Cumbernauld band prepare for UK tour

Fluorescent Hearts - Chris Ashton, Martyn Gribben, Gary Gilmour and Andrew Stuart - were named last year as the winners of a competition offering hopeful acts the chance to go on the road with Taking Hayley. The lads will

“Last year we got a much better response than we expected when we started playing venues away from our usual places in Glasgow,” said frontman Chris Ashton. “We’ve been getting good responses from the audience and have been desperate for the chance to go down south when we are the opening act for Taking Hayley. They have a buzz about them right now and have worked with some big names.

The first leg of this tour is on Monday, February 18 in Southampton. The Glasgow gig is on Thursday, February 21 at the O2 ABC.

The bandmates are all from Cumbernauld, and Chris and Gary have been friends since their schooldays at Cumbernauld High School. “We both started playing music when we were about 12 or 13, me on guitar and Gary on drums. A few years later we met Andrew, who went to Greenfaulds High and had different musical tastes from us. He was into indie while we liked punk rock and grunge. We eventually met Damien Hendry (aka Damo) and he was with us for much of last year until a few months ago, when he left the band and we carried on as a three piece until we met Martyn, a good friend of Damo’s who lives near him.”

Fluorescent Hearts are a four-piece again, with Martyn officially confirmed as Damo’s replacement.