The Milltown Brothers
Schedule
Fri, 29 Aug, 2025 at 07:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
18-22 Rainhall Road , BB185 Barnoldswick, United Kingdom | Colne, EN
Well what can I sayThe Milltown Brother have been in the studio and have a very special album coming out.
The Album is called "BOOGIE WOOGIE" is on its on its way
This is probably their best album to date. Its their full original line- up at the top of their game.
They have chosen Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre to launch this Titan of album.
A very special duo of dates for these Local Heroes.
The bands first independent release on Big Round Records in 1989, was the "Coming From The Mill" EP which became single of the week in the NME magazine. It featured the songs "Roses", "Something On My Mind" and "We've Got Time". The same publication tipped Milltown Brothers for stardom in the 1990s, along with The Hoovers, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, The Charlatans, The Mock Turtles and New Fast Automatic Daffodils.
The band's second indie single was "Which Way Should I Jump", with "Silvertown" as the B-side.
A&M Years
After the band signed to A&M Records worldwide in 1990, "Which Way Should I Jump?" was re-recorded and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 38, It also reached number 10 in the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock chart.
The album Slinky followed. It peaked at number 27 in the UK Albums Chart. Q Magazine described it as the "Byrds with hard-edged contemporary pop and upfront vocals" The next single released from the album was "Here I Stand", which was also used as the theme tune for the BBC television programme, Preston Front. It peaked at number 41 in the UK Singles Chart.
In 1993, the single "Turn Off" was released ahead of the bands second album Valve. The album was not as successful as Slinky and the band eventually left the A&M Label
A 12-track compilation ''The Best Of Milltown Brothers'' was issued by Spectrum Music in 1997.
Independent Releases
It took 10 years for the band to work together again, but in March 2004 they released their third studio album, Rubberband. This double ok CD was released on their own label Rubber Band Records and made available on their website.
In 2009 an extended 17-track retrospective ''Milltown Brothers - Best Of'' was released on Cherry Red Records. In the summer of 2015, Milltown Brothers released their fourth album Long Road, which was once again self-released. In 2020 a further album Stockholm was released featuring eight new songs.
In 2022 a compilation of independent singles and demos from 1987-1990 was released titled Tongue-Tied Mesmerised.
From Colne in Lancashire, the Milltown Brothers first burst onto the indie scene in 1989 with the 'Coming From The Mill EP' getting single of the week in NME.
Second indie single 'Which Way Should I Jump' started a bidding war between the majors.
Signing to A&M worldwide in 1990, WWSIJ was re-recorded & broke into the UK charts at Number 38. America liked it & put it to Number 10 in the US Rock Chart.
The album â€" Slinky â€" was a revelation and pushed the boundaries for their peers. Defying the critics who had incorrectly labelled them as baggy the MBs delivered an absolute classic album of catchy, punchy songs, perfectly paced & well-balanced.
The album received a maximum 5 Stars in Q Magazine
Disaster struck with the release of their next single 'Here I Stand'. Playing 3 times a day in independant record shops up & down the country for weeks before the release, the appearances helped the single achieve a predicted entry into the Top 20. The UK Record Industry however, due to the volume of sales from the shops played in, decided to 'weight' the single, fearing chart-rigging. The single missed entry into the charts (along with a planned TOTP performance) & peaked at Number 41.
A&M bottled it & despite new material being ready for release that year â€" they put the band 'on the shelf' for 2 years and eventually picked the songs for their 2nd studio album â€" 'Valve'.
The album fared less well than Slinky, receiving average reviews. With a generally disappointing choice of songs, time has since shown that a dynamite second album could have been released, had the band been allowed to go their own way. After years of contractual exile, a tour which received no advertising & singles released which the band did not even want on an album â€" the band walked from A&M.
It took 10 years for the band to work together again & in March 2004, they released their third studio album â€" Rubberband. Critically acclaimed & probably their finest release, Rubberband came out on their own label and was made available via the website at http://www.milltownbrothers.co.uk. Playing to their strengths, it once more demonstrated their head for melody, band dynamic & Matt Nelsons strongest set of songs yet heard. Described in Record Collector as 'a faultless third album', it is one of few truly great UK band albums to be released since 2000.
Now, it is with great pleasure that the original five members return to the stage at the intimate BMAAC.
As well as the new album the band will be performing a set that mines a rich catalogue spanning early indie releases, through to the UK Top 30 and Q Magazine five-star rated Slinky album and the indie-distributed later albums Long Road and Stockholm.
A very special summer doo for some very special Local Lads
Grab a ticket now. Only 50 available.
