Pale Waves the band behind hit Eighteen on touring with The 1975

The Manchester band Pale Waves, it seems, has found a mentor in label mate Matt Healy of The 1975.
Pale WavesPale Waves
Pale Waves

“We meet up with Matt after a gig at the MEN, and they heard our song Honey and wanted to produce it so it went from there really,” explained singer and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie.

“It has just grown from there really, and we are excited to support them on tour as the shows are always really great.”

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Pale Waves will be supporting The 1975 at their Brighton Centre gig on Wednesday, January 16.

Pale WavesPale Waves
Pale Waves

Over the summer the band’s single Eighteen was everywhere, thanks in part to BBC Radio 1.

“They have been so supportive which has been great,” said Heather.

“It has been surreal hearing Eighteen on the radio, I had friends and family getting in touch whenever they heard it anywhere.”

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The band is made up of Ciara Doran (drummer), Hugo Silvani (guitarist), Charlie Wood (bassist) and Heather, and was formed in Manchester when Heather meet Ciara in 2014. They were signed to label Dirty Hits in 2017, and Charlie and Hugo joined not long before.

Debut album My Mind Makes Noises was released in September 2018.

Heather said: “The album is a mix of really old songs and new ones.

“I knew what I wanted the album to be, so when we started recording I could see the gaps and knew what songs I needed to fill them to get the right vibe.”

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At the end of last year the band returned from touring in America with back to back dates.

“I prefer it that way,” said Heather.

“You are often in a population of a 1000 with no signal in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do so I prefer to be busy.

“I just love being creative and feel weird if I take too much time out.”

The band are often compared to The Cure, with their punk rock look but pop rock sound.

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“I am influenced by people who my dad used to listen to,” reveals Heather.

“Bands like The Cure, Fleetwood Mac and Cranberries.

“I listen to all music now like R’n’B and pop but I always come back to those 80s songs.”

As a support act the band are aware of their job being to get the crowd ready for the main act.

“We dilute our shows a bit as it is cut in half but we want to get the crowd ready,” she said.

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Having spoken openly in the past about dealing with anxiety but when performing it seems this isn’t an issue.

She said: “I get anxious about little things but when it comes to live shows we have done so many now I know how to perform and love doing it so I don’t get anxious before a show.

“Performing live is different though now as it is arenas and we have grown loads since we first supported them as before we were babies really.

“But we can’t wait to tour again with The 1975.”

For more information on Pale Waves visit www.palewaves.co.uk

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