Hovercraft shares new single “Mr Tooting Brown”

In the long, twisting mythology of British indie music, the tale of the band Hovercraft is one of the most intriguing and perhaps, improbable. Formed in the industrial edges of Grimsby in late 1995, the band’s origins started when songwriter Piers “Pepper” Wildman answered a hand-written advert in the window of a local off-licence that sought “a chilled out lamppost to front a retro-space-pop band.” The response sparked the creation of a quartet whose music would soon be described as “cataclysmic rock ’n’ roll of the most intense order.”

Hovercraft took shape with Piers on vocals and guitar, Dave “Golly God” Marsden on guitar, Aaron “Ron Nasty” Downing on bass and Dave “Mr Shimble” Downing on drums and in just nine months, they built a devoted following that stretched across demographics, pulling in pensioners, students and musicians alike. Their sound delivered an intoxicating blend of wit, melody and energy, earning them comparisons to Paul Weller, Oasis, Blur and The Only Ones.

On Steve Jackson’s South Bank demo chart, the band’s track “Mr Tooting Brown” soared to #1, while “New Pine Overcoat” hit #7, a moment that put Grimsby, long overlooked in the UK’s indie geography, firmly on the map. But just as quickly as Hovercraft arrived, they vanished; Piers disappeared in 1996, and with him, the creative heart of the band. Dave and Dave held onto the chord charts and lyrics, preserving what was left of their brief but successful chapter before an online reconnection years later ended in another disappearance and the band’s myth only deepened.

Now, nearly three decades later, Hovercraft has returned through innovation and sheer determination. The surviving members have embarked on a fascinating experiment, using AI to reconstruct their lost material in a project they call Re:Creation. Drawing from Piers’ original works, the duo have rebuilt the music piece by piece, transforming once dark indie songs into shimmering pop-tinged anthems. The reworked versions of “Concrete Hill” as “Higher Ground” and “New Pine Overcoat,” now “The Promised Land,” offered the first taste of this new endeavour which now continues with their latest resurrection of “Mr Tooting Brown.”

Originally a stripped-back acoustic number that blossomed into a raucous indie anthem, every previous attempt to revive it failed until Dave recorded the original from memory. That organic human spark unlocked the key and the final version now takes shape as a sultry jazz-inflected outing complete with walking bassline, brass and Bond-like vibes. It’s cinematic, soulful and still profoundly human, reframing songwriting from yesteryear in a dazzling new setting.

Set up by the twinkle of piano plinks, the warm brass tones glide above the mellow pulse of rhythm to form a smokey jazz pop jam. With smokey female vocals carrying the alluring melodies and storytelling lyricism, the track gently takes flight in the chorus to deliver a catchy and thoroughly engrossing jam from start to finish.

Wrapped in absorbing arrangement, the energy surges with soaring vocals and dazzling strings, casting an utterly spellbinding listening experience cut with smooth instrumental flourishes and instantly memorable melodies. It’s a stunning collision of enduring songwriting and modern technology that’s allowing the story of Hovercraft to continue being written after so many years and we can’t wait to see what the next chapter will entail.

Listen to Mr Tooting Brown below

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