Young UK Jazz Trio Shares “Never Gonna Be a Boxer”
Today, following their US debut at SXSW, Newcastle upon Tyne jazz trailblazers Knats return with their highly anticipated new Geordie Greep- (black midi) produced album A Great Day In Newcastle. The band have already been breaking new ground, having now signed to the recently relaunched legendary label Fontana (UK home to AURORA, Jordan Rakei, Jacob Collier, Jon Batiste, Madison Cunningham and more). The new album was mixed by Hugh Padgham and executive produced and mastered by the world-renowned Gearbox Studios. The band shared the track “Never Gonna Be a Boxer.”
HEAR/SHARE: “Never Gonna Be A Boxer”
Here’s what the press has had to say:
7.7 (out of 10): “Knats excel not only as individual players but as a collective whose compositions reach beyond the purview of UK jazz… The UK trio’s second album marries jazz-kid experimentalism with taut punk, sprawling worldbuilding, and social commentary, featuring production from Geordie Greep… The addition of spoken word passages by local Geordie poet Cooper Robson, who drifts through balladic descriptions of community, working-class masculinity, and pickled onions, aids Knats in their explorations of their hometown.”
–Archie Forde, Pitchfork, May 1, 2026
“[Among] the best albums out May 1.”
–Dora Levite, NPR Music, May 1, 2026
“After dabbling in metal, grunge, reggae and house, the pair found their way into jazz through hip-hop and drum’n’bass samples, following a breadcrumb trail that led them to Charles Mingus, Miles Davis and Ahmad Jamal. The result is jazz that is sprawling and eclectic, with gritty, menacing percussion one moment, and bright, groove-led horns the next.”
–Olive Pometsey, The Guardian, April 28, 2026, feature
4 stars (out of 5): “A big compositional leap, boldly examining poverty, prison and crime via action-packed sonic fizz-bombs… Hip-hop beat makers who learnt jazz by ear, bassist Stan Woodward and drummer King David-Ike Elechi provide the perfect jump-off for the vibrant horns of Ferg Kilsby and George Johnson… Knats are having a moment.”
–Andy Cowan, MOJO Magazine (UK)
“Nothing short of… epic… the sonic narrative is so precisely crafted that it guides you through its totality, moving through soundtracks that could equally match amorous embraces or the slow throwing of fists in a local dancehall.”
–Emmeline Armitage, The Line of Best Fit (UK), April 28, 2026
“They bring a gust of fresh air straight off the River Tyne.”
–Kate Hutchinson, The Observer (UK), April 25, 2026
8 (out of 10): “A step up… This progression is a joy to behold and bodes well for the future… Jazz innovation firmly rooted in working class North East culture… At it’s best A Great Day In Newcastle is like listening to a Ken Loach film. It’s all gritty and raw. Instead of thinking you are listening to a piece of immersive fiction you feel like you know these people… This is an album to get lost in. Lost in the killer melodies, time signatures and rhythms. Lost in the stories but most importantly a place to lose yourself from the grind of work. Do give yourself a great day and give this a play.”
–Nick Roseblade, Clash (UK), May 1, 2026
“Knats’s brass arrangements are complex with lengthy, sinuous melodic lines. King David Ike Elechi’s busy drumming swings… and the group’s co-leader Stan Woodward plays an animated bass interlude.”
–Mike Barnes, The Wire (UK), May, 2026
“Edgy fusion of soaring melody, driving danceable rhythms, rock energy, and spoken-word poetry. The result is contemporary and deeply rooted in place—a homage to their hometown. Through evocative instrumental passages and hard-hitting regional accents, Knats channel the mining heritage, sporting culture and present-day realities of the North East, crafting music that vibrates with raw energy… The album buzzes with life, raw energy and musical ideas. They bring punk levels of anger as they delve into the dark sides of the North East but also find passion, pride and a refreshing honesty. At times, they bring a club-friendly approach; at others, they are musically and verbally aggressive. Their narrative style demands attention and may well form a template for others to follow. For Knats, it feels like this is just the opening act of something bigger.”
