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A Fight You Can't Win (sometimes referred to as AFYCW) is an Scottish group composed of Matthew Bakewell (guitar and vocals), Lesley Crawford (guitar and vocals), Robbie Smith (bass guitar and vocals) and Stewart McLachlan (drums). They describe themselves as a Punk Rock, Grunge, Alternative Rock band with Pop. They are have a number of studio recorded releases.

Biography
A Fight You Can’t Win are a four piece alternative guitar band based in Edinburgh who were started in 2009 by Irish friends Paul Diamond and Matthew Bakewell. The original plan was to write 2 to 3 minute loud pop songs. After searching for a drummer for a short time they found Dutch Sander Van Den Driesche on a musician website and started writing a gigging shortly afterwards. After releasing their eponymous debut album in April 2010 they began searching for a second guitarist to complete their sound and in August Lesley Crawford joined after a mutual acquaintance introduced them. 2011 proved to be a significant year as the band released the EP “Every Last Breath” which led to them being nominated for a Scottish Alternative Music Award (for Best Metal Group) and receiving Radio 1 airplay from Ally McRae and Vic Galloway. That year they also released a video for the song “Shedding Skin Making Bones”.

In August 2011 Sander and Paul decided that work and family commitments meant that they could no longer continue with the band and were replaced by Robbie Smith (Tabasco Fiasco, Mr Dirty) and Stewart McLachlan (Casino Queen, Scrap Brain) on bass and drums respectively. After a short retreat to the country the band started gigging locally and writing material for their next release.

In July 2012 the band released an eponymous EP and released videos for the songs “Burning Sky” and “Jerusalem Crickets” with video maker Ciaran Lyons. The band also embarked on a short Irish and Scottish tour that August and then return to Belfast the following December to support Belfast band Lafaro. The EP also received favorable reviews in online blogs and Kerrang magazine.

In January 2014 the band announced its intentioned to split and its decision to record and release the final songs that had been written and as the EP “Not Sleeping Just Dead” and have a farewell gig on May 3rd 2014.

Release Date
March 2011

Information
Recorded in various locations in Edinburgh 2010. Produced by David Chisolm and engineered by Jon Alexander at Soundreach, Edinburgh. Additional recording and mastering by MakeNoise Audio. Cover art by Daniel Seex

Release Date
July 2013

Information
Recorded at Chamber Studios, Edinburgh. Engineered by Graeme Young. Mixed and produced by Stewart McLachlan. Mastered by Stuart Hamilton at Castlesound. Cover art by Daniel Seex

Expected Release Date
May 2014

Information
Recorded at Chamber Studios, Edinburgh. Engineered by Graeme Young. Mixed and produced by Stewart McLachlan. Mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, New York. Cover art by Daniel Seex