aaamusic | On 05, Apr 2011

The past 18 months have been a whirlwind of success for Berkshire based quintet Francesqa, who have wasted little time in carving out a name for themselves.

After support slots with the likes of The Pretty Reckless and Young Guns, Francesqa’s first ever headline tour cemented their place among the UK’s most exciting bands, selling over 4000 tickets in the process. The band were also picked by readers of Kerrang and Rock Sound magazine to win‘Best New Band In The World’ and ‘Best British Newcomer’, respectively, much to the surprise of singer Ashley Wilkie: “winning those awards was totally mind blowing, it has been a very short time since we started the band and to have achieved so much in such a close period is very humbling.”

In July 2010 the band released debut E.P ‘We Lived’, a 5-track affair, that received 4/5K’s in Kerrang Magazine, being compared to Muse, Lost Prophets and Biffy Clyro. The EP is bursting at the seams with soaring vocal hooks and summery guitar lines, coupled with a solid rhythm section that keeps proceedings punchy.

The E.P sold out of it’s initial 1000 copies virtually instantly and the demand was so high for the bands debut release that they decided to re-package ‘We Lived’  and release it via high street and on-line retailers.  The initial E.P with added bonus tracks, coupled with a DVD covering the bands first ever headline shows and the recording process of single ‘All I Had’, was released on March 7th 2011; “we wanted to give our fans an insight into what we are about as a band”, states guitarist Tom Millar, “because things have happened so quickly for us, sometimes we feel that people don’t get to see that we are just 5 guys who love playing music and appreciate what we are doing, the DVD showed that..”

A notable point about Francesqa’s rise is their complete independence, the band are unsigned, fund everything themselves via touring and merchandise sales and are working towards a common goal; “we just focus on our music, that’s what drives us”, adds Millar, “we have been offered things before, yes, but it isn’t always what is right for you as a band and our main objective is to become the best band we can be.  We love having the freedom to steer our career in the path we want to take and continue to strive to write the best music we possibly can.”

The success of the E.P saw the bands follow up single ‘All I Had’ feature heavily on the radio networks of the UK, most notably picking up air time from Fearne Cotton on her daytime Radio 1 show and recording a session for the highly acclaimed XFM.

Support for the band has come from all angles, but perhaps most unexpectedly from Blink 182 and Angels and Airwaves front man, Tom Delonge. Delonge picked the band out from thousands of entries to open the Slam Dunk Festivals in May 2010.

The bands driven and unique rock sound has gained them plaudits across the country and their fan base is growing daily with social networking numbers boasting impressive figures.

As 2011 begins, Francesqa are locked in the studio writing for their highly anticipated debut album, with plans for a new single before the summer.

Francesqa play the following dates throughout May, in the run up to their return appearance at the Slam Dunk festivals:

The dates are as follows:

MAY

09 – HULL University Student Union

10 – PRESTON 53 Degrees

11 – SHEFFIELD Student Union

12 – LOUGHBOROUGH Student Union

13 – LONDON The Peel

14 – TUNBRIDGE WELLS The Forum

16 – GUILDFORD Surrey Student Union

17 – WINCHESTER Railway Inn

18 – MILTON KEYNES The Craufurd Arms

19 – NORWICH Waterfront

21 – LIVERPOOL Hub Festival

23 – SWANSEA Sin City

25 – BATH Moles

26 – YEOVIL Orange Box

28 – LEEDS Slam Dunk Festival

29 – HERTFORDSHIRE Slam Dunk Festival