Harry Styles Started His Singing Journey With This Band Before He Left Them to Join One Direction

According to the most devoted fans, Harry Styles has never been associated with any other group but One Direction. Since his meteoric climb to popularity started in 2010, he has amassed a global fan base of millions who have stuck with him as a band member and now as a solo artist.

But what even his greatest admirers may not know is that Styles was in a separate band before One Direction was ever a thing. The band's failure to achieve widespread recognition while he was a member hasn't dampened their ambitions, though.

Harry was in a band called White Eskimo in Manchester before he joined One Direction and tried out for The X Factor. The group formed in 2009 and has been performing continuously since then. It has been speculated that bands like Paramore, You Me At Six, Blink-182, and Greenday have served as musical inspirations for the group. In contrast to Harry's solo work and that of One Direction, it seems that the band has always remained true to a strong pop-punk style of music.

According to The Thing, Will Sweeny, the band's frontman, has said on many occasions that he despises comparisons to One Direction, saying it's like comparing Metallica to Take That. Another thing that sets this band apart is that they have no intention of altering who they are in order to achieve success in the music business. Instead, they want to play music "for the love of it" and are willing to put in the time and effort necessary to make their dreams a reality. Some of their tracks were previously recorded at Castle Rock Studios and Liverpool's Motor Museum, which have also been used by Oasis, The 1975, and Tom Odell.

The band is also responsible for Harry's ability to sing. Bass playing was only one of many interests he had, but the band required both a bassist and a vocalist for the school's "battle of the bands" competition, so he joined up. They found someone who could solely play bass, so Harry could focus on his true calling: singing. Fans of One Direction throughout the nation may attribute at least some of Harry's success to the influence of Will and the rest of White Eskimo, even though Harry was essentially coerced into joining the band.

Harry's high school band, White Eskimo, formed in 2009, and he joined One Direction the following year, therefore his tenure with White Eskimo was rather brief. The band's early performances consisted of school concerts and a wedding because of Harry and the other member's inexperience and the fact that they were just starting out.

It wasn't long into Harry's tenure with White Eskimo when his mother recommended he audition for The X Factor, and the rest, as they say, is history. While it paid off for Harry to take a chance and leave White Eskimo for One Direction, the band is still striving to make it huge. Harry allegedly hasn't spoken to any of the White Eskimo guys in years, despite having grown up together. There seems to be no animosity between them, and the band members have even acknowledged that Harry's popularity has boosted their own.

References:

https://www.thethings.com/what-harry-styles-did-before-one-direction-white-eskimo/

https://www.thethings.com/the-career-path-harry-styles-almost-pursued-before-one-direction/