Scarlet Harlots

Orange unsignedAct finalists the Scarlet Harlots have been tipped for greatness in the new year by The Wombats.

The members of The Wombats were impressed when they mentored the Scarlet Harlots for the Channel 4 talent show. Wombats singer, Murf told them:

I thought you were going to be good before you even picked up an instrument.

Now, you all know that I’ve been a big fan of The Wombats over the last year, so this endorsement by the band interested me. I decided to check out the Scarlet Harlots. They’ve got their own profile on the Orange unsignedAct homepage, and of course the ubiquitous MySpace presence, although there’s more music on the MySpace page, including the essential This Is How We Do It.

What’s in store for the listener is some indie-punk style tunes that reflect perhaps the next generation of indie in the UK. In what has been a stagnating scene, could a band like Scarlet Harlots come in and reinvigorate it? Maybe. Check them out and let me know what you think.

Anyway, the praise from The Wombats continued apace when the band suggested that they’d be happy to take the Harlots on tour with them. Harlots frontman, Sam Baylis said “to say that we could go on tour with The Wombats, that’s a massive compliment and has given me a rod of confidence!”

If you’re not already watching unsignedAct, you can catch it on T4 at 12:20pm on Sunday.
- Unreality Music

The Scarlet Harlots were, on the other hand, in a different league, however, I may be being slightly unfair as (I hope) Everything Everything are just starting out. The Scarlet Harlots are full of the kind of intensity you would want to see again and again in a band. Good songs, not just played well but played with passion with an almost ‘screw you all’ attitude at times. The lead singer and especially the lead guitarist showed quality beyond their years but more importantly they seemed to enjoy every goddamn moment of it.

When it came to Bombay Bicycle Club I was expecting and hoping for a lot. The hype suggested that I was going to get a rare glimpse of a young band (I think their average age is 17) that needed nothing more than be allowed to do what they do; no tinkering, no pushing, just pure talent oozing from every pore. Perhaps I was expecting too much.What I got was a good band that, unlike The Scarlet Harlots, obviously believes they have nothing more to do.

- Barfly

Reality TV, huh? Talk about a numbing saccharin overdose, colostomy bag full of flaky hemorrhoid scabs. What in the name of Duncan Goodhew were Scarlet Harlots , thinking when signing up for Mobile Act Unsigned? Well, considering they now get a kerrjillion web hits a day and didn’t win a suffocating record deal that guarantees absolutely no promotion what-so-ever, (hello Envy & Other Sins) then job’s a goodun, right?



Scarlet Harlots didn’t belong on that clunge stink of a show, they themselves didn’t expect to get anywhere, let alone into the final, and by just being their brilliant, uncompromising selves they managed to crash the party and connect with a huge cross-section of the public that seemed to be just waiting for a band like this to come along.



OK, The Fly is gushing, but witnessing the Scarlet Harlots reminds this young(ish) correspondent of stories read about tattoo-worthy bands such as The Smiths, The Clash and The Specials.
- The Fly

Grimey saucepots The Scarlet Harlots are the genre blurring bastardisation of a band that could only be spawned from the culturally rich underground music scene of Birmingham.

On the surface TSH are a genius Morrissey-Marr style, polemic songwriting partnership that has penned pending indie dance floor classics such as 'Cat’s Eyes’ and ‘Frauds’, while underneath a polyrhythmic drum & bass/grime/hip hop edge distinguishes this band as an innovative force to be reckoned with.

Recent support slots with friends and fans; The Twang as well as shows with Jamie T, The Young Knives and Howling Bells have brought wider, national attention to this enigmatic band.
- Drowned in Sound

The competition, an X-Factor like show where unsigned bands perform in front of a judging panel of music industry experts, guarantees the winners a record deal, masses of publicity and a nationwide tour.

Scarlet Harlots were one of 7,500 groups from around the country who applied over the summer of 2008 - and have now reached the final three.

They were actually eliminated by the judges at one stage but a wild card stipulation in the rules allowed one band to be brought back via public vote.

Thousands made the call to bring back the Scarlets and the Birmingham lads find themselves in the finals on Sunday 25th January 2009.

"I just want to thank everyone who's voted for us so far," says guitarist and vocalist Geoffrey Foulkes. "Me and the lads really appreciate it.

"We honestly didn't think we'd get this far. The whole strategy was just to go on the show just to get a bit more publicity so we could get a few more people at our gigs in Birmingham. Whatever happens, it's been all good experience and brilliant for the band."

The Harlots have bagged lot of publicity. Their myspace plays alone are bordering on 10,000 a day.

Regardless of whether Scarlet Harlots win the competition, weekly exposure on national television has only helped the band, who first performed as relative unknowns on BBC WM Introducing in October 2007.


