London, England-based band formed in 2002 by Liela Moss (vocals/harmonica), Luke Ford (guitar), Dan Higgins (guitar/keyboards), Toby Butler (bass) and Olly Betts (drums). The vinyl-only single "Darling You're Mean' was released in May 2003, followed later in the year by the Roll, Spirit, Roll mini-album, both issued on the City Rockers imprint. The latter was co-produced by Simon Raymonde from the Cocteau Twins and prompted a number of positive reviews in the UK music press. The quintet's very British take on blues-laced rock 'n' roll was built around Ford's abrasive guitar work and Moss" seductive vocals, which when coupled with a smouldering stage presence began to attract a wider audience.
Despite completing the majority of work on their debut album the quintet's contract with City Rockers fell through, but James Oldham's Loog Records rescued them from contractual limbo. In 2004 Duke Spirit released two excellent singles, "Dark Is Light Enough" and "Cuts Across The Land", before making their long-playing debut the following summer with Cuts Across The Land. The album amped up the band's garage rock leanings, with the Stooges and the Velvet Underground obvious inspirations. The Duke Spirit found a larger audience across the Atlantic, and spent most of 2006 touring America in support of the stateside release of the album. They guested on the U.N.K.L.E. release War Stories the following year and completed an album for their new label, You Are Here. Released at the start of 2008, Neptune saw the band teaming up with US producer Chris Goss on a strong, seductive collection of tracks that sounded far more confident than the preceding album.
