NEWS: Doyle And The Fourfathers confirm split

It is with sadness that I have to report the demise of the hugely promising Southampton-based combo Doyle And The Fourfathers. Usually I am kept up to date with information and news from the band via email, but over the last few weeks all had gone quiet so I assumed that they were just taking a well earned break. So it was with great disappointment that I visited their Facebook page today to find an announcement from the group from almost a month ago explaining that they had gone their separate ways. A 'farewell' video can be seen by scrolling to the bottom of this page...


The band's debut single ‘The Governor of Giving Up’ was released in October 2010 and got plenty of play on BBC 6 Music (where it was described as ‘an absolute whopper’ by Marc Riley) and a number of other stations. I discovered the band after hearing them play a session for Marc Riley's show, and immediately ordered a copy of the debut album 'Man Made, one of 2011's finest records. You can read my review of that album HERE. 

The rest of the year saw the lads gigging relentlessly including an exceptionally well-received support for The Undertones - a triumphant set of UK-wide shows. 2012 saw the release of the 'Olympics Critical' EP on Star Rover records, another great and tune-packed offering, which you can read a review of HERE. The album also reached the top ten in last year's Albums Of The Year list.

A few weeks ago on June 17th the band announced:

"Dear Friends,

After 3 solid years of playing, recording, touring and living together we have decided to put Doyle and The Fourfathers to rest. This has not been an especially easy decision to make but unfortunately nothing runs as expected in the world of rock and roll. While it may seem on the exterior as though our star has been constantly rising in the last 6 months, the internal reality of the situation is quite different. There are an unspeakable number of factors that have contributed to this conclusion, some to do with the trials of the music industry, others deeply personal. 

As such, we are incredibly sorry to announce that we will also be cancelling all currently scheduled gigs. We sincerely apologise to all fans and promoters who have made arrangements for our arrival in their venues and cities. The only constantly reliable and consistently helpful forces over our 3 jam-packed years of activity have come pretty much solely from the hearts of hard working promoters and relentlessly passionate fans. We are very sorry that we are not able to honour our agreements with you all.

We are currently considering the possibilities of playing some final gigs together in mid to late September. We will keep you updated on the progress of this plan.

We would like to thank the following people for their invaluable support over the years: Gary Williams and other staff at Barton Peveril College for allowing us to use their facilities to rehearse and record in from day one. Martin Clark for his impressively constant support, charity and hospitality. We all raise a hoppy pint to you, Martin. Neil Kennedy and Steve Bega of The Ranch Production House for their stellar work on the 'Man Made' recording sessions and very helpful use of their facilities after hours. Ben Phillips on the amazing Lightship 95 for his work on the 'Olympics Critical' recording sessions. Graham Sutton in Argentina for his work producing 'Olympics Critical' and offering us exciting new ideas and possibilities that we would never have uncovered on our own. Josh Kell for his unquestionable talent and creativity when it came to taking photographs. Paul Vanezis for his superb work on the 'Welcome to Austerity' video. Mark Aaron for his talent and passion when it came to the many graphic design jobs needed over the years. Tony, Jim and the rest of the Bugbear team for letting us play time and time again. We couldn't have done it without you. Any promoters who have put us on once, twice or however many times at their fabulous venues. Brad at Monkeyfest for your hard work and undeniable enthusiasm. 

We sincerely apologise for having to cancel on you at the last minute. The Undertones and their team for taking us around the country a couple of times. They were truly some of the highest points of our time as a band. Shaun, Jo and Leela, Colleen and Dermot, Pete and Jill, Cath, the Found family and Clare and Danny for selflessly offering us places to stay and cooking us breakfast when we were in your parts of the world. The members of the Save 6 Music campaign who gave us a much needed injection of confidence and support at a crucial time, it was our pleasure to have been involved. Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music for giving us our first, much needed spell of national exposure. Similarly, thank you to Chris Hawkins, Gideon Coe and Tom Robinson on 6 Music for their undying support and indeed anyone on any radio station who has played us at any point over the last 3 years. Martin Morris for stepping up to the plate and helping us out considerably over the last couple of months. Kosmic Karl for his contribution and generosity at a difficult time and for showing us the doorway to where we would eventually transcend many astral planes together. Michael Goozee and Andy Napleton for their incredibly valuable involvement while it lasted. John Parry and Peter Crocker for their management, financial support and love in both the good times and the bad. Our families for their unconditional love and support and finally to anyone who has ever watched us live, bought something, told their friends about us, given us a place to stay, fed us and bought us a drink over the years. It would have all been pointless without you…


Love,
Alex, Ben and Will.

Doyle and The Fourfathers 
2009-2012"

I would firstly like to send the guys my best wishes for the future and express my sadness that they are splitting up. I would also like to congratulate them on making some of the finest music of recent years and producing a top class debut album. You will be missed...