Luke Fenlon

Luke Fenlon - “Summer”

Nice song and cool video “Summer”, from the 19 Yr old Liverpool native Luke Fenlon. Could easily hear this song being the theme song to any upcoming HBO/Showtime series. Looks a little bit like Andy Samberg but nobody is going to be mad at that.

https://www.facebook.com/lukejfenlon - This is Fresh

Big one this.

Liverpool teenager Luke Fenlon has been selected for a BBC Introducing spot on the Radio 1 playlist.
Luke, 19, will feature in the playlist, which seeks to support the finest under the radar musicians, with his single Summer from April 18 all week.

Luke's on the road this week at Mojo supporting fellow Merseysiders The Sand Band before following that up on Saturday at Mello Mello and the Shipping Forecast on April 20.

He follows these dates with a whopper on May 1at S.i.R. Studios in Hollywood, California, during MUSEXPO and is back on home turf on May 19 as part of Liverpool Sound City in the Masque as support for ex-Beta Band bro Steve Mason.

Here's a bit of Luke chillin in a field. In a leather chair. It's the new thing in Halewood.

[Summer Music Video] - Peter Guy

Unsurprisingly, one of the leading lights in the city at moment played at festival, no less than three times in fact. Luke Fenlon, fresh from landing on the Radio One daytime playlist charmed the considerable crowd at The Masque Theatre, scene of his highest profile slot. His 45 ‘Summer’, combining the sonic heat wave of Buffalo Springfield with the spoken-sung narrative style of Lou Reed coincided with some unseasonably good weather at the beginning of May, raking up scores of YouTube hits.

Backed with a memorable video helmed by acclaimed local film maker Dominic Foster the track showcases the upbeat side of the singer-songwriter’s catalogue. A musician in thrall to Bob Dylan as much as Fenlon however is unlikely to pen songs that are all as similarly cheerful, as other songs in his setlist reveal a darker side.

With material recorded in Matt Sorum’s house over in LA (he of G n’R and Velvet Revolver drumstool fame), the tousle-haired troubadour is experiencing a seemingly unstoppable rise with only one official release to his name. Come festival season, ‘Summer’ as well as ‘Factory Floors’, ‘Hey You’ an ‘That Girl’ are likely to be on heavy rotation on various outdoor stages. - Bearded Magazine

As an entrée to the main course of Sound City next month, a brace of Liverpool acts all scheduled to play the festival jumped aboard The Shipping Forecast.

Taking to the stage before an impressive crowd, considering the early hour, Luke Fenlon easily wins over the partisan audience. Summer sounding vaguely like The Velvet Underground’s Waiting For the Man and Factory Floors push his soul bearing lyrics to the forefront of the sound.

Replete with a cellist, Fenlon’s band evoke unfairly overlooked proto-Britpop types The Auteurs, who also employed a cello in their line-up, even if the lyrics of the present act don’t have the same bilious intent of Luke Haines’ mob. - Purple Revolver

We have something so hot off the press it’s still smoking! ‘Summer’ is a chilled out, simple but beautiful love song that has all the ingredients to be the alternative soundtrack for summer 2011. It’s not officially released until 9th May but you can get a sneak preview right here! - Punk rock ist nicht tot

Luke Fenlon grew up in Halewood, Liverpool, wearing tracksuits and hanging outside off licences. The first album he ever bought was the Gorillaz debut, after he fell in love with the track Clint Eastwood.. I like this kid already!

At only 19 years old, he's already notched up an impressive musical CV. He's supported The Wombats, signed a record deal in The U.S, won the Yamaha Songwriters Competition, played the MUSEXPO Festival in L.A, and recorded an EP in Matt Sorum’s (Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver) back garden.

Luke appears to be gaining a fair amount of interest in The States, and you get the feeling that maybe our friends over the pond are tempted by the prospect of another Liverpudlian musical superstar.

Most importantly , he's got the songs behind him to back these achievements up. His well-written, well-produced repertoire of tunes are undeniably catchy and you can definitely hear the Scouse twang in his lyrics.

This track, Summer, is probably the best of the lot and can be heard on Radio 1 all week, as we've added it to our slot on the playlist. I urge you to wind down the windows or walk outside in this beautiful sunshine, playing this track as loud as you can. I think you'll agree that summer is officially here! (well, at least for this week) - BBC Introducing

With only a single track to his name as an official release, Luke Fenlon already has people talking. ‘Summer’, his debut single has been a fixture on the Radio One Introducing Playlist, whilst the accompanying video has sailed past the 5000 views mark on YouTube.

Looking like he has used a Tardis, the 20-year old singer-songwriter has seemingly ripped through the vortex of time from 1965 and emerged looking the image of Bob Dylan. Unlike Dylan however, who delighted in baiting journalists and tying their questions into verbal knots, the present subject is the polar opposite.

‘Summer’ is a brilliant, loping synthesis of Buffalo Springfield and Lou Reed’s laidback spoken/sung delivery evokes the season perfectly, a shoe-in for afternoon festival sets.

“We only digitally released it ‘cos Radio One wanted to play it.” Luke explains of the track. “They said ‘We wanna play this song’ and we thought “We’re gonna have to release this quickly!”

“I uploaded it to the BBC Uploader and they heard it from that. The person who runs BBC Introducing rang me up and said it came through to them after (BBC Radio Merseyside DJ) Dave Monks had heard it and really liked it. He sent it off with a great recommendation, it was sent to a listening panel, they liked it and put it through to Radio One.”

