Danny Kelly (23), who’s originally from Manchester, knew early on he might be cut out for a career in music when he won a national newspaper music talent competition at 17 years old. He signed to Boss Models in 2000, and has appeared in campaigns for high-profile brands including Paul Smith, Diesel and Issey Miyake. In 2004 Danny was approached via his modelling agency to be one of the contestants on Channel 4’s Playing It Straight. “I only did it because the prize money was £100,000 and I really wanted to win so that I could use the cash to record some demos. I didn’t win, but it was still a brilliant experience!”
Coincidentally, Brad, Brett and Danny have all spent time living in the States, where Brad and Danny first got turned onto hip-hop and rap, Danny learning to beat box and Brad to Rap. Brad remembers, “I used to drive everyone mad rapping in the bus on the way to school!”
In Autumn 2005, Innocent Records - a label renowned for delivering chart-topping pop – signed 365. Andrè talks about the deal, “Signing to Innocent last year was just amazing, They’re a label that really understands pop music and what we want to achieve”. Explaining why the band have named themselves 365, he explains, “It’s been a year - 365 days - from the time the band got together to us signing our deal, and we really wanted to mark that!”
The band has since been penning and their debut album, due for release later this year, with some of pop’s most established writers: ‘Biff’ Stannard & Matt Rowe (Pussycat Dolls/Sugababes/Kylie Minogue), Johnny Douglas (Jamelia/All Saints/George Michael), Stargate (Ne Yo/Rhianna), Cutfather & Joe (Brandy/Lemar) and Jarrad Rogers (Lauren Hill/The Brand New Heavies).
Recorded in London, Norway and Denmark over the course of last year, the record features 12 big unadulterated pop songs with dancefloor friendly bumping beats and obvious influences of R’n’B, old school hip-hop, funk and disco. All the tracks on the album have been co-written by members of the band, “Unless we love them as they are”, says Kye, referring to Justin Timberlake’s ‘We Should Be Dancing’. He explains how the band got hold of the track: “Our manager found this song that was written by JT. We loved it and thought it summed up our sound to a T, so we recorded it. It goes down great in the clubs”. One of the band’s favourite tracks on the record is ‘Heist’. “We’re all really into Michael Jackson and this song is really influenced by him. We like to think it’s got a bit of an ‘Off The Wall Feel to it!”, claims Brad. The album’s other standout songs include ‘That Thing’ (365’s first release, available via download from 26th June), written by Danny and Matt Rowe and described by Danny as: “A cool, funky, track with bongos that you can’t help moving to”; and ‘Dumb’, a heartfelt break-up record with a real kick to it that showcases the band’s musical versatility.
On the live front, 365 hit the road for their first under-18 club tour at the start of 2006 and loved the crowds’ reactions to their funky pop, and free-styling moves. Their schools tour kicks off at the end of June, followed by regional festival dates at Party In The Park, Milton Keynes, Thamesmead, Alton Towers and Thorpe Park (a full list due to be released soon). “If you come and see us live, like all our favourite performers, we want to be total entertainers, says Danny. “We’re not taking ourselves too seriously. We’re just doing some cool pop music that we can have a laugh and dance to. We always love putting on a good show”.
Until then, and in-between the partying, 365 hang out in their London pad planning their onslaught on the British charts. Brad sums up their mission: “We’re five ‘real’ guys and we all bring something unique to the mix. There are no fillers. We like to think we break the mould of current UK boy bands out there and we’re championing a new phase of sheer, unapologetic pop”.
Together, 365 are determined to make pop music cool again. The odds are they’ll pull it off: listen to the music, watch the show, between them they’ve got exactly what it takes.
Protection - we do a lot of it these days. Sun cream for our skin, sunglasses for our eyes, condoms for you know where - but do you remember to protect your hearing?
Click to find all the information you need to look after your hearing now so you can enjoy music for years to come
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