BBMak Bio

Biography from HOLLYWOOD RECORDS

     They've already caused a sensation overseas, and now the British trio BBMak are bringing their potent blend of pitch-perfect harmonies and guitar-fueled pop songs to U.S. shores with their self-titled Hollywood Records debut album. And for Mark Barry, Christian Burns, and Ste McNally, taking their music across the Atlantic is the culmination of a dream that's been alive since the group first got together 4 years ago.

      They may be young, good-looking guys who play music, but in the true sense of the term, BBMak are far from a boy band. They write much of their own music, play instruments, produce their songs, and don't do any synchronized dancing. In fact, there's pretty much nothing about their career that BBMak aren't involved in. "When you hear BBMak, what you're hearing is actually our personalities. It's not a record company's ideas. It's actually us that comes out in the melodies, the lyrics, and the production," explains Christian.

     That's not idle talk for the group, who met each other while playing with different bands on the Northwest England music circuit. What started as casual jamming together turned into the more serious thought of actually forming a band. "We thought each others qualities were strong enough to take things to the next level," Christian recalls. "We started writing some songs and we were happy with how they turned out. We thought, 'Let's just go for it.'"

      Ste adds that their "all-for-one" philosophy is what's always driven BBMak. "We wouldn't be BBMak if there were a leader," he explains. "That's how we work-it's a three way decision all the time. If one of us doesn't like it, we don't go with that decision unless it's unanimous. That's for anything-whether it be writing songs or whatever."

       One decision which was unanimous was how to go about getting a record deal. Rather than  sitting around waiting to get discovered, they took their DIY attitude to the streets. First, they pooled their resources together and recorded a demo. But rather than to send a slew of them to random record companies who would heap them together with thousands of other CDs, they went straight to the source: Armed with a guitar and their voices, they traveled to London and sang outside a host of major record companies. "We busked until we got someone's attention. And we got enough attention to create a bit of a buzz in the industry," says Christian. "Then we put our own show on in Liverpool and we invited them up to see us. Just before we went onstage, we looked out and every single A&R guy from every record company in the country was at our gig."

       After that, a bidding war for BBMak began. The group's sound, which seamlessly blends rock, pop and soul, is unique. Rather than follow a strict formula of danceable pop or heart-wrenching R&B ballads, the lads set out to create their own style. "The influence for me is soul, Christian's more of the pop side and Ste's got the rock side. So with the three of us together, you get the soul with the harmonies, the rock with the production and the pop with the melodies," Mark explains. "It's a good mixture."