Kitty, Daisy and Lewis

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis is a three-piece band comprising the siblings of the Durham family. Their music is influenced heavily by R&B, swing, jump blues, country and Western, blues, Hawaiian and rock ‘n’ roll. They are all multi-instrumentalists playing guitar, piano, banjo, lapsteel guitar, harmonica, double bass, ukulele, drums, trombone, xylophone and accordion between them.

Kitty Durham is the youngest of the group and primarily sings and plays drums, harmonica, ukulele, banjo, trombone and guitar. Daisy Durham, the eldest, primarily sings and plays drums, piano, accordion and xylophone. Lewis Durham sings and plays guitar, piano, banjo, lapsteel and drums. He collects and plays/DJ’s 78rpm records and has built a home studio which consists of antique recording equipment such as 8-track tape machines and vintage BBC and RCA microphones. Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis do not use computers or any digital format during the recording process.

Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis have been performing from a young age, and have therefore built up a fanbase which supposedly includes Chris Martin, Eagles Of Death Metal, Dustin Hoffman, and Ewan McGregor. They have had worldwide success with sold-out tours and have opened for Coldplay, Razorlight, Richard Hawley, Jools Holland, and others.

The band are signed to BBC Radio 1 DJ and Bestival curator Rob da Bank’s label, Sunday Best, who released their second single «Mean Son Of A Gun», a song originally cut by Johnny Horton in the 50s, with the B-side «Ooo Wee» which they first heard on a 78rpm record sung by Louis Jordan. This was released on 45rpm, CD and a limited edition 78rpm vinyl. The tracks were recorded at home. The vinyl was also cut by Lewis using his own equipment at The Exchange Mastering Studios, which is owned and run by his father Graeme.

On 30 May 2011, Smoking in Heaven is due to be released on CD & vinyl (double LP & 78rpm Album) also on Sunday Best.