Over the past two years, Respond, the rapidly emerging quartet from Cambridgeshire have been steadily making a name for themselves as a force to be reckoned with.

Driven by their riveting live shows, onstage chemistry and catchy rock anthems, they have proved hugely popular with crowds all across the UK.

With edgy, classy rock tunes infused with undertones of pop and punk, together with heartfelt and often deeply personal lyrics and strong guitar led melodies, they are already being hailed as “the best rock/pop band in the UK” for a long time.

A refreshing change from the current ‘indie-by-numbers’ male-dominated bands, they launched themselves on an unsuspecting public in March 2006 and have worked relentlessly, proving consistently that they have the talent, the passion, the dedication and the ability to push themselves to the forefront of today’s music industry.

Within 3 months of writing their first song, the band were recording their first Demo at the Leeds based studio where The Kaiser Chiefs were born. This was only the first indication of Respond’s ambitious, aim high nature and fearlessness.

The band have already rocked the stages of hundreds of legendary UK venues and festivals, supported chart-topping and breaking major label bands, dominated just about every major competition they have entered, and appeared on BBC national television, all with their trademark down to earth attitude and refusal to bow to any trend or fad musically.

Coupled with the impact their performances have garnered they have also received rave reviews from national music press including The NME, and StreetVoice Magazine, who hailed singer Hayley-Ann Roberts as “one of the best front women I have seen this century.”

Early releases of Respond’s bitter anthems ‘Lesson Learnt’ and ‘Million Little Pieces’ and their anthem for the downtrodden ‘Underdog’ have already been played on national and international radio stations including London’s Total Rock Radio, Manchester’s All Fm, Italy’s Radio Basile and Cambridgeshire’s BBC Radio and Lite FM.

2007-2008 promises to bring even bigger things for the band, and deservedly so. Whilst scouting London studios for a place to record their first official EP recently, they handed a demo to a studio assistant. Two weeks later master ‘Bullet For My Valentine’, ‘Funeral For A Friend’ and ‘Fightstar’ engineer and producer Matt Hyde was contacting Respond to say he had been given a copy of their CD, and was impressed by their music, personality and drive. Just days later he offered to record the EP.

With the independent release of ‘Dirty Little Secrets’ via their own ‘Mooch*Star Records’ label, Respond have upped the ante yet again. Already lauded by the industry as ’10 out of 10’ and ‘a completely flawless release’ and with both international and national major labels clamouring for copies, Respond are sure to be a band that you will be hearing of for a long time to come.

The EP more than deserves the praise heaped upon it, and it only takes one listen to hear how much Respond have grown in the last year. The songs have taken on a richer, deeper, more ambitious tone without losing any of the heart or melody that is Respond’s trademark.

With a UK tour planned for next year and media buzz around their first EP already building, Respond surely have a bright future ahead of them.