Band of brothers

Oasis gave us the Gallagher brothers, the Bee Gees gave us the Gibb brothers, the Kinks gave us the Davies brothers, the Everley Brothers gave us, obviously, the Everley brothers.

Male siblings working side by side in the music business is hardly a new phenomenon. Now Southampton has its own pop star brothers - the Gilbert brothers of Delays.

Greg Gilbert (vocals/guitar) had already formed Delays with school friends Colin Fox (bass) and Rowly ("It's like Ronaldo" - no surname required - drums). Then three years ago they were joined by Greg's little brother Aaron (keyboards), who gave the band a new dimension. As Greg explains, "We were a three piece, just guitars and drums, then Aaron came in with sequencers and changed the way we write and do stuff because we have to write to loops and rhythmically it's a whole new ball game."

Greg naturally takes the lead in the conversation, but they all have something to say. There's obvious integrity and belief in their music. They are confident and laid-back but not to the extent of being arrogant, yet they have every reason to be pleased with their progress. To date they have released three singles - Nearer Than Heaven, Hey Girl and Long Time Coming, the latter two going top 40. They have toured extensively, in their own right and as support to some very big names - including Ocean Colour Scene - and have even proved to be big in Japan, playing dates in Tokyo and Osaka at the end of last year.

As a four piece, under the guidance of Mike Gilbert (Greg and Aaron's dad), Delays were in a position to send out demo tapes to record companies. Top of their wish list and the first door they knocked on was Rough Trade Records, home to the Strokes and Libertines.

Geoff Travis, the man at the label's helm, familiar with Delays as a three-piece, was so impressed with the demo he travelled down from London to see the boys on home ground. They put on a daytime showcase for him at the Joiners, which the lads admit was one of the most nerve- racking gigs they have ever played. A four album deal duly followed, with the first - Faded Seaside Glamour - due to be released on Monday.

In a cynical music business it's almost unheard of to get such an instant positive response and to have successfully avoided the London circuit. Delays never entertained the idea of playing the London's grotty muso pubs with the vain hope that someone from an A&R department might pop in.

It is, however, their live offering which is their real strength. Disappointed that they missed last summer's festivals, Greg says, "We wanted to be out there.... We are our own best advert, I think, to see us live.

"If you've only heard Nearer Than Heaven and Hey Girl your impression of the band is gonna be pretty traditional, but they aren't that representative of the album or us live really."

The singles created a fair amount of radio play and press interest, which has been steadily growing. The broadsheets and music press picked up on them first, with the tabloids following. They recently played live sessions for alternative London station Xfm, Virgin Radio and Radio 2, which prompted some positive listener feedback.

Radio 1's Mark and Lard as well as duo Colin Murray and Edith Bowman championed Hey Girl as their record of the week, which was a huge boost for the band. As Colin explains, "It's really hard to break into Radio 1. They're so self-conscious about what they play. The new stuff, the different stuff, they don't give it a look in. But Mark and Lard loved the track and played it all the time, which was really refreshing."

The band has been labelled retro by some, including NME. In their defence, Greg says, "The Stone Roses in 1990 were retro. Everything's retro. Oasis were retro to the Stone Roses." And none of these bands seemed to have suffered because of it.

Busy touring, they spend little time at home in Southampton these days. They remain, however, true sons of the city and have huge respect for the local music scene. "We know most of the local bands in Southampton and there are loads of good bands all along the coast," says Greg.

But according to manager Mike, hailing from Southampton has little in the way of music credibility cache. "You need to say you're from Glasgow, Manchester or London," he says. Apparently Southampton is not considered gritty enough to be cool.

Luckily Delays don't go a bundle on perceived credibility. They've got this far through genuine talent.

"We're just trying to be as honest as we can," says Greg. "There's no sitting about planning what kind of music we're gonna make at all." But the music they've made so far certainly hasn't disappointed. Watch this space because with the album, even greater things are promised.