Interview - PROOF
Where are you from and how did you meet?
Three of us met in Liverpool a few years ago while we were working on various musical projects and in studios. We all had different things going on but always kept the idea of working together on the backburner if we ever had time. We already had a large body of songs we’d worked on with some great people so, as COVID came and went and we all arrived at similar stages in life, it made sense to focus on what we’d built up over the years. Pete came onboard last summer when we recorded as a group for the first time and then PROOF was born.
What were you all doing musically before the band?
We’ve all been writing, recording and performing constantly since we were in our teens and have already achieved a lot between the four of us. There’s a long history of releasing music and touring across all members, whether that be professionally or independently. In Liverpool three of us crossed paths and got together regularly without doing much publicly, but always with the intent that we’d devote more time to it when we got the chance. This coalesced into being given some studio time by the amazingly generous Robbie Whiteley at Whitewood Recording Studios in Liverpool, and this set the foundations for the project. Inspired by this we’ve since built our own studio but always like working with other people wherever, whenever really.
Who are PROOF’s influences?
We try and embody the spirit of the bands we love rather than taking song and sound ideas directly. Bands that create whole universes to discover over long periods of time are ones we’re naturally drawn to, bands that are prolific and song orientated. Not a ‘song’ as in it’s got four chords and you can strum it on an acoustic guitar like a busker (although there’s thousands of songs that work well like that), but music that has a hook, message and creates an enduring legacy. In a way we’re aiming at those bands that seemed to create an endless world of ideas with each release: Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure, Radiohead, The Coral, The Verve, The Walkmen. That’s why we’re keen to showcase what we’re doing in different lights to emphasise the strength of the songwriting. We want to be one of those bands where people argue over which track should have been the A-side or find something they wouldn't have otherwise heard through producers or artists that have done remixes of our songs. In terms of bands recording and performing at the moment, some of our current favourites are Sleaford Mods, Nomosapien and Big Special. Michael Clarke who works with Big Special in a production capacity sent us some really encouraging vibes early on which was a massive inspiration as we really love their stuff. The guy who does our sleeves Kristian Jones has a great band called MeNowThereThen that have just finished their debut album we’re really looking forward to.
What sets you apart from other bands?
What we have been really fortunate with from the start is the breadth of people involved in collaborating on the project. As well as recording a large part of the first EP in our own studio, we’ve worked with Robbie Whiteley (Clinic, Stealing Sheep) and Tim Cunningham (The Zutons, Jamie Webster) in Liverpool. Mark Gittins (God Damn, Judas Priest) came on board towards the end to assist with the Dolby Atmos mixing, and these are all people that have established careers with some amazing bands. Given the variety of the songwriting and production on the EP, remixing was something we felt could broaden the appeal and we were blown away when we got the offers from incredible artists such as Nomosapien, Ben Holton (epic45, My Autumn Empire) and MeNowThereThen (Wayside & Woodland Recordings). Visually we can’t underestimate or be thankful enough for the work of Kristian Jones. Kristian is a very well-established visual artist, and his unique visual style really chimes with what we are saying musically and lyrically. It is very pertinent and distinctive. I can’t recommend going out and seeing/hearing as much as you can from any of these people as soon as possible.
What does the band name mean?
Like all good band names, it can mean everything or it could mean nothing. Given the absolute deluge of content out there now, choosing original band names that haven’t been used before in some context gets harder every year. As we were burrowed away for a while putting the body of songs and EP together, our family and mates would naturally be asking for proof as to what was actually going on, particularly given some of the seemingly tall tales that were being written around the inception. So the EP represented that, proof we have been working hard and not just sat off talking nonsense, although there has been a fair bit of that as well to be fair! A lot of people ask if we’re named after the I Am Kloot track ‘Proof’. We’re not as we hadn’t heard it at the time, but John Bramwell is an amazing songwriter and some of the themes of that track definitely chime.
What’s your dream venue to play?
Given we’re only just building an audience we haven’t got any ambitions to play live yet until we can justify it. It is something that would be great to do eventually, but the project is very much centred around writing, recording and spending time together as friends. None of the songs we’ve recorded have ever been rehearsed by the band. Once they’re written we just hit record and end a few hours later at wherever they are at. There’s no masterplan other than to do the songwriting justice, producing and performing them to the best of our ability. Once people become more familiar with them, then we’ll think about how best to put that across live. We all work with other bands that perform live, so it’s just a case of PROOF coming into focus on that at some point. The big favourites would be places like Glastonbury, the legendary venues in Liverpool or Wolverhampton Civic/Wulfrun Hall given our backgrounds. To be honest though, if we were to put the focus on playing live, we’d give that everything and be as happy playing to 5, 50 or 5000 people. If the van’s getting packed, it’d be a waste not to get out there! If we commit to an idea, we tend to go all in.
Do you have a message for your audience?
Given our core audience at the moment is our nearest and dearest, it’s simply a massive thank you! All our families and friends have made huge sacrifices of time and energy through the hottest summer sun and coldest winter snow to allow us to make this happen, and without that we’d be nowhere. Also, the encouragement of yourself and other music lovers on radio and blogs has really helped to get the music out there and is hugely appreciated. A big thing that can’t be underestimated has been the support of BBC Introducing and getting Track of the Week for ‘Pause To Exit’. That was as amazing as it was surprising.
Also a big thank you to those picking up on the music for the first time since the release of the EP. It’s getting listened to all across the world, and the feedback has been amazing. Hopefully we can give people something they want and need through what we do, as well as open doors for them to discover new music, art or ideas.
What are your plans for the next 12 months?
The main idea is to write and record music working towards another EP and hopefully an album. We’ve got a huge amount of songs demoed and artwork/visual ideas ready, so we need to tap into the vast support network of creative people we have to try and bring it all to life in as interesting a way as possible. We’ve already started recording music for the project at Rockfield Studios in Wales where a lot of our favourite music was recorded, so we’ll keep developing the body of work we have on the go and release something when it feels natural. As well as lead tracks, it’s always good to back this up with interesting avenues like B-sides, remixes and videos.
Pictures Of Themselves EP by PROOF is released on Village Industry LTD on Friday 17th April 2026 on streaming and physical formats via the following link li.sten.to/picturesofthemselvesep
PROOF are Tom Hammersley, Jim Reyolds, Pete Forbes & Jim Sharrock.
Follow the band and their collaborators on Instagram:
@proofbandofficial @nomosapien @birdsinthebrickwork @menowtherethen @kristianjones_