James 'Shinny' Davenport, Hanky Park's work hard, play hard singer songwriter is back with a brilliant new album that is brimming with Salford attitude. If Salford sounds like anything, this is it…
The new album, enigmatically titled Shinny's Secrets, certainly has a story to tell so I asked the main man what it's all about.
"It's a twenty track album, it's a limited edition so it's rare" he says "The music was already there so I thought I'd put it into an album and make a story of it… I work with session musicians so I'm the solo artist and it's all about my experiences, my songs, my secrets…so I went for Shinny's Secrets."
Shinny co-produced the album at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, where Freddy Mercury recorded Bohemian Rhapsody… "We used the piano from Bohemian Rhapsody on the album, there's a lot of history on this album."
With the likes of Paolo Nutini and Kasabian recently recording there, it's a studio that still attracts some of the biggest artists around. And Shinny has attracted some amazing talent to record the album with him... "We've got Neville Staple from the Specials on the first track of the album, and there's Jon Christos, Salford's very own opera singer, who sang on the crossover track The Beginning Of The End."
The Beginning Of The End, one of the many highlights on the album, is an epic apocalyptic hymn concerned about where the world is heading. Other highlights include the sensational Felo De Se, an emotional ballad with a vocal reminiscent of the late great Jeff Buckley. There's also the intimate love song Lost, the energetic Gimme Some More that you could expect to find on a Kings Of Leon album, and the angry You Let Them Walk The Streets. Then there is the truly amazing Nine Inch Nails/Johnny Cash cover Hurt, a huge song that Shinny carries off effortlessly.
"I rarely do covers but the keyboard player Luke Hinton said `You've got to do a cover of Johnny Cash's Hurt" recalls Shinny "I said `Nah' but we gave it go in the studio one day and thought `Yeah!' We are really happy with the outcome. It's a big song but the other cover we did was Love Will Tear Us Apart with Peter Hook on the second album so we're not afraid of taking on a big song… It's about time we got a break."
Shinny played some of the new tracks at the Rally On The Lawn at the Civic Centre in May… "It was a great day" he says "I've done quite a few things like that in Salford over the last fifteen years. I do a lot of charity shows. I'm doing a gig at the The Recovery Walk this Saturday at the Castlefield Arena. There's also the anti-Glazer song I wrote, We'll Never Die."
"I feel like I've done a lot and I'm just hoping that Salford people will get behind the album" he adds "We've done loads in fact but now I want to get a record deal. Whether it is with an independent or a Manchester label. I've never signed up to anything, but at the age I'm at now I want to sign up and work as a proper artist. There's loads of material that people don't even know about. There's even an album I wrote fifteen years ago."
Hanky Park has a quality back catalogue and Shinny is keen for people to explore it. "I'm trying to attract people to the old material as well" he explains "I hope people will find the earlier albums Rags2Riches and Highly Fuelled. There's a story in them all."
Since the massive Rumble at the Reebok gig in 2011 that was seen by millions of TV viewers, the band has played a number of high profile gigs. "The last main gig was with Peter Hook and The Light at Picturedrome in Holmfirth and I did a show a couple of weeks ago with Mike Sweeney."
On Saturday 27th September, Hanky Park will also be headlining a free night at the Salford Music Festival at The Weaste, previewing tracks from the new album.
The band has carved out a sound that is rooted in the city so it is no wonder they get so much support here. Let's make sure this Salford sound gets heard by the whole world this time round…
Shinny's Secrets by Hanky Park is released through iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. You will also be able to get it at Piccadilly Records on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter. To hear a preview of the whole album see CD Baby website – click here
See Hanky Park play tonight, 13th September, at The 6th Greater Manchester Recovery Walk at Castlefield Arena www.ukrecoverywalk.org/the-6th-uk-recovery-walk-greater-manchester/
And at the Salford Music Festival, Saturday 27th September headlining at The Weaste pub, Edward Avenue, Weaste M6 8DA
www.salfordmusicfestival.co.uk
* See also Salford Star Preview of the Salford Music Festival - click here
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