Luke Concannon, singer
At the age of 13, John and I began collaborating on writing songs together. After completing our university studies, we returned to our childhood homes in the Midlands. We decided to work on creating an album together. One day, I went downstairs and found my father cooking. I asked him for songwriting inspiration, and he suggested writing about diggers. My dad used to operate a Massey Ferguson digger for his father’s groundworks company and would often pick me up from school in it after finishing a job. At school, I was frequently bullied by an older student, but when I was with my dad, I felt loved, safe, and warm. The two environments were vastly different. I went back to my room and within 90 minutes, I had written the song that would eventually be recorded.
I was employed at several youth centers in London and would travel from Leamington Spa twice a week. The popular garage sound at the time had a strong influence on me and I found myself constantly tapping to its rhythm. Then, it hit me: “I’m Luke, I’m five, and my father is Bruce Lee.” The way these two elements combined was like a burst of inspiration.
The strange nature of it might catch people off guard. They would find humor in the phrase: “The engine shakes my buttocks like crazy.” By the conclusion, they would simply be laughing and grooving along to it. We included it on our first album and began creating a hand-drawn video in early 2005, which we released online in 30-second clips as the artist completed the laborious task. HMV contacted us and asked when we were planning to release the song, as many people were interested in purchasing it.
During Christmas of 2005, our band was ranked as the top performer. In the latter part of January, we had a successful concert at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, with all tickets sold out. As it turns out, Ed Sheeran was also in attendance. At the time, Ed was only 14 years old. He continuously reached out to us, expressing his interest in working with us. He had a strong drive and passion, often challenging us to rap battles due to his admiration for Eminem’s movie “8 Mile.” Even though Ed had a clear vision and talent for becoming a pop star, it was not something I was focused on at that time.
We were performing for an audience of 200 every night with a specific vision, mission, and purpose. Then, out of nowhere, one of our songs becomes a hit and we find ourselves playing to 20,000 people at Hyde Park. This rapid growth can be harmful to the stability of a functioning system. It led to ruptures, stress, and conflict within the band and was a contributing factor to our breakup. It’s comparable to a child growing at a steady pace suddenly growing 300 feet in just six months – it would most likely cause pain and potentially even be fatal for the child.
John Parker, the musician who plays the bass.
I am responsible for teaching Luke how to play guitar, so I take full blame. When he first showed me the song, I was a bit skeptical about the lyrics mentioning JCBs. However, after playing it together and making some musical adjustments, I still wasn’t completely sold on it. It wasn’t until we performed it live that I finally understood its appeal.
During that time, there were moments when burly, rugby-playing men would approach you with tears in their eyes, saying things like “I miss my father” or “I love my dad but I’ve never told him.” Luke had a talent for uniting the audience into a chorus. The song was lighthearted, but it was based on Luke’s own childhood memories of his dad and how many fathers in the audience were construction workers who allowed their sons to play in their heavy machinery.
In the past, we would host work experience students for a week in our studio and a week on the road. One student, Ed Sheeran, stood out to me. He was always very enthusiastic and asked a lot of questions. I do recall a specific instance in Bristol where he drank all of our complimentary drinks. I was busy with the show and really wanted a cold beer, but it was all gone. I mentioned to my colleague Luke that we couldn’t have him on tour if he was going to drink all of our drinks. In 2006, Ed opened for us in Norwich, close to his hometown, and he had the entire audience captivated. I remember thinking, “We may have created a superstar here.”
I did not believe our project was successful until we received recognition from sources like Richard and Judy. As a creative person, I often have to justify my work to skeptical family members. However, when we reached the top of the charts and became No. 1, they stopped questioning my career choice for a little while.
The JCB Song has become largely independent from Nizlopi. Luke and I had previously discussed our aspirations to reach the same level of success as U2. However, when we began to make progress towards that goal, we each had contrasting responses. This placed a great deal of stress on our relationship. We may have momentarily overlooked the fact that our band was built on a foundation of friendship, and that we were friends who happened to make music together, rather than musicians who formed a friendship.
Source: theguardian.com
