✪ ABOUT ✪
The Long Haul
hail from Brighton in the UK. Formed through a collective love of all things Americana and Country, the band play all over the UK and have just released album number 3.
✪ THE BAND ✪
SIMON SPARROW
Simon plays acoustic guitar, sings and plays bass, although the later not in this band, and. along with Francois, he writes the band’s original material. A self-confessed country music enthusiast, Simon is a big fan of Texas country, Western Swing and singer-songwriters. His prize possession is a Martin D18 guitar which comes out to gigs from time to time (birthdays, special occasions, things like that...).
FRANCOIS DeVILLE
Pedal steel vocals. Starting his Long Haul journey up on his feet as the bass-player, Francois now enjoys sitting down in the pedal-steel seat. He came to playing steel relatively late but was lucky enough to study, all too briefly, with the late great Jeff Newman. An unexpected side-effect of becoming the band’s steel-player is he smiles much less often nowadays when onstage, sporting the ubiquitous steel-player’s slightly baffled look ! Francois is the other principal writer within the band. You’ll recognise him easily. He’s the one in the loud shirt...
TREVOR GRANT
Lead guitar. Trevor’s love of country guitar started in the early 90s when asked by a friend to help out with some country gigs. While teaching music performance at a local college, he started a country band with another lecturer which regularly gigged around the UK and recorded in Nashville in 2010. Trevor’s been a fan of the Long Haul since introduced to them by a friend in 2018, so it was a real pleasure to be asked to join the band when the guitar chair needed filling.
JAMES CHAPMAN
Drums. James regularly performs all over the UK with a variety of different uicins in a wide variety of genres ranging from jazz and blues to funk and rock. He developed his love of country music at a young age listening to the likes of Nanci Griffith, Vince Gill and Alan Jackson. ‘It’s really nice,’ he says, ‘ to be involved with a country and, playing both original material and covers as it’s a genre I reall enjoy and it’s great fun to play with like-minded musicians who share the same passion.’
SCOTT WARMAN
Double bass, vocals. Born in London, Scott started off playing electric bass after buying one in a jumble sale thinking it was a normal guitar, and only noticing it had four strings when he got it home. Scott tours the UK with many musicians, including US touring acts, and has also toured America. He’s also a Whispering Bob All-Star, being part of Bob Harris’s charity re-release of Stand By Me 2020, alongside world-renowned players including Mark Knopfler, Duane Eddy, Keb Mo and Rosanne Cash.
SIMON SPARROW
Lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Simon plays acoustic guitar, sings and plays bass (though the latter not in this band!) and, along with Francois, writes the band’s material. A self confessed country enthusiast, Simon is a big fan of Texas country, Western Swing and singer songwriters. His prize possession is a Martin D18 guitar which comes out to gigs from time to time (birthdays and special occasions).
FRANCOIS DE VILLE
Pedal steel, vocals
Starting his Long Haul journey up on his feet as the bass-player, Francois now enjoys sitting down and taking the pedal-steel seat. Thanks, Scott, for taking the weight off his feet... He came to playing steel relatively late but was lucky enough to study, all too briefly, with the late great Jeff Newman - arguably the world’s best steel guitar teacher. Jeff’s motto was one which Francois tries, with occasional success, to live up to: “Make It Pretty”.
Visit Francois' website: francoisdeville.com
DUNCAN JAMES
Guitar
Duncan is the guitar player for the band, and is pretty nifty with the twang of a Telecaster. A country music aficionado, Duncan provides the snap and soul at the heart of the Long Haul. He has been obsessed with all things Western since being given a Davy Crockett hat and a copy of ‘The Yellow Rose of Texas’ at the age of five. He lived in the US for ten years, but returned, Telecaster in hand, to play ‘both kinds’ of music here. His guitar heroes are many and varied, but include all the usual suspects from Marty Stuart and the B-Bender style (he’s owned one for 25 years) through to modern players like Guthrie Trapp. An all-rounder, Duncan plays country, blues, swing, rockabilly as well as British 60’s pop, on which he grew up.
JAMES CHAPMAN
Drums
James regularly performs all over the United Kingdom with many different musicians and bands, playing a wide variety of genres reaching from jazz and blues to funk and rock. Recently, James has been in the studio creating sound library’s for the company ‘loopmasters.’ James developed his love for country music from a young age listening to artists such as Nanci Griffith, Vince Gill and Alan Jackson. ‘It’s really nice to be involved with a country band, playing both originals and covers as it is a genre I really enjoy and it’s great fun to play with like minded musicians who share the same passion.’
SCOTT WARMAN
Double bass, vocals
Born in London, Scott started off playing electric bass after buying one in a jumble sale thinking it was a normal guitar, and only noticing it had four strings when he got it home. Moving onto double-bass, he now plays with a whole range of artists in the UK, has toured America, and regularly tours the UK/Europe with US artists. He’s also a Whispering Bob All Star, supplying the double bass on Bob Harris’s new charity relase Stand By Me 2020.
Visit Scott's website: scottwarmanbass.co.uk