The Thirst are an English

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band based in Brixton,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The band consists of brothers Mensah (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

) and Kwame Hart ( bass), Mark Lenihan (

) and Marcus Harris ( drums/backing vocals).

History

Mensah received an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

from his parents around the age of 14,Walker, Danny (2008)
About to Blow: The Thirst
, RWD Magazine and after a few years he decided to get his brother, Kwame, a

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, buying it from 'cash converters'. This inspired friends Mark and Marcus to complete the band by purchasing a second guitar and drum kit respectively. The main inspiration behind starting the band was their strong musical upbringing and appreciation as well as the need to stay away from the life of street crime in London. "I ensahstarted playing now and again and got these three round just smoking and trying to stay off the road. My mum allowed us all to come round her house and chill out. She’d rather that than us hanging on the corner smoking weed." Their musical influences include Jimi Hendrix, punk, drum n bass, and local hip-hop.Moore, Michelle (2008)
Interview with The Thirst
, Room Thirteen, 21 June 2008 The Thirst's first performance consisted of hastily created songs to fill their two forty-five-minute acoustic sets. From there The Thirst continued to constantly gig all around London. Their explosive live performances, cultivated by constant gigging around London for a year, created a strong fanbase and more public awareness.The Thirst
, BBC London, 15 April 2008 Fortunately they were spotted at The Jamm in October 2006, which led to their recording contract with

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...

's new record label, Wooden Records (est. 2004). They have performed at a number of festivals, including Isle of Wight Festival 2007, Hyde Park Calling, Electric Gardens, the Dorking Rock Festival, and

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

, as well as exclusive support performances with

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

in Montenegro July 2007, and two one-night support acts for

The Sex Pistols ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

November 2007.Harkness, Craig (2008)
The Thirst - My Everything (review)
, is this music?, 12 July 2008
While working with renowned producer, Jake Fior (

The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

), The Thirst have released ''The Thirst EP'' (23 July 2007), the single "Ready To Move" (29 October 2007) and, finally, on 26 May 2008, they released their debut album, '' On the Brink'', to a generally positive critical reaction.Reid, Michelle (2008)
The Thirst - On The Brink (review)
, musicOMHJones, Huw (2008)
The Thirst - On The Brink (review)
, Gigwise, 13 May 2008Garrard, Steven (2008)

, Noize Makes EnemiesGoodwin, Tom (2008)

, Click Music In March 2008, they played at the SXSW festival in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, and were picked out by

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

as the highlight of the festival.The Beautiful South
,

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, 21 March 2008 They later performed a live session on

Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961 in Manchester) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of the Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Ta ...

's BBC 6 Music show ''Brain Surgery''. After performing at The Oak in

Burntwood, Staffordshire Burntwood is a former mining town and civil parish in the Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England, approximately west of Lichfield and north east of Brownhills. The town had a population of 26,049 and forms part of Lichfield district ...

on 21 November 2009, The Thirst, their manager and their sound engineer were arrested by armed police. Half a day later, all parties were released without charge and were notified that CCTV operators had flagged them under suspicion of firearms possession. Several months after the incident, the Staffordshire police finally agreed to destroy the DNA evidence acquired in the undeserved confinement of The Thirst and crew. At the start of 2010, The Thirst were invited to compete in a songwriting competition as representatives of England at the Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar, in Viña del Mar, Chile. They are to perform a cover of " Satisfaction" by

in the competition and perform their own songs during the Festival between 22–27 February 2010.

Discography

;Albums *''On the Brink'' (26 May 2008) ;EPs: *''The Thirst'' EP (23 July 2007) *''Laugh with the Sinners'' EP (Dec 2011) *''Cry with the Saints'' EP (TBD) ;Singles *"Ready to Move" (29 October 2007) *"Sail Away" (28 April 2008)

References

External links

Official Website

The Thirst Myspace

Official Fansite

Official GigJunkie Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thirst, The English indie rock groups Musical groups from London