Inspired by a wild London night, Dublin indie-rockers Hawke The Band drop ‘Limo’

The days of rock’n’roll glory, with all its outlandish antics and unbelievable stories, might be considered to be long behind us, but Dublin indie-rockers Hawke The Band prove us wrong with the unreal backstory to their new single ‘Limo’. It was inspired by a truly unique night partying with legendary British actor Ray Winstone in a classy London hotel, which ended in mayhem in the hotel car park when the band’s cheap second hand car broke down, blocking the exit as a steady stream of limos built up behind them. We can only imagine the frustration of anyone who can afford a limo not being able to get to where they’re going, honestly that bit makes us laugh so much.

We think the fellas recant this story the best:

“The first time we met Ray Winstone was also the first time we ever got near a limo – Ray was a true gent, a top lad. We had all attended an event at the London Hilton and, after a great night of partying we eventually left. Or at least we thought we were leaving, because we got stuck at the Hilton underground car park’s sole exit barrier in our €400 battered Irish Ford Focus. Six limos & their drivers stuck behind us were apoplectic and, after ten more minutes passed without us moving, they were going totally nuclear. STRESS. We didn’t have the money between us to pay the outrageous £50 parking fee as we were skint – it was a charity event so we hadn’t even charged a performance fee for our live set at the event. Next thing, some sheikh whose limo was right behind us jammed his head in our car window and screamed blue murder at us to pay up so he could leave. We told him we hadn’t a pot to pi*s in for the tenth time so he fired a £50 note at us and roared all the way back to his car. Thankfully our engine didn’t give out and we got on the A5 back to our ex-Travelodge in Dunstable for another night with five sleeping in a one-bedded room. A night to remember for sure, and I’ll never forgot my first up-close limo experience. We hope this song was worth it – perhaps if this single blows up big we might even be able to afford our very own limo (or even just some parking change).”

The song itself is as lively and enthusiastic as you would expect considering the band’s past behaviour. Getting together with fellow musicians and former housemates, Richie Power (vocals/keyboards) and Eoghan Mac Mahon (guitars/vocals) perform ‘Limo’ in stylish black-and-white fashion in a studio in South London (we like to imagine not too far from that aforementioned hotel). Filmed by Grace Phillips, we get to visually match up the duo’s impassioned performance with those zealous vocals, pop-peppered indie hooks, head-bopping percussion and the thrilling guitar riffs.

Clearly, Hawke The Band have all the makings of a chart-topping set-up, reminding us of The Verve or U2, but don’t take just our word for it, check out the video below and get yourselves down to their Autumn live shows.