First Bognor gig in more than 26 years for four-piece indie alternative rock band

The band are Tim Maginnis, who lives in Horsham, on drums; Nigel Stringfellow, bass; Darren Levy guitar/vocals and Mark Schofield, guitar. They will be performing at the Hothampton Arms on Saturday, November 26. The same line-up have played under different names across the 30 or so years starting off as The Glasshouses, then My Cousin Rachel and Pulaski Swam. Syrup was their last guise before they disbanded in 1996. During this time the band played numerous UK tours, recorded material which attracted major record company interest from the likes of WEA, Chrysalis and Polydor, but eventually signed a more local deal with a Worthing-based record label, releasing their Hunnishake EP.

Tim said: “This and our earlier material was always on sale at the local Our Price store in Bognor Regis and the band played many times locally, at venues that sadly, no longer showcase live music, including Cheers Bar, The Arun Leisure Centre, The Terminus, The Conservatory and The Carlton. We also played the then annual Rox Festival.”

Their reputation for punchy indie alternative rock and impressive live shows saw them support many bands across the country. They headlined their own dates more locally in Brighton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Southampton, and also in London and nationwide.

They played their reunion gig in Brighton, at the Brighton Electric Studios in December 2021 in front of the capacity crowd of more 120 people. Brighton was where the majority of the band moved to once they had signed the record deal.

The band had been busy rehearsing after they decided to re-form, and eventually after the Covid break, they hit the ground running with re-worked old tracks as well as a clutch of new songs, which will form the set on November 26. They also have studio time booked in early 2023 to capture and date stamp their new and existing songs that they have reworked over the last two years. Once the recordings are completed, they will be added to the Hunnishake EP which is on Spotify. Their older material is also available on Soundcloud, under the Pulaski name. “Friends and family are already aware of the gig and we have a big turn-out coming, It promises to be a brilliant evening. I live in Horsham now after living in Bognor Regis all my life previously and four generations of Maginnis’ still live there. Nigel now lives in Eastbourne, Darren in Hove and Mark in Chichester.

“As for why it ended … Basically it, in our view at the time, ran its course as we didn’t re-sign to the label and remained a more underground indie band with a large following in Brighton where the band was based. Then, eventually we ended things on good terms… not very rock ‘n’ roll eh! I played in a couple of covers bands but it didn’t really match the excitement of playing our own material. Nigel went on to play in two notable Brighton-based bands.”