Ones To Watch: Last Great Dreamers

Last Great Dreamers are Marc Valentine (vocals, guitar), Slyder (guitar, vocals); Denley Slade (drums) and Steve Fielding (bass).

Unlike some of the fresh-faced upstarts that we feature on Ones To Watch, Last Great Dreamers’ history stretches back more than quarter of a century. Originally named Silver Hearts upon their formation in 1990, the delicious scuzzy, glam-tinged punk rockers penned a deal with Bleeding Hearts Records and released their debut album ‘Retrosexual’ as Last Great Dreamers in late ’94. Despite a rapidly expanding fan base and being lavished with acclaim, the band struggled to make significant headway in the face of the all-pervading Britpop scene and ultimately called it quits.

Thanks to the wonders of social media, many, many moons later Marc (who had been living in Los Angeles) and Slyder reconnected and they later reunited with a new rhythm section to play their first show in 17 years at Camden’s Purple Turtle in 2014. Buoyed by the fervent response from old and new fans alike, Last Great Dreamers toured relentlessly and in 2016 they released their crowdfunded second album ‘Transmissions From Oblivion’, which paved the way for a coveted 20-date support slot with kindred spirits The Quireboys.

With their resurgence on an upward trajectory, Last Great Dreamers released their second crowdfunded album (and third record in total) ‘13th Floor Renegades’ in April. An eclectic musical melting pot of glam, punk, rock, pop and even the odd flourish of psychedelia, the critically lauded record has been described by the band themselves as ‘like a barroom face-off between Cheap Trick and Ian Hunter’. Sublime current single ‘No Sunshine’ is a perfect aperitif for the album; starting off all whimsical and dreamy it soon transgresses into a high-octane stomper with the dark lyrics (“there is no sunshine in my brain”) starkly juxtaposing the joyous music. Be sure to catch them on their upcoming festival appearances and shows with Dan Baird and Homemade Sin.

See Last Great Dreamers at the following shows:

MAY 2018
Evesham The Iron Road – Wed 23rd (w/ Dan Baird and Homemade Sin)
Bearded Theory Festival – Fri 25th
Breaking Bands Festival – Sat 26th

JUNE 2018
Derby Flower Pot – Thu 14th (w/ Dan Baird and Homemade Sin)
Keighley Octagon Live – Fri 15th (w/ Dan Baird and Homemade Sin)

JULY 2018
Cambridge Rock Festival – Sat 28th

SEPTEMBER 2018
HRH Sleaze Festival, Sheffield – Sat 1st

Keep up-to-date with Last Great Dreamers by visiting their official website and following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.