Harry Styles’ Former Band Explains They Are Different From One Direction ‘We Haven’t Been Simon Cowelled’
Before One Direction, Harry Styles was in another band called White Eskimo, and of course, he was in high school, as were his band mates. They were all really young, and the sound on the video available from those days isn’t really high quality. Still, an educated ear hears a lot of potential in their talent; and not just from Harry.
White Eskimo’s music was very different than One Direction even then. These guys were doing a punk and classic rock styles, with the traditional guitar, bass, and drums.
Harry Styles was their front man, but their drummer and bass player were pretty good for their age, and the guitarist, as nearly as one can tell with the quality of sound in the video below, had some pretty decent riffs.
Harry Styles was at that time one of the guys. He was with White Eskimo for seven months, but somewhere between his X Factor audition and his meteoric rise to fame with One Direction, Styles just wasn’t available anymore. He was busy and his old band mates didn’t hear very much from him. At first a little, but over time they drifted apart. Will Sweeny explained to Sugar Scape:
“We’re all really, really busy. There’s the odd text message here and there throughout the years, but we’re just concentrating on what we’re doing and he is as well. It’s not, like, pick up the phone like ‘yo, how’s it going?’ because we’re all really busy; but best of luck to him… it’s always good to see one of your friends to do something amazing.”
Thanks for having us @NewStreetMCR, was such a good show – see you again soon????????????.x pic.twitter.com/aZsRN72r9w
— White Eskimo (@_white_eskimo) July 20, 2016
When Harry Styles left town, White Eskimo, as one might have guessed, didn’t just give up. They simply appointed Harry’s best friend, Will Sweeny, as their new front man and carried on from there. Not too surprisingly, Will Sweeny too has found success, but while staying true to the original genre of the band.
Will Sweeny told the Manchester Evening News, that White Eskimo is very different from One Direction.
“Trying to compare us to One Direction is like comparing us to Westlife or Metallica to Take That. We are completely different. We haven’t been Simon Cowelled.”
One Direction’s Harry Styles was not the only member to leave the band. Haydn Morris and Nick Cough have also departed, but in their place are Alex Lewis, now the drummer, and Roy Bennett, who is the lead guitarist. Brad Nevinson, whose parents own Castle Rock Studios, is their bassist. Frontman Will Sweeny is the only original member, and he has shifted from drummer to lead singer.
White Eskimo have recorded 14 original songs and are getting some airplay on BBC Radio Manchester. They are also playing clubs and working hard to market their music the old fashioned way. Well, the old fashioned way plus YouTube and social media.
One Direction’s Harry Styles rose to instant fame and success. Styles has over $33 million worth of reasons not to regret leaving White Eskimo. Not to mention the $80 million he will make for his three solo albums that will be of his musical choice. In addition, Harry’s voice coaching from the X Factor has really helped his vocals, judging from the video. That’s got to be worth something, regardless of genre.
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One Direction’s Harry Styles will likely return to a genre similar to what he came from. He is going to take everything he knows and everything he can learn about rock and put it in those new albums. He is collaborating with several big name rock stars on his solo work. One Direction is also likely to take on a vast change in their genre after the hiatus.
At the same time, White Eskimo had complete artistic freedom for the last five years and has written some pretty impressive music. They too have honed their musical skills. Styles is just now getting into the studio to create his own solo albums, five years later. White Eskimo’s Will Sweeny says it is about more than money, according to Bustle.
“We want to go down the route of making music ourselves and making it big because we are good. It is ruining music where everything you hear on the radio is a pay cheque [sic].”
Did One Direction’s Harry Styles make the right choice when he left White Eskimo for an X Factor audition?
[Featured Image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]
