AS you might guess from their unusual name, Fat Dads aren't your typical up-and-coming band. 

Their Instagram bio reads 'No backing. No label. All fat.'

When the News & Star asked them for their hopes for the future, thinking they might say performing at Glastonbury or having a top 10 hit, they said they wanted a pet monkey. Each.

Tyee Wright, Steven Dixon, Michael Smith, Alex Whittaker and Andy Graham came together in 2021 to form Fat Dads and they have enjoyed an impressive rise in popularity since then. 

Their hit Taking Our Sweet Time has nearly 30,000 listeners on Spotify, while physical copies of their debut EP sold out of all 300 copies within the first 48 hours of release. 

Harking back to the early '00s garage rock scene, Fat Dads write catchy indie tunes with a DIY sensibility. 

Fat Dads' first four demos were released to great acclaim and found their way onto Radio 1 and Radio X, purely through the power of social media. The band was also picked up by the UK tastemakers 'This Feeling' as one of the best new bands in the UK.

Steven, Michael and Andy were already based in Carlisle, with Tyee and Alex joining them from Scotland and the Wirral respectively, and the band now operates out of the border city. 

Inspired by The Strokes, Fratellis, The Cribs and Wet Leg amongst others, the band featured on the Yam Riot stage at Kendal Calling earlier this year, and played to a packed out and overflowing crowd. 

This, along with a gig in London, go down as their highlights from their first two years as a quintet.

Their fifth release ‘Girlfriend’ also made it into the top 20 on iTunes on release day.

When asked about the origin of their name, Steven said: "Too many bands pick serious and 'cool' sounding names. We did the opposite. So uncool, that it's actually cool. Well, I think so anyways."

Interested readers might be better off making up their own mind on Fat Dads, who are set to perform at The Brickyard on March 23, 2024.