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They’re already on the ‘ones to watch’ list for music publication giant ‘Classic Rock’ magazine, have an adoring fan base and with the average age of the band being just 16, it’s no wonder that Hippys on the Hill are in it to the end. Bassist Sean Mcminn-Davies tells AMP’S Elise Grundy more...

You’d think it would be hard- balancing A-levels and GCSEs with a semi-professional music career. That’s not to mention that social life that every teenager has to have.

But with an average of only 5 years experience within the band, ‘Hippys on the hill’ make it look easy. And what, we ask bassist Sean, is their recipe to success? ‘Don’t give up, never give up’. Now, if this was any ‘scraped from the fresh crop of dolls’ girl group we’d have to assume that this was management speaking; however all of the lads seem very genuine, even more so Sean, who has remained grounded throughout the highs and lows ‘we hardly ever have arguments within the band, and if we do, it’s usually about stupid little things or slight creative differences.’ This would be enough to split some bands up, however Sean insists that ‘there’s nothing that can’t be worked out between us’. It’s this genuine camaraderie between the band’s members that makes ‘Hippys on the hill’ stand out.

Another thing that makes them stand out beyond many other local bands would be their energetic live show; ‘we tend to concentrate on our live show above anything else and make that our priority, we just try to make it as entertaining as possible’ explains Sean. And that’s exactly what they do. Wise words from such a young lad, however Sean has proved to be smart when it comes to the bands career and has also admitted on many occasions that he doesn’t take any of their success for granted, and has insisted that to keep themselves grounded, the band just take everyday as it comes.

And everyday definitely holds a new accomplishment for the prog-rock quartet; ‘We’re definitely extremely proud of what we have achieved in such a short space of time’. I’ll say, headlining 02 academies just 2 years after forming sounds good to me. However, Sean tells Amp that the band don’t measure their achievement by the number of prestigious gigs or fans, but by how the band members themselves have grown and improved ‘I’m very proud of what the band have achieved, but I’m even prouder of my fellow band mates.

It may very well be this friendship that keeps the band so tight, as when we cheekily broached the subject of conflict within the band, Sean calmly replied that there never is any conflict or arguments within the band and that they are all extremely close. Without actually meeting Sean or seeing how the band are together, you would be forgiven for thinking that this was, again, just something management have thrown in there. But there is no faking the genuine friendship that the band has together. ‘Any arguments that we do have are always really small and easily settled; usually just creative differences’. So, we know that sometimes things must get a bit rough for them, not necessarily because they’re constantly at each others throats, but because music is a hard ‘bizz to be in, especially at such a young age. However, Sean tells us that it’s the friendship within the band that keeps them all going at times like that and how they can get through most things with the knowledge that ‘there’s gonna’ be good times around the

corner’.

Well we know for certain that there’s always going to be something around the corner for the guys with Sean’s motto; ‘Don’t give up, never give up’.

So we asked Sean what was next for Hippys on the Hill ‘We’re going to London to record and then we’re also going on a tour of the 02 Academies around the country’.

Not bad, not bad at all. And one thing’s for certain; Hippys on the Hill are definitely one to keep your eye on…