McQueen Review - UV Magazine

One of the latest acts to be getting tongues wagging like happy dogs' tails is Brighton-based rock act McQueen. Formed at the end of last year by singer Leah Duors, McQueen have recently become a regular feature of the South Coast music scene.

"The band was out together purely on ability," says Leah. "I was looking for players for a new band and ended up meeting (guitarist) Cat via a friend and we started writing songs together."

"Within 6 weeks we had not only written a collection of songs, we had also fallen upon drummer Hayley Cramer and bassist Hattie Williams and done our first show to a packed Pavilion Tavern in Brighton. From there", she continues, "things haven't stopped. We secured ourselves a publishing deal, took on an agent and recorded our first two track CD, 'You Leave Me Dead / Like I Care', which is due out on Furry tongue records via Gene Pool Distribution."

McQueen recently supported LA singer Roxy Saint on her UK tour - which started well until Leah contracted laryngitis on the second night. Jumping on stage in Manchester waving a bottle of Jack Daniels, she paced the stage, unable to sing a note whilst members of both bands put on a somewhat spontaneous but memorable performance. "Fortunately, the reviews were still on the positive side," says bass player Hattie, best know for wearing her bass in a low slung swagger. McQueen were also lucky enough to land a gig with legendary punk act, The Slits - a night that saw Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols approach the band singing their praises.

Next month, McQueen head out on a twenty date tour of the country supporting Allister on a few shows, doing a few of their own and supporting The Holiday Plan on their comprehensive UK slog.

Already picking up playlist action, McQueen's single has been A-listed on Total Rock radio. Described as a female Foo Fighters - possibly due to them having the best female drummer in UK rock history - McQueen and their attitude-driven, edgy, energetic rock, seem to be fast turning a ripple into a wave. If you haven't seen this act already, get your ass down to their next show.