WSTR are an English pop punk band based in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Their lineup currently consists of vocalist Sammy Clifford, guitarist Tom "Boots" Hawkes and bassist Alex Tobijanski.
History
Formation and SKRWD EP (2015)
Formed in 2015, the band signed with No Sleep Records and released their debut single, "Graveyard Shift", in March, of which the music video included cameos from members of Neck Deep. Following this, they played the Pinky Swear Records Fest in Manchester on 2 May, headlined by Man Overboard, and Furyfest in Liverpool on 3 May, also playing Empire Festival in Sheffield on 17 May. They played the Jump On Demand Records Festival, also in Liverpool, later that June, as well as the Hevy Fest in Port Lympne, Kent and the Make A Scene Festival in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire in August. Their debut EP, SKRWD, was released on 4 September. The EP was produced and recorded by Seb Barlow, brother of Neck Deep frontman Ben Barlow, at Celestial Recordings. They then played the Hype Fest in Birmingham on 28 November. In December, WSTR was nominated for Best British Newcomer by Rock Sound, with Boston Manor winning the category.
Red, Green or Inbetween (2016-2017)
In early 2016, the band was included in Kerrang!'s Class of 2016 list. They played the Less Than Three Festival in Derby and opened for Neck Deep on the European leg of their World Tour, along with fellow openers Creeper. Later in July, they played the 2000Trees Festival at Upcote Farm in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. They then released a new single, "Lonely Smiles", off their upcoming album in September. In support of their first album, the band went on their first headlining tour, “The Inbetween Tour”, from October to November 2016, with support from Milestones, also playing the Slam Dunk Festival. During this time, the band recorded an acoustic version of the album's second single, "Footprints", which was made available on a "name your price" basis on their Bandcamp page. They additionally opened for ROAM on their UK/Ireland tour in support of the album, Backbone, and released a third single, "Featherweight". On 20 January 2017 the band released their first full-length album, Red, Green or Inbetween. They then supported Seaway on a UK tour, alongside The Gospel Youth, and returned to Slam Dunk later that summer. They also played the Truck Festival at Hill Farm in Oxfordshire, the Reading and Leeds Festivals, the Deadbolt Festival in Manchester and the 2Q Festival in Lincoln, as well as opened for With Confidence on an Australian tour.
On 4 June the band announced that they were signing with Hopeless Records, and followed their signing up by a playing a set at Download Festival in the UK. They then opened for As It Is on multiple legs of their okay. tour, first in Europe with Courage My Love and then in the UK with Like Pacific and Grayscale. On 31 August they released their second LP, Identity Crisis, which was led by the singles "Bad to the Bone", "Crisis" and "Silly Me". To support its release, they joined Neck Deep on the second North American leg of The Peace and the Panic Tour with fellow openers, Trophy Eyes and Stand Atlantic, and went on a headlining UK tour with Between You & Me and Hey Charlie.
Future (2019-Present)
In early 2019, WSTR went on tour again as the supporting act for The Faim on their UK tour. They later released a cover EP titled Give Yourself a Hell, featuring covers of "Give Yourself a Try" by The 1975 and "Gives You Hell" by The All-American Rejects, and played their third Slam Dunk Festival that summer. In the fall, they embarked on the full run of The Noise & Ones to Watch Presents Stand Atlantic and The Faim Co-Headline U.S. Tour, with fellow openers Hold Close and Point North playing on select dates. While on tour, they released a new song, "Filthy". On 25 November WSTR set out on a headlining UK tour, starting in Brighton and ending in Nottingham on 8 December. Since January 2020, they have joined Grayscale, Hot Mulligan and LURK on the Nella Vita North American Tour: Part II.
Name
Originally named "Waster", the group discovered a band with the same name from Canada. Because both bands were selling under the same name on iTunes, the Canadian band issued a cease and desist letter. The group ultimately decided to keep the most similar name as possible, removing the vowels, leaving simply "WSTR".
Musical style and influences
WSTR is generally credited as a pop punk band. The group's lead singer, Sammy Clifford, has cited many of his music influences were from the United States, including Blink-182 and New Found Glory.
