Interview with SUNBEAM: ‘I wanted to do a song about Whitby, it’s such a beautiful place’

Whitby, Yorkshire-based indie rock band SUNBEAM brought out their single ‘Northern Town’ last month (September), their rousing love letter to both their home town and others like it.

The band comprises Jimmy Organ-Simpson (vocals), Nicky Baxter (guitar and drum), Sean Stuart (lead guitar) and Nick Craven (percussion). ‘Nick and Sean have been best mates a long time,’ Organ-Simpson said. ‘They were in a band together since they were about 14. I got introduced to Sean via work. We went for a Meal Deal one day and I was singing along to Oasis in the car (laughs), he must have thought I was alright, because he asked if I fancied a jam! It just kind of went from there. I’ve been around music from an early age but I never thought I’d do anything with it. I was just a shower singer!’

Their love of Whitby shines through in the song, with their shimmering harmonies, Organ-Simpson’s warm vocals and clean, rich guitar lines, describing the town as ‘a shining jewel’. ‘Northern Town’ references famous Whitby landmarks, such as the whale bone arch and the 199 steps leading up to sweeping views of the town and harbour: ‘I wanted to do a song about Whitby, it’s such a beautiful place,’ he said. ‘Although I touch on a couple of the landmarks, I could have easily made the song 10 minutes long if I added everything I love about the place. I could have put it on an audio book and you could listen to it on a tour bus (laughs). The tour bus is a great way to see everything in one swoop, one thing I would recommend is after the sightseeing is complete, you visit Al Taco for food!’

‘He writes beautiful love songs and I tend to write about experiences, it’s a good mix’

As the track kicks off: “Bred here, by the grace of god. Lucky since the day that I was born. Sunsets on the ancient steps. And settles on the archway made of bone. It’s inside of you. It’s a part of me.”

Organ-Simpson started learning the guitar during lockdown but admitted ‘I’m very much a camp fire guitarist, I can do about 4-5 chords, which I used to get the basic structure for ‘Northern Town’: ‘I was very lucky to be able to take the song in its basic form to Nicky and Sean who have far greater musical ability (laughs).’

I ask him if Whitby’s connection with Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a big thing growing up and to what extent it shapes you as a local. Stoker visited Whitby in 1890 and was influenced by the Gothic literature of the period set in foreign lands dotted with mysterious castles, convents and caves. Whitby’s windswept headland, the dramatic abbey ruins, a church surrounded by swooping bats, and a long association with jet – a semi-precious stone used in mourning jewellery – were a big inspiration to the novelist. ‘If you live here, it’s not that prominent,’ Organ-Simpson said. ‘If you do the ‘Dracula Experience’ on the pier, they tell you about it. When I was between jobs once, I worked there for a bit, they paid me to jump out and scare a few people (laughs). It brings all of the goths in!’

‘Nicky wrote ‘Alone’, he writes beautiful love songs’

They brought out their second EP ‘Holding On’ in March, which comprises the title track ‘Let’s Give It Up’, ‘Waiting Gold’ and ‘You’re Not Alone’. Organ-Simpson and Baxter were the main songwriters in the band at the time of release: ‘Nicky wrote ‘Alone’, he writes beautiful love songs; I tend to write about people’s experiences, it’s a good mix,’ Organ-Simpson said. ‘On ‘Let’s Give It Up’, I guess It’s about coming full circle with a relationship, and realising what’s worth fighting for.’

That’s the case with tracks such as ‘Waiting Gold’, which is essentially about a big night out and the aftermath: ‘That one is kinda like there is a social pressure on people to act a certain way, have all the latest things or to be out every weekend ’til the sun comes up,’ he said laughing. ‘Now, at the end of my 20’s, can I be arsed?! That’s where the line “You can always run” comes from, although we’re still partial to a late one every now and then! We get a lot of gigs in Whitby, so you feel you’ve had your night out when you play. We play at pubs like The Station, JK’s, The Pier and Whitby Way, although it’s just me and Nicky who play the Whitby pubs. The pub set started with just covers but the more we write, the more diluted it becomes with our own. We do, however, just play originals with the full band which is something that we’re wanting to put all of our time into’.

I ask him if there’s a song, they’ve covered a lot that they’re not so keen on: ‘It wasn’t that we weren’t keen but a random one we’ve done was ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’, I just sung the chorus over and over again,’ he said mischievously. ‘Otherwise, we do 60’s stuff, Motown and country, so not your average mix (laughs). We do ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Bad Moon Rising’, we chuck that in.’

‘We’ve got a sea of songs’

Next month, they will go back into the studio: ‘We’ve got a sea of songs,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘It’s getting the time to do them. Our next single will probably be ‘Empire’. it’s a bit of a bopper! Nicky sent me a really catchy instrumental demo and about an hour later we had the song. There isn’t always an experience that drives lyrics, sometimes we just start off with anything random that comes into our head and then build a song around it. In this one, whilst listening to Nicky’s demo, the first words I sang were “Say so long to the end of the empire” and now we have a song which talks about the empire coming down, that could be walls, barriers to yourself or even politics.’ I say I would be quite happy if it was about the Tories’ downfall and he laughs. ‘I wrote a song called “Fuck The Tories” actually, Nicky says we can’t release that (laughs). I try to squeeze any views I have into songs in more subtle ways! Our plan is to do singles from now on. We’ve got a great following in Whitby but outside, no-one really knows who we are, so the plan is to start reaching their ears.’

Living in Whitby, they’re understandably keen to take advantage of its beautiful scenery: Baxter is a paraglider and Stuart is a light aircraft pilot.

‘I think his form of storytelling is the purest form of music’

Growing up, Organ-Simpson’s grandmother’s music collection was some of the first music he heard: ‘Going round to my nan’s growing up, she always had country on, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline etc.,’ he said. ‘My friends liked dance music but that wasn’t really my thing at the time (laughs). In secondary school, I got into Arctic Monkeys. I remember hearing the deep bass and thinking “That’s a bit of me, that is”. My favourite artist would be Bob Dylan, I think his form of storytelling is the purest form of music, along with the likes of Neil Young and Townes van Zandt.’

He mulls who he’d most like to go for a pint with: ‘It wouldn’t be a big night with Bob,’ he said, clearly thinking about it. ‘Or Bob but 30-40 years ago! I’m reluctant to say Liam Gallagher purely because he is the obvious choice but he’d have all the stories, wouldn’t he?! I’d just sit there and let him talk, he’s a proper comedian!’

They’ve had some brilliantly funny moments together: ‘I once delved us into silence by accidentally kicking the plug out of the PA just as we were about to go into the best part of the song,’ Organ-Simpson said. ‘Also, one Halloween, we decided to paint our faces as ghosts for the gig. I sweated mine off with the first two songs and ended up looking more like ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch!’ I ask him which music venue he’d most like to play: ‘A music venue I’d love to play is The Cavern Club in Liverpool, just for its history,’ he said.

His dream line up would offer both introspective and theatrical performances: ‘Can we headline?! I’d like to see Bob Dylan in his heyday and AC/DC, they’d put on a hell of a show. And Queen, when Freddie was around, he was brilliant, the greatest ever performer in my eyes.’

(Photo from left to right: Sean, Jimmy and Nicky)