Censored

Censored were a British rock band from Ilkeston, between Nottingham and Derby. They were formed in the early noughties by Matt Henshaw (guitar and vocals), Nathan Clarke (bass and vocals) and Chris Goring (Drums and Percussion) taking their name and original logo from a Playboy book. They were an integral part of the East Midlands music scene and released numerous independent singles.
In December 2007 Nathan Clarke was replaced by bassist Christopher Owen. The band played their last show at the Rescue Rooms in Nottingham on 19 December, 2008.
History
Censored were formed in the early noughties when original members Chris Goring and Matt Henshaw were playing for Ilkeston Town FC youths and met third founding member Nathan Clarke at Ilkeston School Arts College.
Many of Censored early gigs were in and around the East Midlands area, namely Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Sheffield Their early sound was often described being "ensconced in the classic British 'mod' sound" in part due to their cover of Sam Cooke's "Shake".
The band were selected in 2005 by Lee Jeans to play their stage at the Carling Weekend: Leeds and Reading Festivals and again in 2006 by TopMan.
Following their set at Leeds Festival in the summer of 2006 Censored were voted into the Top 5 unsigned bands in the UK by visitors to NME.com, as part of the Walkman NME Breaking Bands competition.
Touring
The band toured extensively throughout the UK through 2006 and 2007 playing with the likes of Snow Patrol, Supergrass, Ocean Colour Scene, The Bluetones, We Are Scientists and Good Shoes. The band played numerous universities and appeared on student TV channels. On the last Saturday of every month through this period Censored would play at Club S.O.S, their clubnight at the independent Junktion 7 in Nottingham.
Acoustic shows were also played with Simon Fowler and Oscar Harrison of Ocean Colour Scene, Rick Buckler of The Jam (performing with The Gift) and at Clough Aid, a fundraiser to erect a statue of ex-Nottingham Forest and Derby County manager Brian Clough in Nottingham.
Matt Henshaw also regularly played at the annual Small Faces convention at the Carling Academy Islington
and featured in the the Darlings of Wapping Wharf Launderette fanzine.
The band's one and only single on their own record label "L.I.F.E (Blow It Out My Mind)" was released at the end of Spring 2007 and picked up radio airplay including Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 causing record label interest at the tail end of year.
Electric Toaster
Signing with Electric Toaster Entertainment at the beginning of 2008 with new bassist Christopher Owen they released the single "Play The Game" which received limited national radio airplay, most notably Tom Robinson on BBC Radio 6 Music.
The band performed on Nottingham's Old Market Square to promote the single; however, most the promotional work for the single was disrupted by illness within the band.
In mid-2008 Censored were models for clothing company Violate.
Censored shared the management of New York band We Are Scientists and were invited to play at a secret pub show at the Old Blue Last in Shoreditch, London. It was to prove one of the band's final shows along with dates in Leicester, Stoke, Manchester, Oxford and one final show in Nottingham.
The band played their final show at Rescue Rooms in Nottingham on the 19th December 2008.
In April 2010 a collection of Censored songs were made available as free downloads through Last.FM and MySpace.
In early 2010 it was announced that Matt Henshaw was working on an album collaborating with Hip Hop MC ReggiiMental under the working title of The Deepest Cellar. The 11 track album The Deepest Cellar was released on May 1st and features MCs the lost generation, Ras Supa, Rukus, Devas and a remix from the Unfriendly Neighbours (recently signed to the Banana Klan record label belonging to Roots Manuva).
Chris Goring is now working as a drum teacher in the Nottingham/Derby area.
Club S.O.S
In 2006 Censored setup and successful ran the clubnight Club S.O.S at the music venue Junktion 7 in Nottingham.
The night ran for just over two years and was held on the last Saturday of every month.
Some notable bands and artists played some of their early shows at Censored's Club S.O.S including The Displacements, Thepetebox and Rosalita. Midlands actor Paddy Considine also played with his band Riding The Low. Oldham band Twisted Wheel played their first show outside of the Manchester area in Nottingham at Club S.O.S, following singer Jonny Brown's acoustic support slot of Censored at The Castle in Oldham. The band would go on to sign with Columbia Records 3 months later and support Ian Brown, Oasis and Paul Weller in the following years.
Numerous DJs would frequent and play at the nights including occasionally writers from online music fanzine Drowned in Sound.
Discography
Albums
Free Compilation Download:
* "Censored 2004-2008" (2010)
Singles
; Independent releases:
* "Mr. Bishop" (2004)
* "Get It On" (2005)
* "Johnny Boy" (2006)
; S.O.S Recordings:
* "L.I.F.E (Blow It Out My Mind)" - 23 April 2007
; On Electric Toaster Entertainment:
* "Play The Game" - 9 June 2008
Band members
* Matt Henshaw: Guitar and Vocals
* Nathan Clarke: Bass and Vocals ('till Dec '07)
* Chris Goring: Drums and Percussion
* Christopher Owen: Bass (from Dec '07)

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