Someone who played music just for fun, the summer of 2003 found Styles on a trip to New York to visit a friend. Sat in a bar, he heard the man next to him talking with a Dublin accent. A brief conversation ensued and the fellow Irishman turned out to be Alan Cullivan, manager of The Thrills.
On their return to Dublin, the two set about turning Styles’ passing interest into something more serious. Putting together an occasional band, Styles looks set to profit from the thirst for singer songwriters without tying himself to closely to the pack. Described in certain quarters as a cross between Elvis Costello, Tom Waits and mid-’50s Elvis, Ely Styles is a hugely intriguing prospect.

Listen to Ely Styles' 'Light of our Lives':

dial up

broadband (highly recommended)

[Ely Styles plays the Sugar Club on Sunday 7th March]