The World Class Songwriting Coming Out of Cornwall

A cup of tea and a chat to comfort a mate sparked a fast-paced year of success for Penny Eyes. The band’s drummer talks about their beginnings and what’s next.

Pinning down Jack Clinton is no easy task. The drummer of Penny Eyes leads a hectic lifestyle, working daily while dedicating every spare minute to the band. When I pick him up from Newquay, his greeting is, ‘I’ll just brush my teeth’. Very rock’n’roll, I thought; the interviewer arrives before you’ve completed your morning routine – at midday. Jack’s local knowledge took us to the quietest place for our session, and a suspension of the rock-star lifestyle. Sainsbury’s Café was busier than expected, so we headed to a clifftop car park over-looking the beach, where Jack told me how Penny Eyes began. ‘Dad passing away was the catalyst for Harry, an old school mate, to come for a cuppa and that’s kind of it; a bit of a jamming session and it all started from there. Me and Ad are best friends, and he actually learnt the bass for this. He’s only been playing about a year.’ Jack’s Dad was his first namecheck, before any of his band mates. He had been important in sparking Jack’s passion for music.

‘I play music because of my Dad. He was a musician –I still have his guitars. Mum’s a massive music-head too. There was never a time when there wasn’t music playing at home. Motown, Old Soul, Funk, even Reggae which I think influences my drumming. It helps me sit on the groove. Playing music’s therapeutic, almost a form of yoga, a bit like meditation. But the main one is that my childhood was just music, music, music.

When I’m practicing on my own, I play guitar more than the drums. It’s a different headspace. Drumming’s energetic –when you’re in the mood you’re on it. At home I get more locked in with guitar. It keeps the creative side of your brain open.’

The band has personal roots for Jack but Ed, the lead guitarist, doesn’t share the childhood connections of the other members.

‘Another guitarist pulled out and Ed was a back-up. We messaged him and asked if he fancied coming over. He was like ‘I’ve not practiced anything’. But he absolutely blew it out of the park!’

With all the band members in place they set about finding a name.

‘The catalyst was Pennycomequick, the pub in Falmouth. We liked the idea of the penny and the British thing and somehow, we ended up on Penny Eyes. It’s sort of defined as when you’re in a bar and a girl gives you that look and it’s like…’

He glances at me from the passenger seat and laughs. Penny Eyes only emerged in late 2018. They’ve released two EPs, been played on BBC Introducing and gained attention from Alan McGee, the man behind Oasis.[1] In a notoriously tough industry, the band is showing a natural ability. Yet Jack remains modest.

Penny Eyes backstage with Alan McGee. — *Penny Eyes* backstage with Alan McGee.

‘I think right place, right time, being open and talking to people, finding our manager… there’s a lot of luck. Harry’s an active writer and, whether with us or not, he’d be writing music. I’ve got a professional background in film-making, working with social media, and websites and Ad’s a pretty established graphic designer. Everything has helped boost our audience outreach.’

Their manager, Kat Russell, has strong ties to Oasis and describes Penny Eyes’ song-writing as ‘world class’.[2] I wanted to know more about the process that creates such highly-praised music.

‘Usually Harry has lyrics and an of idea of the melody, then collectively we all join together. Ed writes a riff to go over the top, Ad does a bass line, I’ll sort of… well I just do what I wanna do.’

He laughs, checking his professionalism. The process is clearly hard work, but also a lot of fun.

‘Nah, basically we piece it together with what Harry’s already written. I don’t like to step on Harry’s toes because he’s good. But we all add our bit for sure –that’s what gives it the sound.’

Following requests from Penny Eyes’ fans, I asked Jack where the ideas for their upcoming release, Jealous Boy, came from. Intrigue about the song seemed to stem from the dark lyrics, which create a powerful metaphor for jealousy.

‘Harry is the best person to ask about that. I remember him telling a story.’

In a recent interview with BBC Cornwall, the band said the song is about jealousy in relationships in this day and age, and deep emotional stuff.[3] Jack recommended watching the music video, filmed from the back seat of Jack’s car after storm Dennis rendered their original, outdoor-based script unusable.

I had to ask whether there was a story behind my favourite song, Body Moves. It’s a song that has never failed to get me dancing and singing along. ‘Body Moves – probably my favourite too –is that classic situation where you’re anxious and you wanna dance with a girl but can’t bring yourself to do it.’

There are a few different influences in their songs, with echoes of Bombay Bicycle Club in the guitar and a hint of Coldplay in the melodies.

‘I love Catfish and the Bottlemen and Royal Blood as well. Any rock that gets your heart going a bit, you know what I mean? Something that’s like… I felt something there. In the band, there’s a lot of influence from Sam Fender. He seems pretty down to earth and decent.’

I’d say Jack has similar qualities. Following a recording glitch, he met me again. There was no sense of annoyance at my rookie error. He simply hopped into my beaten-up mini and smiled, once again having recently brushed his teeth.

We talked about the band’s success outside of Cornwall, after recent gigs in Bristol and London.

‘London’s nuts cos it’s hectic and there’s loads more people! When you play at home it’s easier cos they’re routing for you. But walking onto the Underground with your cymbals and that, is a buzz. Logistically it’s harder cos there’s lots of good bands. Bands today get watered down so even if you’re good you struggle. But social media’s great –you don’t need to be in specific places to shout from the roof tops.’

Penny Eyes lugging equipment through London. — *Penny Eyes* lugging equipment through London.

Jack’s not wrong – there are lots of musicians about. Last year approximately 1.2 million new tracks were added to Spotify each month.[4] In the past, musicians have only had to consider album and iTunes sales[5], whereas now every platform from YouTube to TikTok[6] influences which songs hit the charts. A heavily saturated industry across multiple platforms creates a competitive working environment.

This year was set to be busy with a launch party for their newest release, followed by festivals including Boardmasters and Tunes in the Dunes. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 outbreak put an end to this, but Jack says he’s looking forward to rescheduling as soon as it’s safe to do so.

‘I’m looking forward to playing bigger stages with better sound systems. It boosts your confidence playing for bigger crowds and sounding good. The plan for the coming year was to build a little army of followers in the South.’

You’d expect a band moving this quickly to hit some hurdles, but their tight friendship keeps productivity high.

Penny Eyes having fun after a productive day. — *Penny Eyes* having fun after a productive day.

‘We’ve never had any mega arguments. We’ve had little issues because we all have ideas, and sometimes there’s conflict between which one to pick. It’s cool because we’re pretty close so we can openly talk to each other and kind of squabble. Past bands weren’t my mates on the same level – you didn’t wanna offend people. With Penny Eyes, if something ain’t working we’ll say so. There’ll be a moment of sticking your chest out, then we’ll have a cuppa and work it out.’

With their popularity increasing I asked Jack where his dream gig would be. ‘Loads of places, for different reasons. Obviously Glasto’s on there, like one day imagine playing on a stage like that, it’d be nuts. I’d love to play at Eden because I think the sound there is some of the best in the country. It’s natural amphitheatre. It’d be sick!’

I’d thoroughly recommend checking Penny Eyes out locally before they start selling out arena tours. Anyone outside Cornwall should follow their very active social media. Jack has hinted that ‘there’s some good stuff coming up recording-wise that could be pretty next level.’

Keep your eyes and ears peeled. This band is going places.

You can learn more about Penny Eyes here or by following them on Instagram.

by Georgia Pine