Gorgeous George

Style: Gypsy/Jewish/Slavic/Polka/Cossack/Cockney/Chav Folk

Gorgeous George say: We write and perform our own mix of different Eastern European folk music, with a distinct South London wisp. All of our songs are based on people we have come across and either admired, hated or been jealous of. We felt that with this book of acerbic South London folk-lore of ours, we needed a musical backdrop that would really set us apart from acts who cover similar topics to us, from The Streets all the way through to The Enemy. We didn't (and still don't) want people to liken to us to bands like The Jam or The Clash, because when people say that, what they really mean is you sound just like them and you're ripping them off. So we all went through our heritage and ancestry and decided to sound like a Hungarian Bar Mitzvah. Then we got our heads down, got in touch with some serious musicians and learned to play like a Rabbi on drugs.

Controvert says: Often, the music that stands out is created by those musicians that take their influences from less obvious places, and musical influences don’t come much more eclectic than those of Gorgeous George. They have masterfully concocted a blend of cockney shuffle and Balkan gypsy folk, with subject matter seemingly based largely on people they’ve encountered that they think are total wankers. But the originality of this combination of influences isn’t the main thing that makes them interesting; it’s the end result, which is absolutely brilliant.

Find out more: www.facebook.com/gorgeousgeorgetheband