The Shed Project are a five piece band from Bolton fronted by the very enigmatic and hard working Roy ‘Tin Man’ Fletcher. I would advise not asking about the nick-name, especially if you are interviewing Tinny on, say, a live radio broadcast. I bottled it; there was just something in the way Shane the funky drummer prompted me to ask the question that just set my Spidey-senses a tingling!

The Shed Project came on to my radar towards the middle of 2020 with the release of the debut single Livin’. Livin’ was admittedly originally recorded with limited resources but the melody and song writing still shone bright, with a lovely jangly lo-fi sound that instantly caught my ear. Several singles followed, each one showcasing a band growing both in terms of skill and confidence. I suppose this is the time the band should have been playing gigs and getting the word out but sadly the Shed Project were not able to do this due to Covid restrictions. It did not stop the band writing and recording though and prior to the album being released this year, The Shed Project had put out eleven singles, including the party starting indie rave monster One Shot with Manchester’s motor mouth Nicky ‘M.C. Tunes’ Lockett and the absolutely brilliant ‘A Day In The Dam’ which recounts Roy’s exploits around Amsterdam. Another subject best avoided if interviewing Roy on a live radio broadcast.

Eight of the bands eleven singles made their way on to the album in one form or another with many of the earlier songs re-recorded and benefiting for the enhanced quality allowing the tracks to breathe and become enriched. Prior to the album release the band had a line up change too, with the addition of the afore mentioned funky drummer, Shane and the young buck with the guitar skills to pay the bills, Olly. The new line up really helped the band to achieve, what I feel they always wanted to achieve; a more psychedelic wig out element. Don’t get me wrong, Olly’s chops are not brought to the fore on every track which really shows restraint because; If I could play like that I would want a five minute solo on every track. What you get instead is an album that is delicate and soulful with tracks like Sal, Bedtime and My Life where Roy is talking from the deepest recesses of his heart about his closest family members. But then you have what can only really be described as ‘Bangers’ (there really is no other word for it!) like Don’t Wait For No One and Friend where young Olly is let off his leash to very impressive effect. These moments of unbridled creativity are an absolute joy to be swept along with, it’s a bit like the first time I heard the long version of Love is the Law after being teased by the single. Only more rock n roll. Like it was a New FADS record. You can probably tell I’m looking forward to more of these moments on the eagerly awaited second album.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The album, The Curious Mind of a Common Man, came out earlier this year with a beautiful vinyl pressing on offer which went on to sell out very quickly, I believe a second pressing is on the cards if you didn’t manage to snag one of the first. The guys have been playing gigs all around the North West and will be venturing further afield around the UK in the new year, I’m looking forward to seeing them again up in Glasgow. I did manage to catch them when they played St Gregory’s Social Club in Farnworth, Bolton. Better known as the Pheonix club from Peter Kay’s Pheonix nights, this was one of those nights that will be talked about for years to come. I’d travelled for hours to be at this gig and I was so glad I did, the band were on fire, the atmosphere was spot on it had all the hallmarks of a mythical night. But The Shed Project are one of those bands that seem to form their own mythology. My favourite being the story that a deal with a promoter had fallen through at a suggestion that payment should be made not in cash but in controlled substances; ludicrous but somehow, with The Shed Project, stories like this, how Roy got the nick-name and what happened to track 7 on the first album pressing just add to the bands mystique.

The album itself is a fantastic debut that will hit loads of top ten album of the year charts as we approach the drawing of the curtain over 2022. It is honest, hardworking and it shoots from the hip. The songs are all absolutely solid and do not just fit in to one genre. Some days I want to hear the bangers, otherdays I want the soul and The Curious Mind Of A Common Man has it all.

Dan Rowley
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