Drew McConnell (born 10 November 1978 in Dublin, Ireland) is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with Babyshambles, the band formed and fronted by frontman of The Libertines, Pete Doherty. He lived in Tenerife, Spain, for much of his childhood,[citation needed] and he speaks Spanish fluently. Formerly in the band Elviss, McConnell participates in a number of side-projects, such as The Phoenix Drive and playing double bass and piano with Irish singer/songwriter Fionn Regan as well as writing and recording solo material.
McConnell organises a musical collective named Helsinki, with which he performs solo material as well as versions of songs by Babyshambles, such as a swing version of their single "Delivery". Among the members of this collective are Stephen Large of Squeeze and Albert Hammond Jr of The Strokes.[citation needed], the drummer Seb Rochford of Polar Bear and Acoustic Ladyland, drummer Jamie Morrison (of the Noisettes), guitarist Matt Parks, Jonnie Fielding (violin), Larrikin Love and Fionn Regan.
Adam Ficek (born in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire) is an English musician who performs under the 'Roses Kings Castles' name, and was a song writer and member of Babyshambles.
Ficek joined the Babyshambles in 2005 with former The White Sport band mate Patrick Walden. Prior to 2005 Ficek had recorded with the Mains Ignition, The White Sport and has also recorded two jazz albums.
Adam Ficek's side project - Roses Kings Castles (RKC) - began as a platform to build ideas while on tour with Babyshambles.
It was initially set up as a formal creative feed for Babyshambles and as a platform on which to build and air his own musical ideas. "It's an outlet for putting stuff out, just demos that I've been working on", states Ficek.
After releasing songs on the internet via his Myspace, Ficek released his first single "Sparkling Bootz" in April 2008. His debut album Roses Kings Castles, was released on the 22 September 2008.
Ficek charts the highs and the lows of self releasing his album through the medium of his blog, where he gives an insight into the music industry.
Lee Anthony Mavers (born 2 August 1962) is an English musician from Liverpool, England. Mavers was the songwriter, singer and rhythm guitarist in The La's and is perhaps best known for the hit "There She Goes" in the late 1980s.
Mavers, who was originally the bassist for the Liverpool group Neuklon circa 1980 to 1984, resides in the Huyton area of Liverpool with his partner and four children, Ellis, Ella, Asha and Leo. He is a supporter of Everton F.C.
Mavers gained a reputation for perfectionism and eccentricity in the music press for his famed scrapping of multiple versions of the band's debut album, and often came across as dry, acerbic and stubborn in interviews, although with a clearly defined notion of music as he thought it should be - genuine, rootsy, and authentic. In earlier press interviews, however, Mavers was often enthusiastic, witty, driven, and informed, but he eventually became more withdrawn and caustic before choosing to drop out of the limelight altogether. This willful blackout of probing interviews from the likes of Q magazine and NME led to his establishment as a seldom-seen "recluse".
Anthony Pasquale Rossomando (born February 21, 1976) is a guitarist, most recently with Carl Barat's rock band Dirty Pretty Things. He previously stood in for Pete Doherty in The Libertines, after Doherty was first suspended from the band and then sacked due to his drug habits. He is also a live member of the British dance punk band Klaxons.
He is from Hamden, Connecticut, where he was trumpet player in the 1990s ska band J.C. Superska.
After dropping out of university in his first year he relocated to Boston. Moving into the first of many overcrowded apartments, he started The Damn Personals with ex-JC Superska band mate, Ken Cook. The band's first tour was with The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Shortly after, The Damn Personals became a mainstay at popular Boston, Providence, and New York indie venues, usually bringing half of the audience back to their rehearsal space for after parties.
The band recorded their first album, Driver/Driver with producer Darron Burke, who now works for Tape OP. Their second release entitled Standing Still in the USA, was produced by Michael Demming. Anthony, Ken, bassist Jim Zavadoski and drummer Michael Gill comprised The Damn Personals, who lived hand-to-mouth and toured the US nearly ten times sharing the stage with the likes of The Walkmen, The Hives, Jimmy Eat World, Piebald, Cave-in, the Explosion, Hot Snakes, Dismemberment Plan, and the Make-up. They also toured Europe and UK once.
Manu Delago (born 31 July 1984) is an Austrian Hang player, percussionist and composer based in London.
Manu Delago was born in Tyrol, Innsbruck, and took music lessons as a child in accordion and piano. As a 14-year-old, he played drums for various rock bands, and in 2003 his rock band HotchPotch won the Austrian Band Contest. During the same period, Delago was also drumming for Austrian pop idol Starmania winner Michael Tschuggnall.
After graduating from the Mozarteum, Innsbruck, in classical percussion, Delago moved to London and studied jazz drums at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, beginning his focus on the Swiss instrument Hang. He took arranging and orchestration lessons with Scott Stroman and Matthew King which led him to study composition at the Trinity College of Music in London. After completing his studies, he worked as a composer, ensemble leader and musician. Since 2007 he has performed internationally in more than twenty countries on five continents and provided music for film.