Say 'Allo

You'll have to forgive the predictability of this month’s opening gambit. You see, when a band member used to work in any kind of bar, it's compulsory to quote the Human League. So, here we go... Elizabeth Morris was working as a waitress in a coffee bar (I'm paraphrasing) when she decided to quit and make her band Allo Darlin a full-time job.

OK, perhaps not that close to Don't You Want Me, but you get the idea. Singer Elizabeth and bassist Bill Botting are from a country town in Queensland, Australia, and a year after moving to London she bought a ukulele from the famous Duke of Uke in Spitalfields. "Suddenly the songs I was writing on uke felt a lot less laboured the ones I was trying to write on guitar or piano."

As Elizabeth developed her sound the time was right to put waitressing on hold, despite proudly telling me: "I am a pretty awesome waitress, if I say so myself." She pulled a band together and they made for Soup Studios (below the Duke of Uke) and started making music. The studio soon felt like a second home. "We had lots of amazing nights there, having parties, just making music because we love it,” she recalls. “Nothing is better than being with your friends on a summer's evening, everyone singing and drinking and playing together and forgetting about all the things that make life hard. It was like being a kid again."

The thing about Allo Darlin is that they do noisy as well as lush stripped back acoustic pop. They're twee in a good way and incredibly passionate about what they do. Elizabeth lives and breathes music. "I have two favourite things about being in a band. One is having written a song, taking it into a studio and slowly watch it come alive and turn into something else. The other is then playing that live to people, and having some kind of communication with a room full of strangers. If they can get into it, that's the best feeling ever."

As a result, you'll find the band playing live at every opportunity and if quoting the Human League was crass and clichéd perhaps I can make up for it with a line from Hefner, 'North London has a place in her heart, she's far too strong for me that's what I thought from the start.' Elizabeth has lived in north or east London for five years and feels affectionately attached to the area. She says, "There are lots of great venues, I even like venues in Camden that are actually pretty horrible, like the Dublin Castle. There's that old dude who goes dancing there, and the homeless guy out the front who tells jokes. Koko is lovely, I've seen some great shows there. My favourite is probably the Tufnell Park dome though - that place is awesome!"

The band’s enthusiasm is infectious and with plans for this year set to include an American tour and making their second album a stone cold classic, it's impossible not to wish them well and the success they really do deserve. Their debut album, Allo Darlin, is out now and there's more at www.myspace.com/allodarlin.

One to watch

DeLooze

Led by powerful frontwoman Stacey, this Shoreditch band are on the rise and rise. They laid the foundations in 2010 and are set to flourish this year. The band is working with Grammy award-winning producer Dom Morley (Amy Winehouse, Adele and Mark Ronson) on their debut album which will feature contributions from musicians who have played with Florence and the Machine, Gnarls Barkley and Led Bib. So what is DeLooze? I asked Stacey to define her band, which she attempted to do. "The band has been labelled many things such as a duo, a trio, a 4io! So, this got me thinking... Rather than being your usual band, DeLooze has now become a sort of 'collective'. Every show is to be of a different kind of experience. By this I mean, people are not really to know what to expect from our live performance... It will be forever expanding or contracting." There, perfectly clear. Check the DeLooze website to sample their sound and to find out where you can see them play live www.myspace.com/deloozemusic

Coming Up
Bring Jo to Your Town

Award-winning Jo Hamilton is planning a series of concerts and needs your help! Jo has been described by the Guardian as 'singular and unforgettable' and Uncut say she has 'an amazing voice that can glide like KD Lang and essay Bjork weirdness'. Now she wants to play exclusively for you. Maybe in your local, a venue you know or even your own front room... She's no stranger to north and east London having played at Rich Mix, the Silver Bullet in Finsbury Park and the famed Union Chapel in Islington in the last 12 months. The Birmingham-based singer songwriter is keen to head south, she tells me: "A few years ago I spent a week in London playing little venues every night, and met some really lovely people who have become avid supporters. I dream about roaming it more." Simply tell Jo where you'd like her to appear and the more support she receives from an area, the more likely it is that she’ll come to play for you. To vote, visit www.johamilton.com.

Also this month

January 21

Manic Street Preachers

O2 Brixton Academy

The South Wales band play tracks from their latest album, Postcards From A Young Man, as well as their classic hits. British Sea Power support.

January28

I Am Kloot

O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

Following the release of their Mercury nominated album, Sky at Night, the northern band hit west London.

Chris Hawkins presents the Early Breakfast Show on BBC 6Music. Follow him on Twitter @hawkshow

Say 'Allo

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