Shake Hands Eric are based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire,UK. Formed in 2009, they achieved TOP 20 BEST INDEPENDENT ARTIST 2009 status worldwide in a listener poll for Internet Radio Magazine and jango.com. The band had received wide internet play with tracks from founder Richard Young's solo album effort " A Weekend in Another Country" (also as Shake Hands Eric, released in 2008). The band travel as Young, singing and strumming, Andy Tonkin on piano, Mark Hurrell with bass and Ken Robson on lead, with experienced drummer Les joining for gigs, after the departure of original member, producer and Destructors drummer Rob Baylis. All have experience in a million other weird and wonderful groups but it is now, in this particular musical incarnation, that all planets have aligned. The quartet is passionate about playing together. The band performed at Peterborough Beer Festival for a fourth year running in 2012 (busk / side and main slots - a major first at the 2009 festival). The band had originally signed to an indie label to release a single, "Long Stay These Days" (produced by Ross Griggs) on February 15th 2010 and recorded three new tracks with Phil Tyreman (Snow Patrol, Seal , Pet Shop Boys, The Prodigy) at the Smokehouse in Wapping. After the release of the single "All My Letters" in June 2010, the band signed and recorded an album for US/Canadian release in 2011 on the A Major Sound Label, working with Producer Paul Milner (Rush, Robert Palmer, Eddy Grant, Sting). That album, "Inside Colour", released in Summer 2011 worldwide, garnered plenty of radio play, including a series of BBC and local radio live sessions. A new single, "Turning Down The Thunder" (again written by Young) was released independently by the band on 13.4.13. The single had extensive radio play, with a live BBC Introducing session on June 22nd. 2013 saw the band playing lots of gigs, supporting such as Billy Ocean and Alexander O'Neal on their trips to Peterborough. In 2014, the band gigged steadily. However, 2015 was a quiet year. 2016 promises much with the online leak of a new song, Cold and Clumsy - and a brand new single in April 2016 called Breathe. A real return to top pop form, the song showcases the great melodic, and lyrical wit of Young's best work. August 2017 saw the release of the much more upbeat "Calling" written and produced by Young - a driving beat complements the swaying guitar and keys. A new sound for the summer - you can't fail to dance.