The history of most bands usually start a number of years ago, they go through line up & musical changes, fights, tantrums and sackings. Devious are no exception, except their fights, tantrums and hissy fits are just bigger and better than the norm and usually involve toys, prams & kitchen sinks!!
The best place to start with one side of the history of Devious is with the band Area 51 and you will probably see how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Area 51 was formed in Aberdare in early ‘97 with the line up of Leon (vocal/guitar), James (Jock) (guitar), Chris (keyboards), Curly (bass) and Percy (drums). They did the rounds in Aberdare performing some classics (and Purple Rain) which are still aired by Devious today.
The band floundered until the autumn of ‘97 when Gareth from Pontypridd replaced Percy on drums. Area 51’s energy picked up and settled into an established semi-controlled aggression until the summer of ‘98 when they started to stumble. Was this a tantrum? We don’t know, but Leon decided he didn’t want to be in the band anymore. He wanted to concentrate on his own material and his inner Zen (he didn’t even have a TV at the time!). Without the direction provided by Leon, Area 51 splintered. Gareth went on to join the Caerphilly based Futuristics and the boys attempted to resurrect Area 51 but without success. They continued to drift along the Aberdare scene without making any real impact, while Gareth was now boshing some serious bongo's with the Futuristics.
It could be a blessing in disguise but the members of the Futuristics were an odd bunch and their own in-fighting led to the need for a keyboard player in the summer of 2001. One phone call later by Gareth saw Chris join the fold with bassist Lee being drafted in December that year. Things went without any real hiccups until August 2002 when, in what could only be classed as a ‘rattle-out-of-the-pram’ incident, the Futuristics decided to sack their guitar player for deciding a holiday was more important than rock ‘n’ roll. Stepping manfully into the breach came James McMail and, with only the slightest stutter, the Futuristics played an awesome gig at Cefn Coed RFC with Jock being hailed to the chants of “new boy”.
The Futuristics were no more. Changing their name to Devious that autumn, they carried on gigging until just before Christmas when, bizarrely, the singer left. Was it chance or was it written in the stars (as foreseen by Russell Grant) but when sat around a table at a party thrown by the Lostprophets bass player, Gareth casually uttered “anyone wanna sing in my band?” In a now familiar style came a reply in the affirmative. “Who?” you may ask. None other than Jim Warnham. No-one can tell why these things happen but this coincidence could be considered as the most important event in the band’s history.
Taking 6 weeks off to regroup, eat kebabs, drink beer and learn new songs, Devious came roaring back in the February of ‘03 with a gig at O’Neill’s in Cardiff. It soon became apparent that Devious had moved into a new league with Jim’s stage presence (& eyeliner) and they were quickly establishing themselves as being louder, brasher and more rock ‘n’ roll than the rest. Devious now became identified as the band where crowd participation is an intrinsic part of the show (as well as the volume) with Jim being able to hold the crowd in the palm of his hand.
The legendary boots and leathers soon followed helping the band to become instantly recognisable on the gig circuit. Devious’ reputation grew and the offers of work became bigger and bigger, including playing the Hard Rock Café in Cardiff and being told to stop walking on the bar and frankly having too much rock for them (a Devious rock fact!!). This was swiftly followed with a triumphant appearance headlining the Yellow Chopper Festival in Margam Park in August ‘05.
In the autumn, to cover vocals and fill in with an extra guitar, Leon made another appearance in Treorchy Rugby Club and was eventually drafted in to the band fulltime. Gareth’s final gig came in December ‘05 at the one and only Cefn Coed RFC. After being a stalwart of the band from the start, he decided that some much needed rest was in order and, early in 2006, was replaced on drums by Terry. Aiding the band through this time of transition was Mark who went on to replace Lee on bass guitar later that year.
In what by now was becoming a bolt from blue you could set your watch by, Leon decided to quit (again!) in December ‘06. The circumstances of the member alteration is open to conjecture, but can definitely be put down to ‘musical differences’ along with his rumoured new passion for collecting cheese mold. So, the Devious 6 then became 5 (in a 9 sort of way) and has remained the same line up you love and see today.
With a more settled line up Devious started to move up through the gears while continuing to constructively bicker in their own inimitable style. More and more work was coming in, with new venues and agents seeking their services rather than the band having to pursue gigs. Repeat performances headlining both the Yellow Chopper Festival and The Big Gig in Treherbert have been made over the last few years but most successful has been the Deviants’ Halloween Ball which will be in its third year this year. Here demonstrating their appeal as a band as well as their business acumen, Devious have to critical acclaim, arranged and performed for a rabid fancy dress audience for All Hallows Eve.
