Karen & Trish have a chat with The Quik Beats at The Britalian Job - Lee Parsons provides the images

Venue –The Britannia Rowing Club, Trentside North, Nottingham, NG2 5FA 

We have had some great nights at The Britalian Job, in the fantastic ‘Bat Cave’ venue which has housed a wide range of mod bands over the years.  It is a guarantee that resident DJs Mark Shaw and Mark Crew will keep the crowd on the dancefloor.  This night was going to be particularly special as The Quik Beats were playing live. We had heard a lot of good things about this band and couldn’t wait to check them out. 

With the backdrop of an amazing atmosphere, The Quik Beats played their sets and the dance floor quickly began to fill with classics from The Who, The Kingsmen, The Spencer Davis Group to name a few.  The night seemed to fly by and before we knew it was time for our drive back home!  Enjoyed every minute and would recommend if you get chance to see this band to definitely do so.

We had the chance to ask The Quik Beats a few questions for those who would like to know a bit more about them: - 

How would you describe your style?

QBs: That’s a tough one, whilst we’re a unit musically, we’re also (style wise) very much individuals. That said, on stage we like to present a united front. Suits, always (no exceptions accepted) preferably matched with a Brooks Bros. button down shirt. Off stage there’s little that unifies us style wise other than denim where we all agree that it’s Levis every time. 

What are your influences?

QBs: When the band was formed it was with thoughts of replicating what we imagined was the live music experiences of mods in the 60s seeing bands at The Scene (Ham Yard), The Flamingo, the Marquee and Eel Pie Island. It’s true to say that the majority of songs we play are covers of familiar chart hits from bands like the Animals and The Spencer Davis Group. But we’re also hoping to evoke the Hammond driven sounds of Graham Bond and Georgie Fame and the Guitar based R&B of The Birds and The Action. All of the above of course influenced in turn by American jazz, blues, R&B and soul from the 50s and early 60s. 

How long have you been together?

QBs: In the current line-up we’ve been together a little over two years. However, in one form or another there’s been two or three of us making music together for closer to ten years. 

What’s the band’s favourite song to play?

QBs: With the average set containing 35 songs every gig will find each of us looking forward to our different favourites. As a band though, it’s safe to say we all usually look forward performing whatever is the latest addition to the set. At present we’re championing a little known Warren Zevon song called ‘Outside Chance’ that was originally recorded by The Turtles (and we’re hoping our audience are going to dig the song as much as we do). Beyond that… We really like playing ‘Get Carter’ (the ‘A’ side of our vinyl single). When we recorded the track it was a live take and we know when we play it live we can always replicate the recorded version.