The band met somebody in early 93 that would help them make the step up from pub band to a proper touring/recording band. He was Trevor who worked at a record company but was starting up his own label called Dental. He met with the group to discuss different topics of the music business and maybe even put out a single on his own label. He put forward various contacts which would later get the band many decent gigs and also gave his own opinion as the direction the band should be moving. It was one of these contacts that gave The Sway a gig at the Army & Navy in Chelmsford late in April 1993.
The Sway supported an up and coming band called Jacob`s Mouse. They were already indie music press darlings and The Sway took the opportunity to play to a larger audience, while hoping someone might spot them. They did. Trevor was down at the gig with a friend called Ian Fortnam who was a freelance writer for many music papers. It was agreed the The Sway would play again at the Army & Navy in May. This time they would support local band Garp who had a huge following. and if the band played well then Ian would do a small article on the band. The band saw this as a big opportunity, and so got down to a lot of work.
In the meantime the band were booked into the recording studio again , but this time to start recording a single for either Trevors label or some of the others interested. Silk had fast become a live favourite and was obviously going to be the first single for the band. However the song needed a lot of work on it because it used to last around the 8 minute mark thus making it unworkable as a single. The band did a lot of pre-production on it and got it down to a 5 minute stomper. The whole set was taking shape with The Sway writing fantastic song after another, it would be hard to decide what to record as b-sides. The band decided on Don`t penetrate me and Feasting on my Friends. Both songs were now set-list standards and had been played for months. All three songs were ready to be laid down. They went in from 16th-19th may 1993 and also on the 24th may. The Sway had come of age. The Silk ep was amazing.
So with renewed vigor the band headed back to Chelmsford, but this time with a coach full of their own fans. When the band arrived at the Army & Navy they were shocked to see a queue of people going right around the venue. This was going to be good! I truly doubt the band have ever played as good, and with near 600 people in the venue some may say this was The Sway`s greatest gig. The set list consisted of the three songs on the single ,plus megadream and evolution. The band were on top form. Ian Fortnam was as good as his word and wrote a fantastic review. The Sway were on their way. More gigs followed, and the set got stronger. The single got a great review on teletext in Sept 93, everything was falling into place.
The Sway headed back into the recording studio most weekends in Sept 93 to record 7/8 songs. This was the bands first chance to experiment. Twig on a pig & Immerse me came from those sessions
The band had started to think about giving up their day jobs, to take the band on the road, to become a full time band. In late 93 this was decided to be the right move when they signed a contract with Bad Habits recording company to put out The Sways debut single Silk. As 1993 drew to a close the tour dates were being drawn up along with the artwork of the single. The band ever eager to get involved with all aspects of their careers decided to design the single cover themselves. James would do the artwork while Paul,Sean,David and Jason(Sean`s brother)would come up with the concept. Jason was given the task of taking the photos while Sean and David got Paul to dress as a priest, to keep the mystery Paul would wear a paper bag on his head. The band wanted Paul to look a little kinky so asked him to do the photo shoot in a pair of black fish net stockings. Paul wore these for days afterwards. The picture on the cover is of Paul ,dressed as a kinky priest holding a cross and piece of fruit.
The tour was set to coincide with the release of the single. The tour would start in Southampton on the 22nd Jan 1994 and run until late Feb 94 when the single would be released on the 21st.
The Sway supported The Wishplants in Southampton before dates in Peterborough, Cambridge, Nottingham, Leeds, Perth, Oban, Evanton, Glasgow and Edinburgh before heading back to London for the release gig/party. The release gig took place at the Bull & Gate in London and the band were supported by Travis. Then it was back on tour to plug the single , up to Hull, down to Hastings,Worthing,Plymouth and the final date in Exeter. In Exeter the band supported Passion Fruit and Holy Bread, where by all accounts ( many of them passion fruit fans ) blew them off stage big time. The Sway had been on tour for a month and were at their very best. A few more gigs and mini tours took place over the next few months , but The Sway never rested on their laurels. Most spare time was taken up by either writing,recording,doing press interviews or radio ,but most importantly looking for what could be the next single.
The band met up with American producer Dennis Dwyer to work with them on the next single. He came to see the band at gigs and in rehearsals to try and decide what the next single would be. It was going to be a brand new song only just written and added to the set called Going Blind. This song went down a storm at gigs, it was a catchy number, more poppy then The Sway had written before. The Sway set about work on the songs for the next single. Going Blind was going to be the A-side with No one comes ( close to you ) on the b-side, along with third track Sensual World. After a summer of work the band went into the recording studio with Dennis. This time they went into a friends of Dennis studio, his name was Bob and had a studio in St Albans , in fact the mixing desk in his studio was one that was used by Rod Stewart and Free. The Sway were in the studio on and off for 3/4 weeks. The sound of the ep is very polished, and with the added extra help of Helen Terry ( Culture Club) the single sounds very accomplished. The Sway were headed in a new direction.
