Entrees
Duncan's Lunch: A Rich Blend of Verbs and Splices
The Food of Love...
Mostly described using various 'indie' monikers, DL's sound is driven by the standard drums-bass-guitar power trio, but with Sophie's flute signalling wider textual potential. The whole thing is topped off with Sophie's excellent vocals, punctuated by doses of close harmony. The lyrics are usually narrative in nature, covering everyman & everyday situations. Any similarity to persons alive or dead, or events factual or fictitious is for you to guess. We hope you find something here to your taste.
Salad Days
Duncan's Lunch effectively started life with a brief chord sequence strummed on Andy's battered Telecaster on the floor of Sophie's one-bedroom flat in Hither Green, south east London, sometime in 1992. A few tentative lyric ideas later and Family Ties was on the way to becoming the band's first self-penned song.
Fast forward to the summer of '93, with a few more tracks in the bag and Dave adding his considerable percussive skills to the mix, and the fledgling DL trio was embarking on the release of its first four track cassette EP.
Enter Matt's fuzz-frenzied guitar in early 1994 and the line-up was complete. A year of gigging the London pub and club scene earned the band a slot at the original Mean Fiddler where they shared the stage with an up and coming Scottish band called Travis, an acoustic session at Radio Mercury in Crawley, West Sussex with subsequent interview and a little (dodgy) national press (!)
Sadly, things never quite got going to the next level and the band split up a little later.
The Final Course?
Many years later, conscious that the original full band line up had never made a meaningful release-worthy recording, they reunited in 2008 to rehearse what was to become the album Songs from the Eternal Cafe. While some copies of the album were immediately forced on friends and family, it was never released to the outside world, until now.
Please feel free to have a listen and if you like it, by all means grab yourself a copy and tell all your friends to do the same! We have plans to re-release some older material and much new music also exists. Watch this space!
Fresh Menus
2020 saw the re-release of Oliver's Travels, which appeared on DLs very first cassette EP, Tabernacle Sundae, re-recorded during the Eternal Cafe sessions, remixed and remastered.
Whilst still severely restricted during 2021, Andy was busy retrieving material from DL's old multitrack tapes (not an easy process: the tapes needed baking (yep!) to re-stabilise the contents before digitising the whole lot in real time) and blending archive performance with new parts to create a fresh new EP: Loud For Mother! Digital release shortly, with plans for a CD as well.
Nearly there...
Cheers,
DL
Sophie Langham - connoisseur of the finest mulled ribenas
"Vanilla shortcake"
Sophie is a classically trained actor, singer and flautist. Prior to forming Duncan's Lunch, Sophie and Andy had played in indie-rock outfit The Empty Set.
After graduating from Rose Bruford Sophie landed an early singing and performing role in the stage version of Robbie Coltrane's Tutti Frutti. She has appeared in film, on the West End stage and many times on TV. If you're of a certain age, you may best remember her as Binnie Roberts in Eastenders and that infamous snog scene that was designed to rival Anna Friel's on Brookside. These days Sophie somehow juggles all sorts of creative activities with being a mum.
The unarguable quality of Sophie's vocals coupled with her flute melodies gives a distinctive flavour to the Duncan's Lunch sound, blending seamlessly with the boys' rocking three piece backing.
Matt Green - master of teas
"Malted Milk"
Matt had been gigging the lonely suburbs of south London with a committed set of music-mad friends & family before joining Duncan's Lunch, bringing much of his and their energy with him, both to the band and its following.
On stage his axe-chops compliment the rhythm section admirably, but he really shines with some very inventive lines and sonic overdubs in the studio.
Matt is an accomplished racing driver (formula Ford, no less), father of three, guitar & amp builder and now studio complex owner. Phew!
Dave Etheridge - food mate, I love it all
"Jammy Dodger"
Dave's drumming has been legendary since he burst on the local music scene with Andy in The Purple People Eaters when Dave was still only 16. A veteran of many bands, gigs, sessions and tours (on drums and bass - he also plays guitar), Dave currently hosts a prog rock radio show every week and drums for The Progfathers as well as Duncans Lunch.
A dab hand in the kitchen, Dave has authored many delicious recipes. He also founded a chilli condiment firm, designing and manufacturing sauces that would blow your head off!
Andy Christodoulou - grills a mean halloumi
"Garibaldi"
Songsmith, slumlord and perpetual student, what do you do when your guitar playing isn't quite up to scratch but you want to be in a band anyway? Obviously you become the bass player!
More poet than musician ("pretentious, quoi?"), when not terrorising tenants or curing academics of insomnia, Andy spends his time fitting lyrics to music in his home studio and hoping for the best.
But be advised: after 30 years service to HM Govts of varying hues, he might know where you live, so you'd better buy the music if you know what's good for you.