It's just over a year since Ralph first took a look and had a listen to Manchester four piece The Ninth Watch. At that time they'd fairly recently formed and I caught their storming set for The Online Festival in Manchester's Dry Bar back in October of 2012. That was followed up by another top set at the Mancunia Promotions All Dayer in Barca July of 2013. It was obvious then that they were becoming a tight unit with well crafted tracks based on the Manchester music scene's rich background.
Their track 'Forever' was selected to be one of the 40 on the Ralph's Life Double CD for the charity Rethink Mental Illness and their musical journey of late has seen them work with producers Neil Treppas and Seadna McPhail who's worked with Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets among others and a recent signing with Manchester DIY record label Longevity. Alongside a series of gigs including headlining Night & Day in Manchester.
The band is fronted by vocalist and guitarist Stephen Ahern formerly of Dirty Circus (Sony Columbia Records), with Mike Fieldhouse also on guitar, Ian Holden on bass and Matt Ryan on drums.
There's a fresher sound emerging too with the guitar driven, 60's sounding 'In Soul City' and it's keyboard and horns taking it to another 'old school' level. The likes of 'Dead Man Walking' on the other hand is a pure Manchester anthem and guaranteed gig favourite. If you're in Manchester and looking for a band to follow that have their sights set high and playing no nonsense Indie music, look no further than The Ninth Watch.
