Hardwicke Circus was formed by brothers Jonny and Tom Foster, who had a passion for making music from an early age. They developed a reputation on their street for making a racket but they were not to be deterred. Throughout their school years, they surrounded themselves with the best musicians Carlisle, (which the brothers have been known to call a center of English drunkenness), had to offer, more than once poaching them from other school bands.
When their friends began the university treadmill, Hardwicke Circus jumped in a van, hit the road, and haven’t looked back. They earned their stripes in Hells Angels pubs, clubs, theatres and prisons, the long journeys making rebel rousing music with the music of Dylan, Springsteen, Philadelphia Soul, Motown, the Stray Cats and more “all fuel us to get our voices heard loud and clear wherever we land,” Foster said.
Their dynamic live shows and songwriting found a fan and a manager in renowned music veteran Dave Robinson, whose resume includes serving as road manager for Jimi Hendrix and as co-founder of Stiff Records.
Hundreds of gigs later in pubs and parties and other European countries, the band was ready for a big break, a gig at the 2020 SXSW. Then came the pandemic. So much for SXSW and the 165 gigs they had scheduled for after the festival.
Switching gears from a touring band to a recording one, Hardwicke Circus rented a farmhouse in Yorkshire where they wrote and recorded their debut album, The Borderland.
The band emerged from the pandemic and their Yorkshire farmhouse with series of gigs at 15 prisons throughout England in November 2021. Echoing Johnny Cash’s At Folsom Prison, Hardwicke Circus released the limited-edition At Her Majesty’s Pleasure, a 13-song album with highlights from their life-altering prison shows.
The Hardwickes, as they are called by fans, are back on the road as they prepare for release their sophomore album due April 2023. Each high-energy show brings them new converts to the cause, including a gig at Glastonbury, aided and abetted by Sir Paul McCartney.
Hardwicke Circus have supported Bob Dylan and Neil Young in Hyde Park, Madness, Alabama 3, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Bob Geldof’s Boomtown Rats and The Blockheads.
