Biography

Like four other musicians who also called this major North West city their home, they take great pride in the fact they churn out songs that are not only catchy, memorable, and instantly appealing, but cater to a wide range of people from all walks of life.

Joe Symes, along with Colin White, founded the band. It was while attending a local gig that the latter suggested to the former the name the “Loving Kind:” something that had been buried in his subconscious after listening the R.E.M song Get Up. After a sip or two of beer, the two agreed, set to work, and following one line up change added bass player Alan Welsh. The music world now had a powerful, explosive and foot taping power trio on their hands. An act one spectator described as “sounding like nine people on stage, not a mere three.”

The band’s self-titled debut album, released on their own record label, Truly Independent Records, is a resume of their musical versatility. A record containing songs of the rock, psychedelic, dah-dah, easy listening, country and movie soundtrack variety. One international reviewer called it an indie rock classic and two tracks appeared on the Charity Compilation Shoulder to Shoulder alongside tracks by Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene, Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), Robyn Hitchcock, Noel Gallagher, Pete Noone (Herman’s Hermits) and Wishbone Ash. This collection was organised by David Quaife, whose brother Pete was the original bass player of the British rock legends The Kinks. Creation Records’ Alan McGee even praised the album in question, even adding Hollywood stars like Matthew Modine, and Michael Keaton to the fan-base.

This was followed by the energetic rock orientated single Things Get Better: a track that shows their current heavy pop incarnation, and gave the listener a glimpse of the direction the second album would take them. The single was not only played during half time at Liverpool Football Club’s ground on several occasions,
but was a three-week feature on BBC Introducing. Not too bad for the band’s second official release, spurring into more recordings and shows.

Keeping with the desire to show people more of their musical versatility, the next two releases took a detour down the unplugged route with the release of the Acoustic Variations E.P, and the Acoustic Variations E.P Volume two: twin extended plays that show a rock band can translate their compositions from heavy electric guitars and pounding drums to acoustic
guitars, but with various forms of percussion and other instrumentation.

Shortly after this diversion, a limited edition single entitled You’re No Friends of Mine was released as a treat to their loyal fan base.

During the time-scale of these releases the band have not only gained major airplay and radio sessions in their native U.K but all around the world; predominantly in the U.S, Canada, and Australia.

But what do Joe Symes and the Loving Kind do best? What is the thing they shine at the most? The answer, of course, is live performance. Like their publicity resume, the list of places they’ve played and the other bands they’ve shared the bill with is equally impressive. Headlining Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds After-show Party twice on the main stage of the Liverpool 02 Academy (the first time being their second gig as a full band), supporting The Blockheads, Dodgy, XTC, Republica, Alt-J, Bloc Party, Starsailor, and The Christians, being part of the Hillsborough Truth & Justice Concert at the Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, headlining the lovely Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, and bringing joy to audiences at venues and festivals right across the U.K in Manchester, Glasgow, Cheshire, Sheffield, Wigan, Nottingham, Shrewsbury, Northwich, Leicester, Wigan, Crewe, Stoke, Blackpool, London, and various parts of North and South Wales.

September 2018 saw the eagerly anticipated release of the band’s second album Phase II: a ten track rock classic that leaves the listener wanting more. Production of this album took place in several locations such as Peter Gabriel’s Solid State Logic Studios, Oxfordshire, the Motor Museum, Liverpool, Parr Street Studios, Liverpool, and Abbey Road, London. Like the previous releases, the album gained airplay on radio stations, as well as being featured in reviews, magazine interviews globally, and endorsed by celebrities from the world of show business on both sides of the Atlantic.

And finally coming up to the present, after taking some time off from live performances, the band began 2020 by working on a new 4 track E.P, which was released in March 2022. This was made available in HMV stores in Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, Wigan, Warrington, and Hanley, with the band performing in store acoustically in each of them, plus the title track reaching number 8 in the national 365 Radio charts in the UK, climbing higher than such acts as Florence and the Machine, Liam Gallagher, Jack White, White Lies, and Ed Sheeran, to name several, where it stayed at that position for five weeks.

They have also been featured in three of the Plug Inn books, which documents the history of North West music over the past 50 plus years.

The band is currently finishing their third album “Portmanteau” due out in early 2024. This has been preceded by the release of the video of a track from the album entitled It’s All Too Late, which is now available to watch on the band’s YouTube channel. 

So, to sum it all up: Joe Symes and the Loving Kind from Liverpool, U.K, One of the most exciting new bands to come out of Liverpool (according to the late early Beatles manager/Merseybeat promoter Sam Leach, R.I.P).

To quote Ryan Martin from Chicago based station Jammerzine:
“Take note if you are thinking of starting a band, or wanting to get your music heard. This is how it is done.”