Wigan bands tipped as ones to watch in 2021

Borough acts Flechettes and Stanleys, along with Garden Party who have Wigan and Leigh musicians in their ranks, all feature in the Big In 2021 vinyl released this week.

The album has been created by This Feeling, a promotional company known for setting a number of bands on the path to stardom.

Flechettes have new song Man of the Hour on the record while Stanleys are represented by Little Does She Know.

Garden Party, whose singer Liam Horrocks is from Billinge and whose bassist Harry Brown is from Atherton, round out the local representation with In The Middle.

All three acts have also received a double helping hand to kick off 2021 by being named among radio station XS Manchester’s ones to watch this year.

The Wigan music scene is enjoying a real lift at the moment with bands such as The Lathums signing record deals and many of the musicians know each other, with all three acts revelling in their joint success of making it onto Big In 2021.

Jack Heaton from Flechettes said: “This is great for us and for the other Wigan bands on there. It feels like we’re really turning a corner.

“The song Man of the Hour is about the concerns young people have when they first go out on the town. It’s quite nostalgic while everything has stopped because it remembers things before Covid.

“Big names like Catfish and the Bottlemen and Blossoms have been through This Feeling, so for us to have that same level of support behind us is really positive. They have such a great history of bands who have gone on to big things.”

Tom Concannon, the singer in Stanleys, said: “We’re buzzing. It’s nice to see a load of Wigan bands on this vinyl. It’s always great to be put forward for things like this and we’re delighted.

“We’ve seen a lot of progression from other bands in the area with the help of the likes of This Feeling so we’re looking forward to seeing what happens next.”

Liam Horrocks from Garden Party said: “This is nice because it is all people who have grown up and gone on a similar musical journey together. It makes it all the nicer and better when your friends are doing well too.

“For us this has all come quite quickly, we’re yet to play our first proper gig. This is exciting and sets us up nicely.”

The vinyl is a limited edition release of just 500 copies.

This Feeling has received glowing praise from the likes of Noel Gallagher from Oasis and Carl Barat of The Libertines fame.

For more about any of the Wigan bands involved search for them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

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