Luton band JW Paris talk about ‘full circle moment’ ahead of Radio 1’s Big Weekend gig

It’s two weeks until BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend festival comes to Luton, welcoming massive artists to Stockwood Park.

And while there’s plenty of buzz around the likes of Coldplay and Raye, the event is also an opportunity to shine a spotlight on homegrown talent, like JW Paris.

Two of the three bandmates come from Luton, with Aaron Forde and Danny Collins remembering playing football in the same park they will be rocking out in on Sunday, May 26.

The group started playing in a lock-up in Luton but got kicked out and began to cut their teeth, as Danny put it, playing at The Castle and the University of Bedfordshire’s students union.

Lead singer and bass player Aaron and Danny – JW Paris’ guitarist and backing singer – started playing more gigs in London, where they met Gemma Clarke, their drummer.

Gemma has worked with the likes of Adam Ant and Pete Doherty and has been part of the three-piece band since 2021. The trio describes their sound as “grunge-inspired 90s Britpop”. Aaron explained: “So everything good about the 90s in the UK, we’re bringing that into the modern day.”

In the past two years, the band have “started to get a buzz”, toured the UK and having their singles played on BBC Radio 1, Radio X and BBC Six Music. But being invited to play at the Big Weekend festival has been a huge honour.

Danny, who has been in bands since the age of 15, called it a full circle moment, after once kicking a football around Stockwood Park. He said: “I never thought that there would be such a huge event in Luton like this. It's always had creativity in it, but now it's finally getting it on a bigger stage.

“Never in my life did I think we'd be playing it so it's a bit of a childhood dream. Big up, Luton.”

JW Paris will be debuting some new material, like their latest single ‘Geeks & Freaks’ at the festival. But before then, Gemma says the trio will be practising as much as they can. She said: “I like to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse. And rehearse again.”

“Because we've all got jobs, it's the art of balancing your passion while still working.”

Before they play their homecoming gig, the band will go to the Great Escape Festival in Brighton.

And they wanted to give a shout out to Vandalism Begins At Home, Andy from Vinyl Revelations, Luton Lives, Step Forward Luton, BBC Introducing, Blaggers Records and Vanadian Avenue for their support.

They shared some advice for any budding artists in Luton: “Keep making music that you enjoy creating, don't make music to please anyone else and craft your own individual sound. Also, make sure you support your other creative friends, build a community and keep flying the flag for Luton's musical future!”

The band will perform on the BBC Introducing stage on Sunday, May 26.