"A beautiful, charismatic young woman with a gorgeous voice” Holly’s Dad (2010)

Holly is best known for her inability to help set anything up at gigs. She mainly gets in the way. However, her song-writing, harmonies and piano skills make up for her lack of work ethic. The daughter of Italian immigrants, Holly has spent her youth running from the authorities leading to her current family home being in Cannock as no members of the UK border force dare set foot there.

She started piano lessons at the age of seven and moved through her grades like an American army through the middle-east. Chopin and Liszt fell by the wayside, too easy for Holly. She wasn’t happy until coming to university five years ago where she could truly express herself. Two mental breakdowns later, Holly’s songs touch on the paranormal and the weird as well as, thankfully, the achingly beautiful. She’s a talented girl and Don’t Touch the Walls would be pretty mediocre without her.

“A handsome, charismatic young man with a gorgeous voice” Holly’s Dad (2010)

Rich was born in the famous musical town of Wolverhampton and grew up to the sounds of Classic FM and BBC Radio Shropshire. It is hard to know where his musicality came from (really, we haven’t got a clue) but the lad is a song machine. His first musical debut came in year one when he sang a solo at the Christ Church Infants School nativity play as the Innkeeper leading to a standing ovation and him being mobbed at the stage door. It was from here that his dream of becoming a rock star was begun.

After a successful debut single “Fly Mr Dodo Fly” at the age of seven, Rich took a break from music until he was 17 and started writing songs again. Living with Holly from 2007-2010, led them to form a great friendship and allowed them to hone their musical understanding. Their filthy house, mostly thanks to their friend Jacky, gave them the inspiration for the name “Don’t Touch the Walls” and so, the band was born.

“You can’t even see his fingers moving” Holly (2009)

Jazz (real name “Bernard”) has been honing his guitar skills since the age of two when he got his first electric guitar for his birthday. Quickly becoming an expert in the Lydian mode and sweet picking, throughout his adolescence Jazz experimented with funk, rock and jazz (no pun intended).

Going to the University of Birmingham introduced Jazz to the glamorous 24 hour lifestyle of the city and made him desperate to join a band. After a quick chat with Rich at a karaoke night, the two young students hit it off and agreed to form the world’s next super band. Unfortunately U3 didn’t get off the ground and out of the ashes came Don’t Touch the Walls.

“Er... what is the bassist doing...” Holly’s Mum (2011)

Ian has been acquiring musical equipment from an early age and by the time he was 18 had enough gear to put on Glastonbury in his back garden, the year that the southerners had a break. After subbing in as the Don’t Touch the Walls bassist on a number of occasions in 2010, Ian was the obvious choice when our old bassist left to make his fortune in London (no really, he did).

An expert in slap bass, Ian wowed the easily impressed Holly with his finger skills and we welcomed him to the band. Ian continues to be the most reliable and strongest member of the band; he remains the only one of us able to carry our 3 tonne piano any distance.

“My glasses are part of me” Joe (2011)

Joe doesn’t sleep. Luckily, he works at Costa coffee so this is not a problem. He is an epic, forthright drummer with excellent rhythm and timing. He can also sing like a six year old girl which you can hear on the dance tracks that he produces for side project, “Patience”. Joe joined the band in the middle of 2011 and was an instant hit.

A particular recreational activity allowed Joe to form a good friendship with Ian and with that came a rhythmic understanding that allows Don’t Touch the Walls to get into a groove that was not there before.

"Seriously good lips" Holly (2011)

Dan is Don’t Touch the Walls latest addition. He easily has the most powerful lips of the entire band and this is vouched for by his beautiful girlfriend, Alice. Joining the band has allowed him to express his creative flare in his improvised trumpet solos, has challenged him with our difficult key signatures and has allowed him to develop his singing- something which again, the easily impressed Holly, was very much excited by... “He even sings his own harmonies without even being asked.” Imagine this in a high pitched squeal and you will understand the degree of excitement.

Dan’s musical ability has been well demonstrated in his 30+ arrangements for his 9-piece cover band “Tumbling Dice”. The band has a dedicated following of over 1000 keen, and generally smashed, medical students.

Dan’s arrival has improved the band both musically and aesthetically. He definitely offers a bit of eye-candy and makes up for the band’s largely sweaty back line.