Five things to know about Turnstiles' and their Hit The North Tour

Galway punk band Turnstiles are touring the North of England in October, starting on Monday October 11 in Leeds. To mark the occasion here's five facts about the band and the tour which you might not know.

 1. Locations

Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester. The industrial powerhouses of Northern England, each with their respective specialities - wool, steel, coal/shipbuilding, shipping and cotton.

They have also each made their own unique contribution to British music. Manchester and Liverpool are maybe the most widely known, however the music connoisseur will seek out the perhaps lesser-known scenes in the other cities. If you can call Soft Cell, Arctic Monkeys and Roxy Music lesser known.

For anyone looking to place these cities in context, we recommend Karl Whitney's superb book Hit Factories: A Journey Through the Industrial Cities of British Pop

2. First song

The first song they ever wrote was Wasting Away and it was completed at their first ever rehearsal. At this point, not being hugely fussed about lyrics, they simply made the second verse the same as the first. Well it worked for Teenage Kicks. It's still a key song in their set today.

3. First gig

Turnstiles' first ever gig was in a friend's living room at a party in March 2019. They had only been together for four weeks. Although it mainly consisted of them playing Wasting Away a few times, it gave them the confidence to realise they could do this.

4. There's a Fontaines DC connection

On their current UK tour, the Fontaines' pre-gig playlist has featured both Wasting Away and Moving Forward. Their manager Trevor Dietz is a confirmed fan and Turnstiles will be headlining a bank holiday gig in his Workmans' Club in Dublin on October 24.

5. Famous Mates

There's a thriving guitar music scene in Galway and recently several bands have broken through to international recognition. Good examples would be The Clockworks and NewDad, both of whom are mates with Turnstiles.

* Bonus fact

They decided on Turnstiles because it's a cool name and also appears in The Waterboys song The Whole Of The Moon.

You were there in the turnstiles, with the wind at your heels

You stretched for the stars and you know how it feels to reach

Too high

Too far

Too soon

You saw the whole of the moon

** Bonus video

Turnstiles do an incredible live version of Slow Thai's Doorman. This doesn't do it justice.