Enjoying a pint
"It's really changed things," says Geoffrey. "Now we're in the music business and dealing with publicists, photographers and a lot of press. Playing live in a TV studio is a lot of pressure. But it's the kind of thing you wanted when you first started playing guitar as a kid so it's like a dream really.

"I've been recognised in the street more than you'd think. I was quite surprised. I'm used to going up to people I see and telling them that I like their work, appreciate what they're doing. Having it happen to yourself is really humbling. It's really nice."

Scarlet Harlots will battle two other bands during the live final on 25th January for the dream prize - a record deal with Universal, album releases and a national tour.


Scarlet Harlots
The winners will be determined purely by audience votes.

"It's a major Universal contract, like any other contract they have with any other artist like Amy Winehouse or Duffy. It's life changing."

The final of Orange Unsigned Act airs on Sunday 25th Jaunary 2009 on Channel 4.
- BBC

To our surprise, there was no introduction to The Scarlet Harlot’s, who we predict will be yet another breakthrough Birmingham band.

Despite the small crowd, this band did not disappoint with their performance. With catchy beats and even catchier lyrics they produced a much appreciated set.


Phil Etheridge (L) and Saunders
Involving the audience, banter between one another, and the lead singer’s ability to engage every man and woman in the room boosted the crowd’s excitement for the night.

Scarlet Harlot's
Songs such as Frauds and Cat Like Eyes were favourites, and despite the audience’s realisation that there were low amounts of people, many began to tap their feet and join in.

The band's thankfulness for being there and general appreciation towards the crowd provided the atmosphere and involvement lost from most gigs due to arrogance.
- bbc

BIRMINGHAM band Scarlet Harlots are hoping to match the success of fellow Brummie outfit Envy And Other Sins by winning a prestigious talent contest.

Envy led the way by scooping last year’s Orange Unsigned Act with Sony Ericsson title and now Scarlet Harlots are among the finalists in this year’s competition.

Their progress can be seen when the latest round is aired on Channel 4, at 12.20pm, on Sunday.

“We asked Envy some questions about the contest and they told us to remain grounded but not to take things too seriously,” says 26-year-old frontman Sam Baylis, from Northfield.

Scarlet Harlots have been encouraged by the support they’ve received from contest judge Lauren Laverne.

“We almost didn’t get through the first round but Lauren said she saw something in us and put us through,” Sam adds. “Then in the next round we had to play acoustically and we did our song Backlash.

‘‘The judges said it didn’t have a hook but that was because the hook is played on the bass guitar which we didn’t use as it was an acoustic session. We were allowed to play another song, Sunflower, which they loved.”
- Birmingham Mail

Brummie Band the Scarlet Harlots on Sunday made it through to the final of T4's Mobile UnsignedAct.


The five piece band had been kicked out of the competition by the judges, but the public chose to vote them back in and this weekend saw them progress to the competition's final, with even more public support. The winners of the show, that's hosted by Alex Zane, will get a record deal with Universal.

Speaking about their place in the final lead singer Sam told BRMB "The judges didn't expect us to be in the final, I think they expected one of the other solo artists to go through, so it's weird, we're scaring them I think."

The band describe their sound as PUNK-STEP. They told BRMB growing up listening to bands like The Clash and Bob Dylan and tuning into pirate radio stations in Birmingham has given them their unique sound. The band are pleased that if they win on Sunday the record label will be forced to put out something a bit different, guitarist Geoff said "I think we've definitely opened doors for other bands who've got something to same to come into that competition.
- BRMB

Bukkake's biggest night yet, with live sets from The Scarlet Harlots and the thrilling Chew Lips; and promising young newcomers We Are Swift. Plus a superb DJ lineup with Bukkake favourite DJ Concept gracing the decks with his vast knowledge and skills, and Bukkake resident DJs playing an eclectic mix.

With the usual ambience of all things dark and moody, an arcade-esque environment with projections of anime, cult films and computer games, this will be one of the most interesting nights out so far this year. Lineup:

Scarlet Harlots
Progressive, edgy, but accessible, E4's unsigned giants Scarlet Harlots bring together an angular passion for strong bass, big beats and punk guitar fronted by the charismatic figure and lyricism of Sam Baylis; a fusion described as Punk-Step.
This hotly-tipped group from Birmingham have been together as this line-up for two years, supporting the likes of Jamie-T, Young Knives, Hollowing Bells, The Twang, Reverend and the Makers and many other successful bands. They see themselves as a sample outfit in which they take whatever they think works and 'dirty it up.'
"Sam Baylis is gurning like Elvis and flexing like Soulja Boy ... this is rousing indie from the same block as The Maccabees and Larrikin Love, clashing with jungle and dubstep to demonstrate a progressive, party ethic" - The Fly.
myspace.com/thescarletharlots - All in London