A MARLOW four piece that started playing together for popularity have grown up and are now putting university on hold to see where their music can take them.

No Longer Bandits are made up of Johnny Harris, 19, acoustic guitar and vocals, David Shannon, 18, lead guitar, Jamie Potter, 18, drums and James Gorton, 18, bass.

The band were all Sir William Borlase's Grammar School pupils and began playing together when they were just 12.

They describe their style as “kind of pop-rock with a bit of alternative” but say their music “crosses a lot of genres”.

Lead singer, Johnny, said the band struggle to see eye to eye on any particular modern band which influences all of them, but he said: “We can all agree on the staples of music, such as The Beatles.”

Their mash-up of modern and traditional rock influences can be heard in their guitar heavy sound. The band’s repertoire extends from their subtle ballad ‘Jamazing’ to the pop-rock anthem ‘Don’t Delay’.

Johnny said the band’s music is about normal teenage experiences. “The songs are about my life, liking girls and going out, but I’d like to think that anyone can relate to them.”

The Marlow foursome became serious about their music two years ago when they began writing their own material.

Johnny said: “It is a couple of years now since we started writing our own songs, we said we'd take a year out to try and make something of the band so we could say that we had at least tried.”

The band’s genre blurring sound is going down a storm in the underground music scene. No Longer Bandits have received an astonishing 30,000 hits on Myspace and recently played to 2,000 people, as runners up out of 400 entrants in a national Battle of the Bands competition in Nottingham. Johnny said the Battle of the Bands, their biggest ever gig, was “daunting”, but said “it was over before we knew it”.

Looking to the future Johnny said: “Hopefully we’ll get a promoter in the new year.

“We want to go to all the universities and play to anyone who wants to hear us.”

The band are currently working on a forthcoming yet untitled EP to be released next year.

No Longer Bandits play The Hut, Sheepridge Lane, Bourne End on Friday December 18 and The Blues Loft, High Wycombe on Saturday December 19.