The spectacle of the Play-Offs continue to capture the imagination of millions of supporters, both home and abroad, and that trend continues even into the music industry.
Midlands quartet, Peace, an indie rock band formed in Worcester, have taken time from their busy schedule to turn their focus to this weekend’s Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final, and more specifically Aston Villa.
Guitarist in the band, Doug Castle, fresh from a gig in Leicester following the release of their brand new album ‘Kindness Is The New Rock And Roll’ earlier this month, is hoping to celebrate on two fronts come Saturday evening.
“It’s a strange feeling when you release an album because you record it and then there is this big gap before it is released. It is almost like it is yours originally before it gets given to the people or anybody who wants to listen to it – it’s great once it is out there, though,” Doug explained.
A smooth transition from talk of their new album and current tour across the country, to Aston Villa, came courtesy of some common ground – what is Doug’s favourite Villa song?
Of course, ‘Holte Enders in the sky’, was a more than suitable choice – it is famously associated with Villa Park after all. For Doug, becoming a Villan came naturally and through his father was born into wearing the claret and blue.
“It’s always special to go to Wembley, it is a massive day out and the stakes are pretty high which makes it even more interesting.
“Steve Bruce has been fantastic for us. He has brought that stability to the side that we lacked originally and there seems to be a core team that can now move on and progress into the Premier League - hopefully anyway!
“The signing of John Terry has typified that, and he has proven his quality – he was the type of player that was needed. Although the signing has almost overlooked James Chester alongside him, who has been fantastic. Obviously that solid foundation has helped build the team.”
Villa’s opponents on the day are Fulham, who narrowly missed out on automatic promotion to Cardiff City on the final day of the regular season.
Known for their attacking flair throughout the 2017/18 campaign, Doug is hoping the experience within the ranks of Villa can prove the deciding factor on the day.
He said: “I hope Villa can be brave enough to match Fulham, because I think we have shown we can match any team in this division this season.
“No doubt it is going to be a tight game, potentially a cagey affair but I’m rather confident of getting a positive result from the game. Due to touring commitments I won’t be able to watch the game at Wembley itself, but it’ll be a scramble to the nearest pub!
“I’m going to go with a 2-1 win, hopefully after Saturday we can be called a Premier League team once again.”
Speaking of tour commitments, it is going to be a busy summer for Doug and his bandmates. After their May UK Tour comes to an end in their hometown of Birmingham, a further eight festivals up until the end of August are scheduled.
“It’s been great so far to be back on tour, all the shows have been crazy and it is nice to have that feeling again.
“It was obviously planned that we could finish in Birmingham and it will be a nice way to finish what has been a great start to a busy few months for us all.”
You can listen to ‘Power’ on the official EFL Playlist: