Although they posses a sound similar to US roots rock outfits such as Wilco and the Wallflowers, one of the more promising bands of the genre to emerge during the early twenty-first century, Minibar, came from London, England. While billed as a "band", the heart and soul of Minibar is undoubtedly main songwriter Simon Petty (b. Manchester, England), who also contributes lead vocals and guitar. The first style of music to leave an impression on Petty surprisingly was not the style he is now closely associated with, but rather new wave acts such as the Jam, the Buzzcocks, and Elvis Costello. Like prominent US roots rocker Ryan Adams before him, Petty used punk bands of yesteryear as a building block for his own style, leading to the formation of Minibar in the mid-90s. Joined by fellow countrymen Sid Jordan (bass/vocals), Tim Walker (guitar/vocals/pedal steel) and Malcolm Cross (drums), Minibar's career did not exactly take off in their homeland upon formation. Petty and Jordan were forced to perform covers at a London-based Tex-Mex restaurant in order to pay the bills.

Listen to Minibar at Finetune.

• Arctic Monkeys
• Bloc Party
• Ellis Ashbrook
• Ellis Paul
• Gomez
• Gram Parsons
• Imogen Heap
• Iron And Wine
• Jesse Malin
• Panic! At The Disco
• Rufus Wainwright
• The Beta Band
• The Libertines
• The Shins
• Eels
• Damien Rice
• Bernard Fanning
• Blind Arvella Gray
• Brendan Benson
• Buzzcocks

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