The Sherlocks ready for Black Prince gig this week as part of intimate UK tour

The Sherlocks return to Northampton this week as part of a 15-date tour to some of the UK’s most intimate venues as part of an going bid to help get the live music industry back on its feet after 18 months of uncertainty caused by coronavirus.

The South Yorkshire band headline The Black Prince on Thursday, October 7, with this tour coming ahead of the release of their third album World I Understand which is due out in November.

“Our band was built on playing pubs and clubs to no more than one or two hundred people and without them we would be nothing,” explains drummer Brandon Crook.

“We are proud that we have played music venues on every step of the ladder.

“Some signed bands are thrown straight on to support arenas tours on day one, but you can miss out on so much by doing that.”

The tour comes as Brandon, his brother and frontman Kiaran and new band members lead guitarist Alex Procter and bassist Trent Jackson prepare to release their new album.

World I Understand will be the successor to 2019’s Under Your Sky which followed their top six debut Live for The Moment.

For the record, they teamed up with Manic Street Preachers producer Dave Eringa, who they first worked with on their single Will You Be There? in 2016.

Together, they retreated to Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire for three weeks in July 2020, a period which songwriter Kiaran described as a “defining time” for The Sherlocks.

“Once we started, everyone stepped up their game,” he explains.

“With Trent and Alex there for the first time, this record has captured the excitement of our debut record again. I believe we have made our best album yet.”

Brandon and Kiaran say the four years since they first worked with Eringa was the “equivalent of a lifetime of learning in music” for them.

“Back in 2016, we didn’t have a clue what we were doing in the studio, but this time we knew that we could bring plenty to the table with two albums under our belts,” says Brandon.

“We also had some of the best fun working with Dave. I can remember us working on a song at 2am with tears of laughter rolling down my eyes,” he added.

The brothers emphasise a return to their rock roots, but Kiaran says new tunes, like grunge-themed Plastic Heart, high-tempo Sorry and recent singles Falling and City Lights, are “completely different to anything we have done before.”

The Sherlocks have now recorded two albums at Rockfield, the studio on the farm which has seen acts like The Stone Roses, Oasis and Queen make iconic music.

“The Ward family, who own Rockfield, said our time there was like being back in the 1990s when bands stayed for as long as needed to complete an album,” said Brandon.

“Not many acts pack a suitcase for three weeks, leave home and don’t come back,” added Kiaran.

“I love doing it this way. Rockfield is a special place, it is rough and ready and that suits our band.”

This year marks 10 years of The Sherlocks, but Brandon says the best is yet to come.

“We’re in this for the long haul. We look to acts like Kings of Leon who sold more copies of their fourth album than their previous three combined.”

Joining The Sherlocks at the Abington Square venue in Northampton will be Milton Keynes’ Naked Next Door and Northampton’s The Keepers.

Doors open at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £17 before fees and are available via www.skiddle.com/e/35836396