Introducing: Shadow Smile

Fierce, five-man rock assault from Sheffield…

YOUR NAME: Connor McGovern.
BAND NAME: Shadow Smile.
WHAT DO YOU DO/PLAY: Lead vocals.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TOGETHER: AS A BAND/PLAYING MUSIC? We’ve been a band since 2019 and have all been playing music as long as we can remember.

GIVE US 3 REASONS WHY WE SHOULD TRACK DOWN, LISTEN AND DISCOVER YOUR MUSIC?
We are not writing to fit into a scene, we write music that we would want to listen to. So some people are bound to love it.
Our songs always have a purpose, sometimes political, sometimes pure theatre for entertainment but we never want to waste time on the meaningless.
We combine all eras of hard rock/metal into a convenient ball of awesome.

WHERE DO YOU SOUND BEST – FESTIVAL, CLUB, BEDROOM – OR SOMEWHERE ELSE?
Definitely on the biggest stages possible. Our songs are built for stadiums.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST…
RECORD? I bought the Rocky IV soundtrack on vinyl recently, but my first was probably Queen’s Greatest Hits when I was too young to realise that I didn’t have a record player.
CD? This would be Queen, Live Magic or Marilyn Manson, ‘Tainted Love’ on CD single. I can’t quite remember which came first.
DOWNLOAD? Eminem, ‘The Real Slim Shady’ was the first song I downloaded on my grandparents’ computer and it came with a ton of viruses.

SO, WHEN IT ALL GOES RIGHT AND YOU’VE GOT A HUGE QUEUE OF HANGERS-ON AND A RIDICULOUS MANSION, WHAT WILL BE YOUR BIGGEST INDULGENCE, MUSICAL OR OTHERWISE?
I’m quite indulgent already. I enjoy good scotch, fine wines and good cigars. I think I’d just make sure I had a plentiful supply of Johnny Walker Blue Label and pay off my mortgage so I could spend my income on eating in fancy restaurants.

SO, WHEN IT ALL GOES WRONG AND YOU’VE ACRIMONIOUSLY BROKEN UP CITING HUGE MUSICAL DIFFERENCES, WHAT DO YOU FALL BACK ON?
I’d continue making music. I’d love to write pro-wrestling entrance themes, so probably hit up WWE and AEW to see if I can lend a hand.

CITE SOME INTER-BAND MUSICAL DIFFERENCES…
We are influenced by so much eclectic music. Between us I’d include Queen, Guns N Roses, Dr Dre, Avenged Sevenfold, Bring Me The Horizon, While She Sleeps and MGK.

WHO ARE YORKSHIRE’S FINEST IN CULTURE, SPORT AND MUSIC?
Well, I was at school with Joe Root (although we didn’t really know each other) so I’d better put him in the sport category. I’m not sure in culture, there’s so much incredible music, theatre and art going on all around us which is amazing. I’d have to mention Habberdash on the local music scene as they are doing some very cool stuff.

NAME YOUR SUPERGROUP – WHO’S PLAYING WHAT, WHO’S ON VOCALS AND WHO’S YOUR BEZ?
I’d put myself on vocals (of course), Brian May and Sinister Gates on guitars, Duff McKagan on bass and Martin “Marthus” Škaroupka on the drums. Our Bez would be Bez! Nobody else can fill that role.

GO SEE THIS FILM: The Lost Boys.
GO READ THIS BOOK: Harry Potter! Not even joking! Read them all.
GREAT LOST BAND/ARTIST: The Residents.
WOULDN’T BE CAUGHT DEAD SUPPORTING: Lostprophets.
LONDON, L.A OR LEEDS?: I love L.A., so Sunset Strip!

AND FINALLY… AS YOU LEAVE THE STAGE, WHAT ARE YOUR PARTING WORDS?
Goodnight! Sweet dreams! Mine’s a scotch and soda!

For more info visit: shadowsmile.world