Dean Fairhurst is the Singer / Songwriter and front man behind the revolutionary band Standin’ Man. The band hailing from the North West Of England comprises Dean Fairhurst on lead Vocals and Guitar, Peter Fleming on drums, Joe Kavaney on Lead Guitar, Paul Glover on Bass and Dan Black on Keys. Collectively the band produces a new wave of Psychedelic inspired Rock n’ Roll.

It’s fair to say that Dean Fairhurst is no stranger to the music industry having written and produced songs that have been featured on the likes of Netflix, HBO, BBC Sports, Sky Sports, Jeep, RockBand, and ATP World Tennis Tournament amongst others. He is also no stranger to touring and being on the main stage having toured worldwide supporting some major music legends such as, The Who, Liam Gallagher, Def Leppard, Roger Waters and Scorpions as well as being featured in high end press such as NME, Classic Rock, VICE and Rolling Stone magazine. 

Written and recorded during the pandemic, Standin’ Man’s debut Album ‘Life Intimidating Art’ features a body of work that derives from Dean’s distinctive ability to ignite and entertain listeners that crave powerful, well-crafted modern day Rock songs. Working with producer Jim Spencer (Johnny Marr, The Charlatans, New Order), Dean has been able to put together a collection of tracks of contemporary rock music that is nuanced by the social situations of his listeners.

The first release to be taken off of the album, ‘Be Your Own Messiah’, was released in the summer of 2022. It is both sonically and lyrically modern with relevant themes of finding ‘enlightenment’ through self-acceptance and togetherness. The fusion of an almost Hip-Hop beat and a heavy riff-based chorus is galvanised by a psychedelic desert sound. To date the track has attained over 28k streams on Spotify alone and it received much critical acclaim.

Standin’ Man are now set to release their follow up track from the album ‘If You Don’t Know What To Do With Yourself’ on the 25th November. 

The new track from the band is nothing short of a slice of musical brilliance. From the get go with its funk filled slapping bass lines, pounding drum beats and melodic guitars, you’re drawn in with the 60’s vibe coupled with a definite nostalgic nod to the nineties. The track zooms along at pace hardly stopping for breath with one anthemic line after another keeping you enthralled, the sonic guitar riffs whipping the melody into a frenzy of hooks that are flying left, right and centre at you. It’s a track that will make you want to let loose and wholeheartedly dive in hitting that replay button over and over again. 

Dean has said of the track:

If You Don’t Know What To Do WIth Yourself was written in New York St Felix Studios (Communion Records) one afternoon in 2019 while I was demo’ing a few tracks. It’s one of those songs that comes out of the ether without really trying. The title was something that had been running around for a while and it contains that element of ambiguity but edges on the innuendo of attraction. The whole lyric enforces that idea I think. I remember reading a Yoko Ono piece she did called ‘Map Piece’ and in essence the line in this song ‘I’ll draw you a map, come get lost with me’ instigated the essence of the lyrics. That Idea that you could be doing nothing but doing nothing together, is something. The track itself sonically, is a modern sounding rock song that has influences of The Beatles but with a baggy 90’s vibe beat. The chorus is almost the verse and the verse is almost the chorus on this song, which I don’t think you hear that often. It was recorded in one take at Motor Museum Studios in Liverpool & mixed at Eve Studios in Manchester. I like the fact that it retains the influences within the song of those two great cities.

‘If You Don’t Know What To Do With Yourself’ was written by Dean Fairhurst and  Steve McEwan and was recorded at Motor Museum Studios in Liverpool & Eve Studios Manchester. It was Produced by Jim Spencer (The Charlatans/Johnny Marr/New Order). The track is due for global release on Estupendo Universal Records (Roger Daltry, UB40) and is published by Wixen Publishing (Black Keys/The Doors/Tom Petty/Jefferson Airplane)Standin’ Man have a whole host of gigs and tours lined up for 2023 already and you are advised to keep an eye on the band’s socials for updates.

Emily Marsden – Editor
#MusicSceneWales
@MusicSceneWales
musicscenewalescymru@gmail.com