Haydons Place rose to prominence across South East England in 2009 with the release of The Atlas EP. Bringing together uplifting pop sensibilities with the soft alt-rock signature of the late noughties, they soon carved out a niche as the flagship pop/rock band of the South, underpinned by the poetic and melodic songwriting of founder and frontman Christian Bell-Young.

Christian met drummer Steve Wilkinson and lead guitarist Antonio Dawkins at the prestigious Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, after his latest song Obsession grabbed their attention in a music lecture. With a session at the famous Dairy Studios in Brixton already on the table, they came together to form a band, adding Steve’s brother, Terry, on bass guitar.

By the end of 2011, Haydons Place had dominated the London live circuit, performing sell out shows at the 100 Club, Purple Turtle and Hobgoblin. They had been featured on BBC Introducing and had amassed over 500k streams.

In early 2012, they released their sophomore record, Gears. Christian’s songwriting had taken a darker turn, evolving the band into a harder rock outfit and dropping the pop sheen that had once defined them. The titular track was featured on BBC radio and the band embarked on a huge line up of promotional gigs and festivals. With their new sound beginning to polarize the group members, and Christian focussing on a solo project, Haydons Place split in June 2012 after just 3 years on the scene.