The Winnerys

Hailing from the Spanish capital Madrid, The Winnerys formed around a nucleus of Fausto "Sugar Winnery" Martín (vocals, lead guitar), Javier "Magic Winnery" Polo (vocals, bass) and Juanjo "Hammer Winnery" Martin (drums) when their 60's/Beatles covers band The Bad Boys called it a day in 1999. Borja "Happy Winnery" Bonafuente (vocals, rhythm guitar) soon completed the line-up and they began writing their own material, playing their live debut in June 2001.

Later that year they recorded a 9-song demo CD including future Winnery classics "It's Up To You", "Messages Inside" and "Little Dark Cloud" which led to them cutting their first album, And The Winnerys, in December 2002. The album was released by the prestigious Madrid label Rock Indiana in June 2003 and subsequently licensed to American label Rainbow Quartz in March this year. Reviewers have been unanimous in their praise.

In the meantime, the band have built a fearsome reputation as a stunning live act by virtue of their constant touring all over Spain and in October 2003 made their UK debut at The Cavern in Liverpool as part of International Pop Overthrow. In May they played in New York and Chicago in support of the American release of the album and left jaws on floors at every turn. In October 2002, they headlined the 40th anniversary of "Love Me Do" show in Madrid where they began road testing several new cover versions which would appear in their set over the coming months and will form the backbone of their shows at Beatleweek this year.

This is The Winnerys' first appearance at Beatleweek but we can guarantee that once you've seen them you'll wonder how you lived without them for so long.

Andy Morten