Six Things You Need To Know About…
Broken Witt Rebels
They have plans way above their station, and they plan to “come, conquer and then fuck off”.
Formed in the West Midlands and influenced by local heroes running the gamut from Black Sabbath to ELO to Duran Duran, Broken Witt Rebels may be “just workingclass lads chasing the dream”, but one listen to their second album OK Hotel unveils a deeply ambitious band unashamed in their pursuit of mainstream rock success. Having come up through the blues-rock scene, it’s an about-turn, taking in gleaming pop choruses crafted for daytime radio play.
Today, supremely confident lifelong friends Danny Core and Luke Davis (frontman and bassist respectively) are settling down to a lunchtime pint in a London pub to set out their manifesto for hitting the big time.
Nothing but worldwide fame will be enough. There have been cocky young men talking up their own genius for as long as rock’n’roll has existed, and Broken Witt Rebels are taking their cue firmly from the Gallagher school of self-aggrandisement.
“We want to be the greatest band in the world,” says Danny, grinning but earnest. “That doesn’t sound far-fetched to me. We believe we deserve everything that comes our way, and we want our music played to the masses. It’s important for us to think that we are the best band in the world.”
The Birmingham estate they grew up on made them. Danny and Luke grew up together on Birmingham’s Castle Vale estate. The locals remain their biggest fans and bluntest critics, and the band wouldn’t have it any other way. “We’re from humble beginnings, we’re working class,” Danny says with pride. “We want to put our little estate on the map of the world. We go down to the local pubs and they’ve got our music on the jukebox. It’s really nice support. They’re all the salt-of-the-earth, and that’s what we’re all about.”
A tour of the US with Whiskey Myers was a steep learning curve. A whirlwind trip around the southern states with the hard-drinking Texan blues-rockers was a culture clash that BWR hold dear. On arriving with their skinny jeans and peaky blinders dialect, worlds collided, leaving Whiskey Myers’ fans baffled but enamoured.
“We were definitely aliens to some people,” says Danny. “We must have stood out like a sore prick. In this country we’ve got the worst accent, but they were saying: ‘I love your accent.’ That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that in my life!”
Rock’s gain is football’s loss. “When I was a kid I wanted to be a footballer,” says Danny. That ambition remains, and he’s pretty sure he could still take on the best on the pitch. Did we mention that he’s a very confident young man? “I’m probably the best footballer for my age, weight and size in Birmingham.”
They’ve already visualised their first festival headline set. Remember when The Darkness first arrived on the scene, and they saw every venue as Wembley Stadium, however dank and dingy? Broken Witt Rebels have their first festival headline show planned in detail, and as far as they’re concerned it’s not if it happens, it’s when.
“I really want everything: lasers, lights, pyrotechnics, flares,” says Danny. “I want a monster truck to drive across the stage, the lot. I’d see our future festival headline show full of madness and colour.”
They’re not planning on outstaying their welcome. With so many bands striving for the longevity of the Rolling Stones, Broken Witt Rebels recoil at the idea of singing for their suppers while they’re drawing their pensions. It may not match their sound, but Danny’s smash-and-grab game plan is punk at heart.
“I don’t want to burn out like a dull flame,” he says. “I want this band to rise to the absolute peak and then we’ll all disappear. I want to leave people thinking: ‘I wish they did another album.’ We want to come, conquer and then fuck off. Leave a legacy, be immortalised and then grow old disgracefully.”
OK Hotel is out now via Snakefarm.