Celebrity Chimp

Celebrity Chimp was originally a banjo and drums duo. Andy McKay, composer on Kris Drever’s award nominated album Black Water and Tom Smith, Manchester drumming ace, were Celebrity Chimp. The pair played the open mics of the London music scene relentlessly until they found their spiritual home at the Hobgoblin on White Lion St, N1. Round about 2009/2010(?) they appeared monthly to delight a growing crowd of pink dancing ‘Chimps’, where Derek and Clive-esque verbal sniping comes to intersperse and tangle with the tunes.
Always at the heart of Celebrity Chimp is a desire to write great melodies, the kind that stay in your head all week. Underpinning these are Andy’s boundary breaking banjo parts and Tom’s ear-defying drums, all set against driving bass.