Russell Pritchard

The Zutons are an English indie rock band, formed in 2001 in Liverpool.

The band are currently composed of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave McCabe, drummer Sean Payne, and saxophonist Abi Harding.

The Zutons formed in Liverpool in 2001, taking their name from Captain Beefheart's Magic Band guitarist Zoot Horn Rollo.

Dave McCabe had previously been in the band Tramp Attack.

Both Pritchard and Payne were members of Edgar Jones' post Stairs band The Big Kids (with Sean's brother Howie Payne of The Stands).

The band was originally a four-piece, before Payne's girlfriend Abi Harding began joining The Zutons on stage for a couple of songs mid-set, playing simple saxophone lines.

The other band members liked the way her saxophone enhanced their sound and Harding became a full member, contributing vocals and sax.

Deltasonic head Alan Wills was initially dubious about the musical talents of McCabe: "I'd heard other bands Dave had played in and I thought they were all rubbish".

The Coral's James Skelly was persistent in trying to convince Wills of his friend's potential and the breakthrough finally came when the bedroom demos of the newly formed Zutons persuaded the Deltasonic head into working with them.

At first, the band had to battle comparisons to The Coral.

Both bands were Merseyside bands prominent in the Liverpool music scene; were on the same record label; shared the same producer, Ian Broudie; and were good friends, with McCabe having previously written songs with James Skelly.

The band's music has proved difficult to categorize, being described as "psychedelic cartoon punk".

McCabe, who is also the lead songwriter, includes amongst his influences Talking Heads, Devo, Sly & the Family Stone, Dexys Midnight Runners, Sublime and Madness.

The first record the band put out was the 3-track CD Devil's Deal, released in September 2002.

The following spring they released Creepin' and a Crawlin', and then the download-only single "Haunts Me" in November 2003.

They released their debut album, Who Killed...... The Zutons?, in April 2004 and achieved UK chart success with "Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?" and "Valerie", both taken from their second studio album, Tired of Hanging Around, in 2006.

Both singles reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart.

The band's "Z" logo was changed early in 2004 to avoid confusion with the Zenith logo.

The Zutons' debut album, Who Killed...... The Zutons?, was released in April 2004, and initially reached No. 13 in the UK album chart.

The album was critically acclaimed and was a nominee for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize.

The track "Confusion" was used in a Peugeot 307 car advert in the UK during 2004-2005.

However, after nearly a year, it moved up to No. 9 in early 2005.

The LP had a specially printed 3-D cover and came with Zutons 3-D viewing glasses, which many fans then wore to their concerts.

Early copies of the album also included a bonus 4-track CD of alternative versions of their songs.

The band themselves were nominated for the British Breakthrough Act award at the 2005 BRIT Awards.

The album was later re-issued following the single "Don't Ever Think (Too Much)", with that song being added as track 13.

The new album Tired of Hanging Around was released on 17 April 2006 and reached No. 2 in the UK album charts.

The first two singles from the album, "Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?" and "Valerie", both peaked at 9 in the UK charts, a fair achievement considering their highest place previously had been with the single "Don't Ever Think (Too Much)" at 15.

The band toured the UK in May 2006 following the release of this album.

They played at the Jersey Live Festival on 2 September 2006 before their second UK tour, which began in November 2006.

In October 2006, they performed at The Secret Policeman's Ball.

On New Year's Eve 2006, the Zutons appeared on Jools Holland's annual Hootenanny on BBC television, on which they performed their songs "Valerie", "Why Don't You Give Me Your Love?"

and "It's The Little Things We Do."

As the November tour began, the band gave an interview to STV discussing songwriting, making videos and their American dates with The Killers.

In a separate interview, Payne complained about the tendency of music writers and magazines to generalise a particular city as the breeding ground of new 'movements', "A lot of bands get lumped in when they're in the same neck of the woods and journalists–especially in England–like to make a big deal out of that and make it into a scene, as if the individual bands aren't good enough to write about."

The band announced on 13 July 2007 that guitarist Boyan Chowdhury had left The Zutons, citing "musical differences".

. In late 2007, Paul Molloy, formerly of The Skylarks and The Stands, joined the band.

The band quietly disbanded in 2009, several months after they released the third studio album, You Can Do Anything, in June 2008 with no official announcement.

They ultimately reunited in September 2016 for a one-off show billed as "probably [the] last ever" in remembrance of their friend, actor and former Tramp Attack frontman Kristian Ealey.

The band remained in contact and in November 2018 announced a spring 2019 tour to commemorate and perform their debut album.