The Naked Apes are the brain child of Mikey McCleary, a New Zealander, now living in London, UK. The songwriting began in the 1990’s, at Mikey’s London recording studio and, by the late 90’s, Mikey was writing songs with Davo, an old school friend from New Zealand, who shared the same birthday! They would travel the world together, get drunk on the beach and write songs. ‘Fantasy Girl’, ‘Little Nympho’ and ‘Life’s A Beach, Then You Dive’ were all written in this way.
Eventually, a band was formed, to play gigs in London but in the year 2000 the band split and Mikey had to find a new direction. On one of their infamous writing trips, Mikey and Davo, who had been drinking beer and writing songs on a beach in Mexico, thought of a name for a new band - The Naked Apes. Later in the evening they arrived at their cheap hotel and found only 2 books on the shelf in their room. These were The Naked Ape (by Desmond Morris) and The Bible! They believed this was a sign, and as there was already a band called The Bible, they decided on The Naked Apes.
TV, TOURS & RELEASES
Since the birth of The Naked Apes, the band have been recording their own demos and producing independent videos (with Davo’s help), which have appeared on MTV, Scuzz and Chart Show TV.
The Naked Apes were discovered by Hadyn Wood from UK indie label Airplay Records in June 2002, and have since toured the UK extensively, supporting the likes of Wheatus, REEF, Athlete, Fun Loving Criminals, [spunge] and Steriogram; and appeared at a variety of Extreme Sports Events, Festivals and College shows.
Their music has been featured in a variety of Films, TV Shows and DVD’s, including 7 Episodes of ‘PUNK’D’ on MTV, ‘The World Wakeboard Championships’, FOX TV’s ‘Rebel Billionaire’, UKTV’s ‘Secret Life of the Gym’ and indie films in Japan and America.
In August 2003 and August 2004, the band released 2 limited run, independent singles to their growing fan base and scored 2 consecutive Top 20 indie chart hits in under 12 months.
Their debut album was recorded and produced by the band at Brit Row studios in
London, mixed by Dan Swift (Snow Patrol) and is due for release in USA/Canada through 4 West Records.
PERSONAL STUFF
Mikey McCleary - GUITAR + VOCALS
Born in India to New Zealand parents. Mikey went to school in India, then went back to New Zealand where he studied music and composition.
In 1992, he moved to London and worked in recording studios, engineering, producing and writing for other artists.
Favourite food : ALL OF IT
Favourite drink: Jack Daniels and Coke
Andy Shields - BASS + VOCALS
Born in Yorkshire, UK but went to school in India too! - although he didn’t know
Mikey at this stage. Andy played in many local bands as guitarist and vocalist and
moved to London in 1994. Andy ended up in a band with Mikey’s next door neighbour and being a singer songwriter in need of a studio, Andy was introduced to Mikey, who was thinking of starting a new band. Andy learned the Bass Guitar and joined the band as Bassist and backing vocalist.
Favourite food: Pizza
Favourite drink: Red Wine
Rusty Evans - DRUMS
Born and raised in Winchester, UK, Rusty has a very posh English accent and is a very nice chap. He auditioned for The Naked Apes THREE times, losing out on previous occasions to an attractive female drummer and a couple of session drummers who were all great musicians but lacked personality. Eventually it was Rusty’s determination, commitment and sense of humour that secured him the job.
Favourite food: Breakfast Cereal
Favourite drink: Guinness
