Thousand Yard Stare

Thousand Yard Stare were formed in 1988 in the not so rural surrounds of Slough, Berkshire, cutting their teeth supporting touring bands at the nearby Old Trout venue in Windsor. TYS quickly built up a strong local following, leading to the the release of their debut EP Weatherwatching in 1990 on their record label Stifled Aardvark, with the NME nominating them as “brightest hope for the future” and gaining a solid reputation for energetic live performances in stark contrast to the rest of the emerging Thames Valley Scene.

In June 1991, the Keepsake EP reached the top spot in both the NME and Melody Maker Independent Charts. That summer, the band performed at the Reading Festival, further raising their profile and leading to a stint as support for James in October and November of that year. In the Autumn, the band began the sessions for their debut album, the first fruit of which was another EP, Seasonstream in 1991, headed by one of their signature tracks 0-0 a.e.t (No Score After Extra Time), featuring Martin Bell of The Wonder Stuff. This single again topped the Indie music charts, and reached number 65 in the UK singles chart, leading the band to sign to Polydor Records. Their next release - Comeuppance - reached No.37 in the UK singles chart, and signalled the release of their debut album Hands On, produced by Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur).

Touring further afield followed, across Europe with Jesus & Mary Chain and the US with the Soup Dragons, a coveted slot at Glastonbury Festival, and graced the cover of the key music mag of the time, Melody Maker. The band bowed out in 1993 with the release of their second album Mappamundi, and have remained on ice ever since. Until now..

Their recent re-union gig at London's famous Borderline sold out in a matter of days, an event of total celebration summed up in Drowned In Sound's review as "tonight's performance will live long in the memory. " and named one of their Top 10 Shows That Shook 2015. Further shows emerged as part of the Wake Up! All-dayer in Nottingham and the Shiiine Weekender in Minehead, their performance named one of the Best Concerts Of The Year by Step On Magazine.

The band recently stated : “We genuinely hadn’t been in a room together for over 20 years, so was about time, really. What began as simply a catch up on old and new times in our respective lives quickly escalated into a rehearsal, and found we were sounding better than ever. We’ve been asked many times over the years if we were ever going to reform, and never thought we would. But finding the old spirit and fire was still there, thought we should...So here we are, come and join us!”

With the recent annlouncement of a show at the legendary 100 Club in London this June and whispers of a return to the studio and more live shows in 2016, it all feels very Hands On again..

Thousand Yard Stare were, and are again :
Stephen Barnes (Vocals),
Dominic Bostock (Drums)
Giles Duffy (Guitars)
Sean McDonough (Bass)
Kevin Moxon (Guitars)