Vinyl Plan are a new four-piece from Rickmansworth and Croxley, all sixth formers at St Joan of Arc Catholic School, and are set to play their very first gig in Harrow this weekend. Frontman Elliott Norman chats to Rosy Moorhead.

Who’s in the band?

Me on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Philip Snowden on lead guitar, Pedro Custodio on piano and keyboard, Matthew Hunt on drums and percussion.

When did you form the band?

We formed the band December 2013 after playing a school concert together, and have been going nearly a year now.

Tell me about the debut single.

It’s called Colourful, and it’s about certain stages in a relationship, and uses a metaphor to describe how something that was once ‘colourful’ can easily fade to ‘black and white’.

Are you releasing it yourselves or through a label?

Our stuff is all home-made at the moment with the help of producers to record, and we’ve been promoting everything ourselves.

What is the story behind the sound?

Since we formed the band our sound has constantly been changing, and we like to test out where it takes us. Currently we feel that we have quite an indie-pop sound, but with an acoustic element to it with some more natural sounds as well.

Who are your influences?

We listen to a lot of different music, but currently we’re quite into Tom Odell, Jamie Cullum, Lewis Watson, Peace, John Mayer. We’ve been playing some covers of these artists recently.

What inspires your music?

A loud amp and a good coffee!

What do you think about the state of the music scene in Watford?

We think that although our local area is becoming more and more saturated with musicians, there’s always room for new talent, which hopefully we can prove to people. There isn’t a better place to do what we do. Brilliant current artists such as Chasing Grace and Naughty Boy are from Rickmansworth and Watford, which just shows that anyone can make it wherever they are, if they really try.

What was the first album you ever bought?

The earliest I can remember is Back to Bedlam by James Blunt

And the last?

Really loved Tom Odell’s last album, A Long Way Down.

Where can we next see you performing locally and when?

Our first ever gig together was at Harrow Arts Centre. We loved playing there so we’re going back there for the release date of Colourful. Once we’re all 18, we’ll be playing everywhere!

What’s the goal for the band?

Whether we’re doing a world tour or playing in our basement, as long as we’re having fun we couldn’t be happier.

  • Vinyl Plan play Harrow Arts Centre on Saturday, November 29 at 10pm. Details: vinylplan.com