Young rockers The Monacles (From Bucks Free Press)

Young rockers The Monacles

9:42am Tuesday 2nd February 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(1)

A 14-YEAR-OLD from Flackwell Heath said his popularity at school has soared since his group won a battle of the bands competition in High Wycombe.

Teenage rock band the Monacles have shot to mini-stardom at Wye Valley School in Bourne End after they scooped the top prize at The White Horse on January 15.

Archie Brewis-Lawes, the lead singer and song writer, said: “It really brought us closer as a band and gave us a lot of confidence. Hopefully we'll get a bigger crowd following us now too.

“We've become a lot more popular at school – we've even got a few girls who follow us around who we call 'the Monacelettes'.”

Archie is joined by his brother Jack, 16, on lead guitar, and mates Dom Cheston, 15, on bass and David Perkins, 16, on drums.

They count Rage Against the Machine, Jimi Hendrix and Muse among their influences and Archie says the songs are “quite heavy but we try to keep it cool as well.”

He loved it when Rage Against the Machine beat X Factor winner Joe McElderry to Christmas number one, saying: “We try and fight against all the popular stuff people like – we want people to hear something new.”

He writes all the band's songs and said: “They are just about people's emotions really, we've got songs about government corruption and conflict too.”

The boys practise in the Brewis-Lawes family garage in Oakwood, Flackwell Heath, but can only play for an hour at a time so they don't upset the neighbours.

Archie said his mum Cheryl doesn't mind the noise as she used to be in a band as well.

The Monacles are now looking forward to a tour of Norway in late February, which their manager has lined up.

They will also play at another battle of the bands contest at Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead on February 19.

http://www.myspace.com/themonaclesmusic