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In the late 90's, singer-songwriter, Gerard Starkie and guitarist Ray Chan set about writing and recording a number of 4-track demos together, which were mixed by their friend, Nick McCabe. Bassist Dylan Keeton became the next member to join the band which would eventually go on to become Witness. After securing a record deal with Island, they went on to add both drummer, John Langley, and guitarist, Julian Pransky-Poole to the line-up. Before settling on the name Witness, the band initially played a handful of gigs in nearby Manchester under the names Siren and High Mountain Jag in mid-1997. Witness' big break came in the same year, as they ventured down to London to watch The Verve support Oasis at Earl's Court in September 1997. Ray, a long-time friend of Nick McCabe's, met someone backstage at the gig who did press for The Verve (Tim Vigon). He passed on a recently recorded demo tape, and just a week later they had signed a three-album deal with Island Records. At this stage, Witness had yet to settle on a band name, and had yet to play a gig under the name "Witness", and, as such, their record contract simply referred to them as the "Wigan Band".
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The band 'split up' in February 2004, but continued as 'Gerard Starkie' with the same personnel. The following year the band split properly when Ray left, moving to Hong Kong to teach English. Throughout 2005, Gerard continued to perform solo gigs, whilst August 2006 saw the self-release of his debut solo album, Drawbridge. In August 2008, it was announced that Gerard and Ray would reunite to play a one-off gig of Witness material in Hong Kong..."
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