets cost £10 and are available here.