“The thing is, the BBC Uploader must have millions of songs uploaded every day, so for it to get picked out it was… special” he grins.

There then followed a flurry of text messages saying he was on Radio One. “Yeah, tons.” Luke says. “I woke up in the morning, turned the radio on and it was just on, halfway through the song on Fearne Cotton.”

The timing of some unseasonably good weather might have helped the track also. “Yeah, that was brilliant ‘cos it was Summer all that week.” Luke nods. “I’ve been busking for the past week.”

Drawing inspiration from The Strokes, Ray Charles, The Velvet Underground, over-looked sixties rockers The Zombies and Sigur Ros, Luke has carved out his own idiosyncratic sound.

With several songs written and completed with many more still in an unfinished state, Luke has frequented many recording studios recently.

Having used Sandhills and the Motor Museum (where Oasis recorded ‘Supersonic’) in Liverpool, Luke also recently recorded out in LA at Matt Sorum’s house.

Sorum, best known as drummer for Guns n’ Roses, currently serves as sticksman for Velvet Revolver. “All the equipment he’s got is endorsed, it’s all been given to him for free, it was all the best stuff.” Luke marvels. “We used his actual drumkit for the recording. There was a crystal skull that Axl Rose used to hold up in the air at gigs, like something from Hamlet, that was on top of one of the speakers.”

“We were told that Slash might come down” Luke laughs incredulously. “He never did though. Matt came down for a bit though and sat with us.”

In addition to making the acquaintance of a former Gunner, Luke met another notable from the charts. “I also met Justin from The Darkness” Luke says. “He was just having a holiday, he was in my hotel and he sat next to me at the pool. I was talking to him for about an hour and the next minute I said to him ‘So what do you do?’ And he said, ‘Well I was in a band called The Darkness.’ As soon as he said it I had the name Justin in my head and I went ‘Fuck off! No way! You were in The Darkness?’

“I didn’t recognize him ‘cos he had this Captain Hook kind of thing going on with a big moustache, shades and a cowboy hat. I said it a good way though, I wasn’t actually telling him to go away!” he laughs.

The invite only industry bash MUSEXPO, a festival which has been the springboard for many on the way up was also a fixture on Luke’s LA sojourn. “I’m not signed to a record label” Luke explains. “I’ve never sent a CD off to any record labels, I’ve never done any of that kind of stuff. I’ve not really recorded much, it’s a case of doing it now.”

“‘Summer’, ‘That Girl’, ‘Hey You’, ‘I’m OK with That’ are the main four recordings that have been done properly. I’d love to go out there and record the album, but money is a factor. ‘Cos it’s all come so quickly, I’m unsigned and I’ve not got the kind of infrastructure in place, it’s hard to get stuff out there quickly”.

‘Summer’, already well into four digit viewing figures on YouTube is backed by a memorable video by acclaimed Liverpool film maker Dominic Foster. Filmed entirely on location in Liverpool, the clip features sun-baked footage of the Georgian Quarter and panoramic views atop Everton Brow, showcasing the city brilliantly. “Yeah, I wanted to show off where I’m from” Luke nods, explaining the locations.

On top of this is a plotline featuring two lovers who eventually meet up after a day seemingly spent floating around the city. Much debate has taken place on how the director achieved the ‘levitating’ effect.

“Everyone’s been asking about that” Luke grins. “Basically we got two friends of mine in and I said to them ‘What you’re gonna be doing today is jumping up and down. All day.’ It’s like a flick book, it’s all photos. At the end of it, it was just over seven thousand pictures taken, which means they had to jump up and down seven thousand times in one day!” Luke smiles, disbelievingly.

The footage of Luke singing was to be shot in Sefton Park originally, but had to be shelved due to logistical problems.

“The armchair that I’m sat on wouldn’t fit in the back of the car” Luke laughs. “We were like, er, Plan B? Look, there’s some daffodils over there!” The scene of rural bliss was instead filmed in the industrialized locale of Leeds St, not the Victorian splendor of the park.

‘Summer’ is available now on Amazon and iTunes

Luke plays Liverpool Sound City on Thurs May 19th supporting Steve Mason at The Masque - Purple Revolver

What is it with Liverpool bands and summer anthems? Following in the steps of fellow Merseyside minstrels The La’s and The Coral, Luke Fenlon is the latest Liverpool artist to impress the UK media with the super-catchy “Summer”. So much so, that he has just been chosen to jet across the Atlantic to perform at Musexpo in Los Angeles courtesy of BBC R1 Introducing, a musical journey that will be captured in a special documentary for broadcast on Radio 1 later in the year.

Luke is no stranger to such attention, having won the ‘Make it or Break it Award’ in 2006 for his song “Hey You” at the tender age of 15, chosen by a panel of industry giants including Chris Martin, Harvey Goldsmith and Mark Radcliffe (and they should know). He spent the next four years doing what he loves most, playing live both here and abroad, clocking up radio play and gathering an international publishing deal along the way, arriving at his debut single “Summer” with guaranteed playlisting on Radio 1.

Out on So Records on the 9th of May, “Summer” has all the directness of a simple love song with a laid back groove that is practically horizontal. Definitely one to nod your head to when you’re on your sun lounger , and you’ll still be humming it when the sun goes down. - Hive Magazine