Plenty of bottle

From the archive, first published Monday 4th Mar 2002.

Rising Stourbridge stars Bottlerockit are due to set off on a mammoth 45-date UK tour next month.

The band, fronted by dynamic lead singer and guitarist Johnny Crawford, will be kicking off the four-month tour at Manchester's Apollo Theatre on March 24.

They will be hitting the road in a well-equipped Mercedes Bus, complete with satellite television, mini-bar, shower and tour manager.

And they will be stopping off in their hometown on June 2 to play The Bonded Warehouse, Canal Street.

Drummer Christian Finn said: "We've come a long way from the days of our little rusty van."

The tour, one of the biggest by an independent band for a while, will see the band playing at festivals at Butlin's, Minehead and Skegness in March and April.

After that they will be visiting every corner of the UK, playing at Bournemouth, Bristol, Stoke on Trent, Derby, Nottingham, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Sheffield, Essex, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Eastbourne, Brighton, London, Kent, Newcastle, Torquay, Reading, Cambridge, Cheshire and Alton Towers theme park.

The tour winds up at a festival in Kent on July 20.

For full tour dates and more Bottlerockit details visit www.bottlerockit.com.

Tickets for the hometown gig are on sale at Our Price, Stourbridge, priced £5.

Bottlerockit have recently recruited a new fourth member to `beef up' the sound - even more.

On record company advice, they have signed-up 23-year-old Aussie guitarist Daniel Petterson.

Not wanting to miss out on the growing phenomenon that is Bottlerockit, gutsy Dan dropped everything, sold his flat and car in Sydney and moved to England - after receiving a long-shot email request from frontman Johnny Crawford.

If that wasn't proof enough that the band's reputation is growing, Johnny has been collaborating with Finnish producers who have worked with ska punk favourites Blink 182.

On a more commercial front he has also teamed up with Con Fitzpatrick, writer of 90s cult band Shampoo's `Uh-oh We're in Trouble'.

Johnny said: "The new material is a lot heavier and more mature."

The band are also set to change their name to My Bottlerockit later this year - after discovering there is a country and western band in The States called The Bottle Rockets.

And a new album - on a major record label - is on the cards later in the year.

Johnny said: "Bottlerockit have a large fan base in Stourbridge and will always be glad to be known as a band from the town."

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