PREVIEW: The Sherlocks launch UK tour with sold out show at O2 Academy Sheffield

Since their last set of British dates 16 months ago, the South Yorkshire band has toured Europe, headlined their first festival in Manchester and become the first band to play inside The Etihad stadium at a Champions League game, writes Richard Derbyshire.

Now, frontman Kiaran Crook, his brother and drummer Brandon, lead guitarist Josh Davidson and his brother and bassist Andy are back on the road touring their second top 20 album Under Your Sky.

“Expect beautiful chaos,” Brandon told us. “We love recording and writing but playing live is what we enjoy most of all. We know we have been away too long, and we are buzzing for this.”

Their tour starts at a sold out show at O2 Academy Sheffield – Friday , February 21 – and continues this month in Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow, before London, Bristol, Brighton, Southampton and Cardiff in March.

BUY TICKETS: Can’t get tickets for their sold out Sheffield gig? Catch them on tour – full dates and tickets links at www.thesherlocksmusic.co.uk. Also see The Sherlocks at Tramlines music festival in Hillsborough Park, Sheffield, on Saturday, August 1. For tickets visit tramlines.org.uk.

Not for the first time, The Sherlocks will be taking some of the country’s most promising new bands along for the journey.

Blackburn’s The Ruby Tuesdays join them in Sheffield, while The Rosadocs are on the bill in Leeds, fresh from their own sold out gig at The Leadmill last weekend.

Hotly-tipped names like Trampolene, Crystal Tides, Al Moses and Estevans also appear, while Ivory Wave from Birmingham are main support on most dates, including Sheffield.

Brandon told us why it is important to give other acts a leg up.

“It creates good vibes and memories; there may be bands, whose career highlight is supporting us in venues they would never otherwise play. It was the same for us when we supported Kings of Leon at Sheffield Arena.”

Lead singer Kiaran said: “We’ve been given some opportunities, but we have also played every step of the ladder in music.

“Some bands get thrown on to support arenas tours on day one because of their record label, but you can miss out on so much by doing that,“ he added.

Kiaran turned 24 in November and bassist Andy is younger, but this summer will mark the 10th anniversary of The Sherlocks.

“We were never going to be a band which blows up overnight and that has suited us,” said Brandon, who, along with the others, first played The Leadmill in 2013.

“If things move too quickly then you risk disappearing as soon as you arrive. We look up to groups like Snow Patrol who took a decade to hit the big time, while Kings of Leon sold more copies of their fourth album than the previous three combined,” he added.

Earlier this month, the band posted pictures on social media of them back in the studio, fuelling speculation that new music may not be far away.

“We have about 18 to 20 potential songs to consider for our next album,” said Kiaran.

“After our lighter, more melodic second record, we are now thinking of going back to a rockier sound.”

Brandon says they learnt a lot from working on Under Your Sky with producer and lead singer of The Coral James Skelly at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool.

“He showed us how to craft songs and to ruthlessly edit. Now we know what we want to do with our next album, and it is going to be lively.”

The band reached the Top 20 in October, but they would have charted higher if they had not been behind superstars such as Queen, Elton John, Lewis Capaldi and Ed Sheeran.

“We can’t compete with the big streaming artists and compilation albums, so it was our fans downloading and buying our CDs and Vinyl that got us there,” said Brandon.

“Now is a good time for bands, but it can also be hard. We are doing all right for four normal lads from Bolton upon Dearne, but you have to keep working and fighting on,” he added.

This month, the band are releasing a new upbeat single called One Day which Kiaran describes as “one hell of a tune.”

“I wrote it before our first album was released, but even then I knew that it was really a second record song,” he added. “So it has been tucked away gathering dust and waiting for the call. Now it’s time has come.”

The Sherlocks play O2 Academy Sheffield Friday, February 21, with support from Ivory Wave and The Ruby Tuesdays. Their latest album Under Your Sky is out now. More at thesherlocksmusic.co.uk.