Black Poets

Based in East London, yet not restricted by the fashion-led regiment of any Shoreditch scene, Black Poets were formed during the spring 2008 by Gerard LeCain (guitar/vocals) and Billy Randall (bass), and later joined by Stephen J Good (lead guitar) and Nenad Kostadinovski (drums). By avoiding the Joy Division influence so common for leather jacket-clad post-punk bands and instead having more in common with acts such as the Chameleons, Echo and the Bunnymen and the Psychedelic Furs, Black Poets have shown that there are still veins of gold to be found in this melancholic mine. In part this is down to breadth of their inspiration, taking in not only the monotone mood of early eighties Manchester and New York but also the soaring and expansive soundscapes of Kansas post-rockers the Appleseed Cast and the emotive melodrama and intricately interwoven melodies of slowcore Swedish band, Logh. 2009 has seen Black Poets play dates with the likes of Babyshambles, tapetheradio, Jersey Budd and Pulled Apart by Horses and also head out on a three week national UK tour. The band has received positive reviews, prompting respected Scottish music magazine the Skinny to describe Black Poets as sounding both beguiling and prophetic. Black Poets have proven both fashionable enough to be playlisted by Top Shop and All Saints but to also hold the international appeal needed to win fans not only across the UK but also on mainland Europe. The album "Innocents And Thieves" is available to buy from iTunes internationally. In November 2009 shortly after filming the music video to Point of Reason in Germany, Black Poets disbanded. The members have gone their separate ways and Gerard LeCain formed a new act in late Spring 2010 called Commissar with help from Billy Randall. Commissar's myspace is www.Myspace.com/WeAreCommissar Black Poets will continue to be available for sale on iTunes and via mail order in the form of limited edition CDs from the band's myspace www.Myspace.com/BlackPoets Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.