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In The Beginning.....
The year was 2002. For CONRAD WEEKS, currently sliding into boredom and despair on the dole, and STEJ BRIXEY, a student with delusions of grandeuer, the new millennium had brought nothing but the same old dissapointments. Wandering the streets of a town where they would never fit in, buying old music magazines and listening to second hand records, the pair desperately needed something - ANYTHING - to break the monotony. And so LAST LAUGH was born. Drawing their influences from the hard rock of AC/DC and Guns N Roses, the punk of The Ramones and The Clash, the attitude of Motley Crue and the antagonistic intelligence of the Manics, LAST LAUGH were a band who would forever place energy, anger and escapism over technical precision. They played rock and roll the way it should be played, but so rarely is; loud, raw, catchy and snotty. Initial rehearsals in Conrad's front room, Stej's bedroom or at a girlfriends house revolved more around drinking Jack Daniels and dreaming of world domination that any actual sonwriting. In a lot of ways, Last Laugh were a band before they could even play. But it was here that the seeds were sown. It was here that the original line-up of Conrad (Lead Guitar), Stej (Bass Guitar / Backing Vocals), PAUL BLAKEBROUGH (Rhythm Guitar/ Vocals), CHRIS BOLTON (Lead Vocals) and GARY TURNER (Drums) came together. Amid the haze of whiskey, rough versions of songs like 'Rock Star', 'Slave' and 'Boy & Girl'were written. By this point The Laugh were outgrowing rehearsing in bedrooms and booked themselves into Back Alley rehearsal studios in Maidstone. At one such rehearsal, Stej's brother, DAZZLE, came along to see what his little bro was making all the fuss about. And then everything changed again. Sitting in on the rehearsal, Daz took a turn behind the drums. His instinctive sense of rhythm, honed during years sneaking a go on the drums when he was a roadie for 80's rockers Stranger was instantly aparrent. This, coupled with the musical chemistry he shared with Stej and his seemingly neverending enthusiasm for all thing rock, made it apparent to all that he had to be a part of The Laugh. Gary, who had already indicated he was heading in a different musical direction, left. The line up was complete. Before the year was out Last Laugh had done their first gig at a close friend's birthday party. They may not have played well that first night, but took to the stage with all the energy and attitude of a stadium headliner nonetheless. Over the course of the next year The Laugh made a name for themselves as a riotous live act, and recorded their initial demos with local guitarist John Perry. But for frontman Chris Bolton, so often the showboating centrepiece of the band's gigs, things were becoming difficult. While the rest of the band were honing their craft, Chris was finding his loyalties torn between the band and his new life in Canterbury. Eventually, Chris made the difficult decision to leave Last Laugh. The band, now slimmed down to a four piece with Blakey taking on lead vocals, vowed to continue with renewed fervour. The next 2 years belonged to Last Laugh. The new four piece line-up were writing stronger and stronger songs and were tighter than ever. The stage shows never attempted to replicate the irreplacable showmanship of Bolton, instead taking on a new, punked up focus, passion and energy. During this period Last Laugh recorded the acclaimed 'Broken Bottles, Empty Hearts' EP and gigged constantly in response to the high demand of promoters, winning fans and builiding their reputation. At this time, barely any venue in the Capital or the South East didn't play host to Last Laugh. But all good things must come to an end.
Last Laugh continued playing well into 2007. But outside forces were beginning to take their toll. Conrad was now married with a baby, Stej and Daz were exploring other projects and Blakey was finding more of his time and energy consumed by other commitments. The bands second EP proper, 'Songs From The Sylvia Hotel', was only ever made available in download form. Never ones to fake it, the bad decided to take a break until they could give Last Laugh the passion and energy it deserved. Leaving behing a trail of empty bottles and broken hearts, and for anyone who knew them a hell of a lot of good memories, Last Laugh are on hiatus. FOR NOW....... Love and Whiskey, April 2009 xxxx
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