Foodbank fundraiser ends year to remember for The Shambolics

The hastily assembled gig came after the band had read in the Fife Free Press how the town’s foodbank was struggling to survive. It quickly sold out and the band’s fans proved generous with their own donations.

“It was a good night,” says guitarist Darren Forbes, “it was a bit mad. It was like one of our early gigs so it was a good bit of nostalgia.

“It was good to reminisce and do another gig like that. It had a really good vibe.

“I think it was probably the longest set we’ve ever done. Because it was such a packed gig in such a tiny room, we decided to do it with no support.

“So we did a long set with loads of our songs and debuted two or three new tunes to see how they would go down.

“We raised £1300 in total for the Foodbank. There was a huge donation of food as well. Most of that came from the Wheatsheaf who got a cash and carry to make a large donation, but people still brought bags of food along on the night.”

Darren says the money and food was gratefully received when the band delivered it in person.

“The foodbank were totally chuffed with our donation. They said they really appreciated us doing it.

“I think with us being quite young they were surprised that people our age cared about it.

“We had a tub with the Foodbank logo on it for donations at the bar so I’ve kept that and I’m going to have it at Eggman Studios so hopefully I can raise a bit more money with that there.”

The fundraiser came at the end of the band’s most successful year so far which saw them sign a deal with Alan McGee’s Creation23 record label.

“That was definitely the highlight,” Darren says, “but another highlight is just us growing as a band. The stuff that we have in the pipeline for the next year – it’s going to be huge for us.”

Plans include three more singles through Creation23 and a tour towards the end of 2020, but before that the focus will be on their biggest headline gig to date on March 14 at St Luke’s in Glasgow.

“Our immediate plan is to sell that one out. After that we’re going to be playing at a lot of festivals this year, then later on we’re going to be touring a lot.

“The next single will be out before the St Luke’s gig, one in the summer then another towards the end of the year.”

Despite the ball rolling quickly in their favour, Darren says they are determined not to rest on their laurels.

“We’ll be in the studio a lot more this year. We’ve so many new tunes that we’re trying out and we just need to keep writing.

“I think towards the end of the year there will be talks about an album and I want it to be one that will stand the test of time. It’s got to be good.

“I get bored easily, I get sick of my own songs. I’m a total weirdo to be honest!

“We need to better the tunes that are already in our setlist, and they’re already pretty strong.

“The only way I see to better them is to graft harder and write better songs.”

• Tickets for The Shambolics gig at St Luke’s are available at ticketweb.