–Neil Duggan, All About Jazz, March 18, 2026
Led by three lifelong best friends from Newcastle, Stan Woodward (bass), King David-Ike Elechi (drums), and Ferg Kilsby (Trumpet; Flugelhorn), Knats have forged a sound as much at home in venues and clubs as it is at The Proms, and have spent the last year building a significant word-of mouth buzz touring the country and playing as the live band for both Greep and low-key RnB legend Eddie Chacon on their respective EU/UK dates – including two sold-out nights at London’s Koko. Since releasing their critically acclaimed debut album last year released on Gearbox Records, they’ve been nominated for Best Breakthrough Artist at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards, played sold-out headline shows across the UK and EU, and given incendiary performances at The Great Escape, We Out Here, Love Supreme, and more. The band also recently collaborated with Mike Keat of The Cuban Brothers and Simon Bartholomew of The Brand New Heavies, and at the turn of the year, released a new track with hometown noise-rock friends, lots of hands.
Complete with fitting artwork emulating the beloved late-50s Harlem Art Kane shot, A Great Day In Newcastle acts as a musical documentation of the North East working class experience — the trials and tribulations, community, and culture. The record sees the band dig into stories of lived experiences — their own, their close friends, and local legends of years gone by — touching on topics such as toxic masculinity and fighting culture, crime, life after prison, alcoholism, and the mining industry (with the closing track using words from a BBC interview with Durham Miners from the ‘60s). The addition of poet, Cooper Robson, adds a new dynamic to the band’s narrative, tackling these often dark themes with a playful approach that fully embodies “classic Northern optimism.”
Whereas ‘Wor Jackie’, the first single to be taken from the new album, dived into the experience of the North East pitman, using the famous Geordie football player, Jackie Milburn or ‘Wor Jackie’, as an archetypal figure for the story to unfold. The new track “Never Gonna Be A Boxer” is inspired by the culture of toxic masculinity in working class areas. The somewhat tongue-in-cheek track sees Knats at their most incendiary, combining intricate compositional work that nods to their roots in rock and experimentation with danceable grooves and high-octane soloing from Sandro Shargorodsky (keys/synth) and King.
Speaking on the track, the band say it “tells the story of a young lad who’s been scrapping on the estate and boxing in the gym. Everyone around him does the same and he feels like he should; when really, it’s not in his nature.”
The album offers a compelling approach to chronicling the milieu of everyday life in Newcastle, in a similar vein to some of their contemporaries in, say, London. However, as the next generation of UK jazz artists start to break through, there is something quintessentially vital about this album coming from this region. Speaking on the album, Stan says:
“This album has been a few years of thought and writing in the making. In terms of how could we make a record as a love letter to our hometown, whilst still talking about some of problems working class people in the North East face, without seeming too self-pitiful. When Cooper Robson got involved, everything changed. These instrumental songs I’d been writing about certain specific topics now actually had stories to accompany them, with words delivered from a person who truly loves Newcastle as much as we do. A Great Day in Newcastle is an exploration through happy, sad and angry stories from Newcastle and the beginning of a new sound for Knats.”
Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. Gainsborough Grove
3. Wor Jackie
4. Messy ln
5. Azure Blues
6. Big Market
7. Carpet Doctor ft. Geordie Greep
8. Never Gonna Be A Boxer
9. Farewell Johnny Miner
Album credits:
Stanley Elvis Woodward – Writer; Arranger; Bass Guitar; Synth Bass; Words / Lyrics
K
ing David Ike-Elechi – Drums; Percussion; Arranger
Ferg Kilsby – Trumpet; Flugelhorn; Co-writer; Arranger
Cooper Robson – Words / Lyrics
Geordie Greep – Producer; Electric Guitar
George Johnson – Tenor Saxophone
Sandro Shargorodsky – Keyboards; Piano; Synthesiser; Synth Bass
Tobias Amadio – Trumpet
Enya Barber – Violin
Frank Barr – Clarinet
Bertie Beaman – Trombone
Sebastian Barley – French Horn
Tom Ford – Electric Guitar
Viviane Ghiglino – Flute
Otto Kampa – Alto Saxophone; Conductor
Morgan Key – Cello
Josh Mitchell Rayner – Writer; Arranger; Piano
Dillon Pinder – Trombone
Ed Pickford – Writer
Lucy Rowan – Alto Flute
Natalia Solis Paredes – Viola
Congling Wu – Violin
Engineered by Simone Gallizio at Fish Factory Studios
Mixed by Hugh Padgham and Chris Webb at the Friary Studios
Mastered by Caspar Sutton-Jones at Gearbox Productions
