Andrea's Music Column

"We formed Concrete Penguin in college and played our first gig three days later," Mick said. "We jumped ahead of ourselves a little bit; we couldn't play at that time, but we had a great time and packed the pub with our mates. You seem to have less inhibitions when you're younger."

"We supported the Bluetones on 10th March 2003 at Middleton Civic Hall. We were worried that we would go down with the Bluetones fans, but they loved us," Mick recalled. "I went on the Bluetones website and looked at the messageboad a couple of days after the gig, and their fans were writing good things about us!"

"Our best gig, though," Mick said, "was about two years ago in Preston. We played for the Millennium Volunteers, which is a big youth group. The stage was in the town centre next to the court. There were cases going on inside the court and the police came and we were held in contempt of court!"

Since forming in 1996, Concrete Penguin have made a number of changes. The first was the introduction of Steve Wonderhands to the band in 1999, and the second was the takeover of management by DXV.

I asked Mick about the changes that had occurred within the band.

Has the style of Concrete Penguin changed since the introduction of DJ Wonderhands?

"Yes, it has," said Mick. "He is a well known DJ in parts such as Southampton, and he moved up to Manchester in 1999. He decided then that he wanted to be in a rock band. His influence has given our music more of an edge; it has given it a new dimension. We can play from like Linkin Park to Robbie Williams.

How did DXV become involved with Concrete Penguin?

"We played a gig in London at Garage," said Mick. "David Vayro from DXV gave us his business card after the show. We phoned him and then he then saw us at the Music Box in Manchester. We were signed up to them shortly afterwards. Before that, we managed ourselves."