Draft:Phil Etheridge

Phil Etheridge (born 27 July 1977), is an English musician most notable as the lead singer and frontman of The Twang, This Rebel and also owner of Birmingham based independent record label Jump The Cut Records.

Early life
Etheridge is the youngest of three brothers and grew up in the Quinton area of Birmingham. As a youth he was a part of Birmingham's Skateboarding scene and in a 2017 interview he stated that this was a big influence on his life.

As a 10-year-old he was unknowingly featured in the Music Video for The Wonder Stuff 1991 single "Caught In My Shadow", Etheridge revealed this fact to Miles Hunt when The Twang supported his band in 2015 with the pair remaining close friends.

He went on to study music technology at Kidderminster College alongside childhood friend Jon Watkin. The pair originally performed in and around Birmingham under the name "Neon Twang" and during this period, Etheridge and Watkin often swapped instruments as they crafted the songs that would eventually become The Twang's debut album Love It When I Feel Like This.

Personal life
Etheridge is a lifelong Aston Villa fan and in an interview in 2012 he cited Paul Merson as his all time favourite Villa player. In 2009 Etheridge was invited to the launch party of Liam Gallagher's clothing range 'Pretty Green' alongside Ricky Hatton, Richard Ashcroft and Holly Willoughby.

The Smiths and The National are the bands that Etheridge cites as his main musical influences despite The Twang's golden rule of never playing tracks from either of these bands in their studio, saying: "We have got a rule not to play certain bands such as the Smiths and the National in the studio it kind of ruins your day because we will never be as good as them".

He is a keen runner and regularly competes in long distance events most notably finishing the Birmingham Half Marathon in a time of 01:48:59.

Jump The Cut Records
Etheridge founded Birmingham based independent label Jump The Cut Records in 2011 initially as an outlet to publish and distribute releases for The Twang.

The success of the Jump The Cut Records has allowed Etheridge to work with emerging Birmingham artists, most notably The Effenaar who released their debut album 'Ways Longest' which was co-produced by Etheridge via the label in 2022.

This Rebel
In December 2023 Etheridge announced a new project alongside long time collaborator and friend Jon Simcox under the name This Rebel.

This Rebel released their first single 'Heartstopper' on 24th November 2023 via Jump The Cut Records followed by two further releases 'Same Every Time' and 'Cheap Thought' in early 2024.

Studio albums

 * Love It When I Feel Like This (4 June 2007) #3 (UK)
 * Jewellery Quarter (3 August 2009) #20 (UK)
 * 10:20 (29 October 2012) #52 (UK)
 * NEONTWANG (10 March 2014) #57 (UK)
 * If Confronted Just Go Mad (November 2019)
 * This Rebel (March 2024)

Compilations

 * Either Way, It's The Best Of The Twang (3 November 2017)
 * Subscription (17 November 2017)

EPs

 * Guapa EP (14 February 2011)
 * Amsterdam (28 February 2020)

Singles

 * "Wide Awake" (19 March 2007) #15 (UK)
 * "Either Way" (28 May 2007) #8 (UK)
 * "Two Lovers" (27 August 2007) #34 (UK)
 * "Push The Ghosts" / "Drinking In L.A" (26 November 2007) #63 (UK)
 * "Another Bus" (Free download)
 * "Barney Rubble" (27 July 2009) #59 (UK)
 * "Encouraging Sign" (18 October 2009)
 * "Paradise" (Free download)
 * "We're A Crowd" (13 February 2012)
 * "Larry Lizard" (3 February 2014)
 * "Mainline"
 * "The Wobble"
 * "New Love" (10 November 2014)
 * "On the 24th" (1 December 2016)
 * "Everytime" (17 May 2019)
 * "Dream" (2 August 2019)
 * "It Feels Like (You're Wasting My Time)" (1 November 2019)
 * "You On My Shoulders" (5 June 2020)