ABOUT

Last Tourist hail from the dark heart of Leeds. They conjure the sound of creeping down dark corridors and wandering slowly through disused spaces, all set to a moody and rhythmic danceable beat.

 The darkwave, shoegaze, synth-infused five-piece started formation in 2017 when John Wellby (guitar, vocals) and Adam Simpson (synths, programming) joined forces as a duo, their initial recordings propelled by bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Suicide, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Wellby was set on recruiting additional band members of similar vision and his longtime mate, the Sheffield Synth City-bred Jason Booth (bass guitar, bass synth), expanded their numbers.

 A very limited vinyl run of the first double A-side single ‘Are We Just Algorithms?’/‘Public Service’ managed to sell out very quickly after it was brought to the attention of the shoegaze community via Greg Wilson, DKFM radio station owner, who liked the track and wanted to host the premiere.

 The band’s third single, ‘Cave In The Hills’, was released on digital formats on 28 April 2021. It was co-produced by Wellby and John Pennington and skillfully mastered by Slowdive drummer Simon Scott, while tipped by The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Mark Crozer in his top-10 tunes of 2021.

 Fourth single, ‘Black Raven (Always Lost)’, hit streaming services on 01 November 2021. This was the first track featuring Scott behind the drum kit, which gained much attention and airplay on DKFM and other radio stations.

 After sending the last two singles to Scott for mastering, Wellby inquired as to whether he’d be interested in playing drums on the full album and Scott kindly agreed. Soon after playing alongside Doncaster’s 93 Million Miles from the Sun at Leeds’ Headrow House, Nick Noble joined the band on guitar and backing vocals and started adding and writing his parts for the debut eponymous album. ‘Black Raven’ premiered on Whimsical front woman Krissy Vanderwoude’s DKFM show and Wellby’s invitation join the fold on Last Tourist was quickly accepted, her angelic vocals shining on a number of tunes across the album.

 Last Tourist are John Wellby (guitar, vocals), Nick Noble (guitar, vocals), Adam Simpson (synth and programming), and Jason Booth (bass guitar, bass synth), with the album also featuring guest appearances from Whimsical’s Krissy Vanderwoude (vocals) and Slowdive’s Simon Scott (drums)