Kingmaker Members, Gear & Sound

Kingmaker was a British band hailing from Hull, England, known for their distinctive blend of Britpop and Madchester influences. The group was formed by teenage schoolmates Loz Hardy (guitar/vocals) and Myles Howell (bass), who later recruited John Andrew (drums) through a want-ad. Kingmaker's energetic performances and catchy melodies quickly garnered them a following across Great Britain. Their discography includes notable albums like Eat Yourself Whole and Sleepwalking, though after the release of Best Possible Taste, the band disbanded in 1995.

Kingmaker's sound is characterized by a vibrant and melodic interplay of guitars, often punctuated by Hardy's expressive use of gear like the Fender 1962 Stratocaster in Fiesta Red and the Gibson ES-295. Their music features a blend of bright, jangly tones and crunchy, overdriven riffs, achieved through amplifiers like the Vox AC30 and the Mesa/Boogie Mark V. The combination of these elements, along with Howell's dynamic bass lines and Andrew's rhythmic drumming, creates a sound that is both energetic and infectious, capturing the essence of the early '90s British rock scene.