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Polly Mackey and the Pleasure Principle’s Bio

“There’s no doubt that Polly has exactly what it takes to become a major star, her literate thought provoking songs are brought to life by her incredible voice which has that rare quality in that it can effortlessly convey joy and despair, light and shade, without seeming to skip a beat, and of course The Pleasure Principle produce a sound that could be described as tighter than Dawn French’s trousers after a midnight feast.

Comparisons are bound to be made, the style and attitude of a young Chrissie Hynde, the cool edginess of PJ Harvey and the pop sensibility of Blondie, all underpinned with the sort of quality song writing that can’t be manufactured or bought, it’s a natural gift and one that should ensure the band are destined for even bigger things over the next year or so. Keep your ears peeled…”

Von Pip, AltSounds.

After 18 months touring the UK as a solo artist, Polly Mackey formed her band, Polly Mackey & The Pleasure Principle, in summer 2008. The band’s first few live performances in the hotbed music scene of Liverpool earned rave reviews and soon drew the attention of up-and-coming producer Paul Grady (engineering credits with Coldplay, Peter Gabriel and Howling Bells) who invited the band to record some demo tracks – one of which was to become the band’s first single, Seriously – at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath.

The release of Seriously, was timed to coincide with the band’s debut appearance at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas in March 2009. By the time that the band arrived in Austin, they had become one of the hottest tickets at the festival with requests for live performances at 9 separate festival events. The highlight of the band’s week was their appearance representing the North West of England at the prestigious British Music Embassy Party on the last day of the festival. Sponsored by the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry, the event is designed to showcase the best of emerging UK music talent.

The band’s performances at the festival earned rave reviews from press on both sides of the Atlantic. ‘Seriously’ was immediately picked up by college radio in the USA and LP33TV of California soon began promoting the song heavily. Within weeks Polly and the band were voted Band of the Month by Hearsay, America’s College Music Magazine, and were chosen for the “Best Kept Secret” feature by Blurt Magazine in the USA – the first non-US band to be chosen for this feature.

Interest in the band was also growing massively in the UK. A live session for BBC Radio 1, was followed by appearances at Liverpool Sound City and The Great Escape. The band went on to win Supajam 2009 and earned a slot at one of Europe’s largest summer festivals in Benicassim, Spain appearing alongside Kings of Leon, The Killers and Oasis.

The band have since been chosen to perform at HMV’s inaugural Next Big Thing Festival in London in February 2010 – a festival dedicated to showcasing the best of emerging UK musical talent.

Following the band’s debut success at SXSW ’09, the festival organisers have invited the band to appear at SXSW 2010 in Austin in March… and the band is already in demand to appear at events throughout the festival.

The band have been in the studio in January with producer Danny Woodward (The Wombats, Hot Club de Paris, Ladytron) recording tracks for their second single and debut EP.

They will also be recording at EMI studios in London after returning from Texas.

2010 is clearly seen as a breakthrough year for the band by many within the industry.

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