The Great Leslie is not just a band. The Great Leslie is an idea. An idea that creates ideas discussing ideas. So, it’s an ideas ideas idea. And what a glorious idea it is. A group of misfits who fit together creating something unmissable. A band of brothers banding together to make the ultimate ensemble. Consisting of Ollie Trevers on Vocals and Rhythm Guitar, Ryan Lavender on Drums, Alfie Pawsey on Bass, and Freddie Miles on Lead Guitar, this gifted group, this collection of clowns, this assembly of artists, this ideas ideas idea, are ready to take over the world at guitar point.
In 2022 they saw huge success across all their singles by moving in a slightly different direction with their tracks, ‘Feel Alive’, ‘Liquid Spells’, and ‘All Good Things’. All 3 tracks managed to land on the Apple Editorial playlist ‘New in Rock’, across multiple locations around the globe. In fact, ‘Feel Alive’ was the band’s first Spotify Editorial success, getting on the ‘Hot New Bands’ playlist which features ‘only the best in UK Indie Rock’. Their last single of 2022 ‘All Good Things’ went further, gaining a spot on several Tidal playlists and performing so well that by the end of the year, Tidal placed it on its ‘UK Indie: Best of 2022‘. Additionally, there was continued support from Amazing Radio, both in the States and the UK. ‘Feel Alive’ was also crowned ‘Track of the Day’ by Gigslutz and This Feeling and received airplay on both Radio X and Kerrang! Radio from John Kennedy and Johnny Doom respectively. ‘Liquid Spells’ was played on BBC Introducing and XS Manchester, with them both lauding the track’s energy and rhythm. 2022 also saw other successes, with the band landing incredible support shows with old and new guard acts, playing sold-out gigs with up-and-coming bands like MOSES, Two Day Coma and Late Night Honeymoon, but the highlight was securing a career-best supporting Franz Ferdinand on their European tour, playing in front of thousands of people in Manchester at the O2 Victoria Warehouse.
While 2022 was a big year for The Great Leslie, the band has been on an upward trajectory since their first release in 2020 (the band was formed during lockdown). Their very first single was selected as BBC Introducing’s Track of the Week and subsequent songs in 2021 garnered further support and accolades. This led to industry heavyweight, the late Janice Long on BBC Wales, who constantly supported the band, praising their energy and innovative songwriting. John Kennedy on Radio X also supported the band, calling their single ‘Everything From Last Night‘an ‘instant hit.’ In the meantime, a video clip of ‘Out Of My Hands‘ was featured on Channel 4‘s Sunday Brunch. By the end of 2021, their list of supporters had grown to include: Kerrang! Radio, Planet Rock, Amazing Radio, BBC Introducing, BBC Wales, Islington Radio and XSManchester, to name but a few.
With the successes of their singles and the band’s ever-growing fanbase, 2023 saw them embark on a new venture, laying down their debut five-track EP ‘The End and The Beginning’. The lead single, ‘Can’t Touch’, secured the band’s first major Spotify Editorial Playlists: ‘All New Rock’ and ‘Rock The World’. Additionally, the single secured repeated airplay on AmazingRadio and BBC Introducing. Their second single from the EP, ‘Get In’ also received further BBC support, and inclusion on Apple playlists peaked at Number 2 in the iTunes Alternative Charts and reached Number 1 on aBreak 58. The rest of the EP was all played on BBC Introducing with ‘Loving and Leaving’ becoming their vibe of the week and ‘Wait Around’ breaking through to the small screen being played on the British reality TV show, ‘Made In Chelsea’. Now the band are back releasing the second single of their second EP, ‘21st Century Problems’, the first single of which has been supported again by BBC Introducing and massively praised by Duran Duran lead singer, Simon Le Bon.
Of the EP’s second single, ‘My Left Eye’, the band had this to say: “It is a protest song for the masses, that speaks of the inadequacy of the governments of the past 13 years, calling them what they are, liars and cheats with nothing but contempt for the people they govern and a lack of care for their well-being. It highlights the degeneration of the political class and labels their reasons for coming to power as disingenuous. It’s a call to arms for the people of Britain to say enough is enough”.
The Great Leslie has over 143K YouTube views and over 387k Spotify streams thus far and is yet to break a sweat! Continuously demonstrating that they belong at the top of the bill with the biggest names in the indie scene.