Irish quartet will stop you in your tracks

Former buskers Keywest KEYWEST are the latest in a long line of great bands to come out of Ireland in recent years, and with their new album and tour they are about to add to their ever-growing fanbase.

Believe it or not, Andrew ‘Kav’ Kavanagh, Andrew Glover, James Lock and Harry Sullivan all started out as buskers. The two Andrews began busking in Galway before moving to Dublin where they were joined by the English pair of James and Harry.

The quartet, reminiscent of an early U2, became so popular that they created gridlock whenever they played.

Since then, their records have sold in multi-platinum quantities in Ireland, they have supported the likes of Bastille, Hozier and Bryan Adams, they played at the massive British Summer Time festival in London’s Hyde Park, and they have sold out their own Irish tours.

‘‘It all started about six or seven years ago on the streets of Galway,’’ says singer Kav. ‘‘In those days we did cover songs but gradually started incorporating our own songs, and it just grew.

“Then we outgrew busking,” he adds, laughing, “which I think the residents of certain streets in Ireland were pretty pleased about.”

Kav describes their sound as ‘‘both folk and pop, with elements of rock’’ and is excited about new album Ordinary Superhero.

“It’s had a great response in particular from the Irish media and fans and we are incredibly proud of it.” he says. “It’s a more mature album than our previous ones.”

Keywest will be appearing at Birmingham’s O2 Academy on Thursday, October 31.