'And I'm not gonna dance for them today.'
Singer-songwriter Eddy Cantor wasn't always the man behind that tune that sees the bloke off Nathan Barley bouncing
around in front of some wallpaper on 'Man Stroke Woman' on BBC2/BBC3. No, he was once a TV chef, and before that, a university lecturer, pharmaceutical window-dresser, teletext updater, undercover documentary cameraman, 'greek fisherman' in a Boots advert, and before that - one of those guys who tries to sell you a mortgage over the phone.
An extreme case of ADHD had left Eddy floating through disparate careers, blissfully unaware that his true love, writing songs, could provide an anchor capable of holding his attention still. So naturally, he enrolled in music college in Manchester.
.as a harmonica player.
Meanwhile, at the same college, guitar virtuoso Neil Cooper was on the rise. Neil doesn't do 'me me me' solos, just stunning melodies, and has more than a touch of the 'Johnny Marr's' about him. He was however, going through songwriters quicker than strings, and his effortlessly beautiful music in danger, he felt, of being draped in polyester.
When Ying decided he needed a harmonica player, he called Yang, and the rest. was history.
Neil's sweet harmonies and delicate touch may not be characteristically Wythenshawe, but they wrap around Eddy's mellow vocal like a silk scarf round a puppy's neck. And so, whilst working together in and around Manchester's music scene, playing their own unique brand of John Martyn-inspired, Isley Brothers-flavoured, earthy acoustic soul, the first seeds of The Sanderson Pitch were sown.
After decamping to London and hooking up with keyboard wizard Kwame Yeboah (Stevie Wonder, Ms Dynamite, Craig David), and one of West London's young urban legends - producer Si Katz (Jamiroquai, Gorillaz, Ms Dynamite), The Sanderson Pitch has gradually morphed into a sound to be reckoned with and is now starting to bear the fruit.
Described as a 'hip new band' by the Daily Mirror when a host of celebrities were spotted at a gig at West London's Cobden Club in April 2005, and picked up for a radio session by Andrea Oliver for her Sony Award winning show The Selector, The Sanderson Pitch reputation has snowballed, and even earned them spots at London's Troubadour, Metro, and the prestigious Pizza Express Jazz Club in May 2005 - which they promptly sold out.
While 'Dive' has been getting caned on the TV and radio, their incredible and now infamous acoustic blues version of Survivor's 'Eye Of The Tiger' is to feature on the BBC3 documentary 'Lord Of The Dance Machine', airing soon. Their long-awaited debut album 'Faint Sounds' will also feature gems such as 'Walk Through Love' on which Eddy shares vocal duties with Zero 7 vocalist Sophie Barker.
