JUST FOR TONIGHT

John Owens takes some time to get to know rock's newest Yorkshire upstarts, One Night Only

Chatting to George Craig, you can forgive him the odd tired yawn. Having just turned 18 earlier in July, he has already seen his band, One Night Only, rise through the ranks of other wannabes to become a certified threat to the charts. Not even able to (legally) drink to celebrate his top 10 hit 'Just for Tonight', it makes you wonder how, between sounding a bit sleepy, he's coping with all the attention?

"It has been kind of weird because it has got really overwhelming at points. My life is up and down in regards to that and it can freak me out a bit to be honest. Sometimes I'm not really sure what is going on, but it is great to have people enjoy our music."

It's no surprise that things seem hectic. One Night Only are currently a band in demand. It's probably wise to re-wind a bit. Initially formed by a bunch of schoolmates in Helmsley in North Yorkshire, One Night Only began life as a trio of 14- to 15-year-olds who had barely strummed a chord in anger, let alone put together any credible songs.

It took a particularly stubborn 12-year-old, a friend of the drummer's brother, to really get the ball rolling. This 12-year-old was George Craig. "We all went to school together and it wasn't really a proper band at the beginning. I wasn't there at the start, but then a while into it I decided to join in and lead the way. I just picked up a guitar, and I hadn't been playing that long at all, but it worked out alright."

'Alright' is one way of putting it. He continues: "For the first three years, it was just fun -- we played at people's parties and pubs. Then in 2005, we wrote a bunch of songs of our own and we had a demo in London, then we basically started getting into it. It wasn't a conscious decision at all -- we didn't try to get signed or anything."

Whether or not they tried, it wasn't long before the bigger fish of the music industry started taking interest. After making key appearances at places like Liverpool's The Cavern Club and having their demo played by Steve Lamacq on Radio 1, the labels were soon paying frequent visits to their rehearsal space in York. As things turned out, their first album, Started a Fire, was released with Vertigo Records in February this year. It's one that Craig is "really pleased with" but is already looking to surpass.

"I just can't wait for the second album. It's going swimmingly. We haven't been in the studio, but every time we go back the songs just come to us. The writing is going to be more developed and mature, and the songs themselves are going to be more rocky, but they're not going lose that pop feel. There's going to be a lot of tracks through which people are going to be able to see my influences more." Among Craig's inspirations are Bob Dylan and David Bowie as well as Arcade Fire -- not easy acts to live up to.

With a hectic touring schedule that will see the band play everywhere from Barcelona to Japan, there is one date that really stands out for the lead singer. With any traces of a tiredness shrugged off, he says: "Leeds Festival is the one that for three years I have dreamed of playing because it is the festival I've been to every year for three years -- me and a thousand friends go there and the atmosphere is amazing. Leeds is the only festival I've ever been to and I couldn't believe it when I got there. I was 14 and I just thought it was insane, a completely different world. When we watched loads of bands playing on the stage it was pretty inspiring.

"We've got a really good slot on in the late afternoon on the Radio 1 stage just before The Wombats. I think there'll be a whole bunch of actual mates and the rest will be hyper fans -- a good combination."

He may have met Ian Brown in Madrid and rubbed shoulders with Mani and Bobby Gillespie in the studio in London, but it's good to know that Craig isn't floating too high in the heady stratospheres of fame. When asked if he visited Leeds a lot, the answer was one that made you remember that he is, ultimately, still a teenager. "I come into Leeds shopping with my mum to places like Jeffery West. You know, for shoes and other things."

Only time will tell whether One Night Only are able to carve themselves a long-term place in the British public's affections, but, occasional freak-outs aside, you have a feeling they're going to make at good stab at it.

One Night Only's debut album, We Started a Fire, is out now on Vertigo. They play Leeds Festival on 23rd August on the Radio 1/NME stage

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