The Chicago Thieves formed during early 2003 from the remaining members of the successful blues rock band, Unkle Munkle. Craig Giles and Dave Searle were originally part of a blues band called The Gutbuckets, that formed in the late 1980’s. The band was successful gigging and recorded the album ‘A Kick in the Guts’ during 1995. After several years gigging, it was decided that the band members should go their separate ways due to pending solo projects on the local circuit. Out of this development came the new band Unkle Munkle...

Unkle Munkle was a highly energetic and acclaimed outfit formed by Craig Giles, Dave Searle and former drummer Keith Hummerston (who was also in The Gutbuckets) during 1997. The band was then joined by James Batchelar on Keyboards and Danny Giles on guitars. After an intense period of time rehearsing up a new set of blues rock covers and original material, the band started playing at venues throughout the South East of England with great success.

It was soon decided that the band should record their debut album made up of some standard blues rock classics from the likes of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Peter Green and Eric Clapton alongside some of their own material. This boosted the bands awareness among the venues and crowds, awarding them with more prestigious concerts and gaining a great deal of local recognition.

The strength of the bands’ own material was evident on this first release and it was decided that, after a further 3 years heavy gigging throughout the South, that the band should record an album of self-penned, original material. The release was entitle ‘The Player’ after the title track. All lyrics were written by Craig Giles and the music was written by James Batchelar, Danny Giles and Dave Searle. This sold well at the concerts and added to the superb quality of the bands portfolio.

During January 2003 and after several line-up changes and with a more ‘bluesy’ edge on their music, the band decided to change their name to The Chicago Thieves, deriving from the bands newly acquired Chicago blues sound. Now with drummer Tony Still, the band has produced a stunning blues set played with vibe and energy. Most of the songs played are original compositions, reflecting the musical developments and prolific song-writing capabilities of the band.

Their latest demo, simply entitled ‘The Chicago Thieves’, gives a brief insight into the sheer quality, energy and power of blues music brought right up-to-date with stunning results.

During 2004 and 2005, following extensive dates throughout the South, the band entered and won the overall ‘Best Blues Band’ in the London-based Eel Pie Club’s Blues Quest. This has led to further recording to be completed.

The band is now currently gigging once again throughout the South of England, eager to bring their skill and performance to people who appreciate what this music means!