Band compared to Bob Dylan with ‘riffs of Rage Against the Machine’ HERE is a certain romance to the idea of two friends making music as a duo.

Forfeiting a bigger sound for something more stripped back and raw has worked wonders for the likes of The White Stripes and Royal Blood.

But Jimmy O, frontman of The Graveltones, said becoming a duo was just a happy accident for his blues rock band.

“We never intended to be a two-piece,” said Jimmy, who plays with drummer Mikey Sorbello “We were both Australians living in London and we had just moved here.

“It was weird because we were both working in Denmark Street. I had a job in a guitar shop and Mikey was working in a drum shop across the road.

“I was trying to put something together so I stumbled into his shop. We had a beer and a chat and found out we were from the same part of town and knew a lot of the same people but never met in Australia.”

So the pair, who both grew up in Queensland, decided to form a band and played gigs in London bars while searching for a bassist.

Jimmy added: “Three months went by and we were still trying to organise all these rehearsals with bass players that either cancelled or didn’t show up.

“In the meantime, we kept on playing show after show and the reception was great so we thought let’s just keep it as a two-piece. It came about very organically and the sound changed as we kept playing because we were never rehearsing, just playing live.

“I’d buy new pedals to fill out the sound and Mikey would play different to compensate for not having a bass player. I guess that’s how we constructed what we do. It was never a thought out thing. We just ran with it.”

The formula has clearly worked. The Graveltones have been compared to Bob Dylan with the riffs of Rage Against The Machine and beats of Bonham.

Their hugely catchy single, Forget About The Trouble, has been making waves in the music scene and Rimmel even chose their song, I Want Your Love, to front their advertising campaign with Kate Moss.

But Jimmy told Weekend that one of their highlights was playing to a crowd of 5,000 at Download festival at Donington Park.It was absolutely amazing,” said the 27-year-old.

“We love Download festival. To play that was definitely our biggest gig so far in the UK.

“When we played it was early afternoon and you worry no one’s going to come to the tent.

“It was nice to know our fans supported us and there were a lot of new people there to check us out. It was great show.

“We had a blast on stage. Everyone seemed to be loving it and we got really good feedback from the press. We cut our teeth on the live circuit so playing live for us really does feel like home.”

The Graveltones released their debut album, Don’t Wait Down, last year.

It was produced by Charlie Francis, who has worked with REM and The Noisettes. Their next single, Bang Bang, comes out on September 8.

The Graveltones play at the Roadhouse in Manchester on Monday, August 25. Tickets are £10.50. Visit seetickets.com

DAVID MORGAN