When the clock struck 12, the lights dimmed and the thousand-strong crowd couldn’t get any more excited. After all, the eager audience had been standing and getting psyched up for 2 hours to catch The Rakes.

This 4-year-old British band, who play music from indie rock to post-punk/art-rock, made its debut appearance in Singapore on Mar 27 at Zouk. They were part of the Heineken Green Room Sessions.

At a first glance, it’s not hard to guess why they call themselves The Rakes. They frequently joked that they are as skinny as the gardening tools. Any of their fans know, however, that The Rakes got their name from an opera, The Rake’s Progress, where Rake means a promiscuous man. Whether this is related to the band members themselves, UrbanWire don’t know.

Singer Alan Donohoe was a college mate of bassist Jamie Hornsmith albeit in a different faculty. Jamie then met Matthew Swinnerton (the guitarist and vocalist) and drummer Lasse Petersen while they were working in the same clothes shop in Covent Garden London. This unremarkable start has led them to the route of fame when the band’s single “All Too Human” from their album, Capture/Release, clinched the highest position of 22 in UK music chart 2 years ago.

David Bowie, Gorillaz, Sex Pistol, The Cure and U2 are just some of The Rakes’ musical influences. The catchy beats and tunes sure has gotten into The Rake’s productions.

The set at Zouk began with The Rakes’ latest song, “1989”. They went on to jam popular feet tapping hits like “We Dance Together”, “When Tom Cruise Cries”, “22 Grand Job” and “Strasbourg”. Heineken Green Room attendees even got to listen their newest creations, including “You’re In It”, “The Outdoor Smoker”, “The Light From Your Mac” and “Bitchin’ in the Kitchen”, which are believed to be part of their third album that’s going to be out early next year.

It was all but impossible to stand still throughout the hour-long set. The groovy rhythms and Alan’s famous quirky dance moves, which are rumoured to be a copy of the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division, compel you to dance yourself silly.

Usually togged in either stripey or checkered shirts, black skinny jeans and black trainers, these blokes also impress designers from fashion brands like Fred Perry, Dior Homme and even Louis Vuitton with their music and dress sense. The Rakes even contributed their 18-minute long song, “The World Was A Mess, But His Hair Was Perfect”, to a Dior Homme fashion show. The shortened version of this song was then released in their second album, Ten New Messages.

“Encore! Encore!” The screams from the audience tell you only one thing – they simply couldn’t get enough of The Rakes. Not wanting to disappoint their die-hard fans, they returned on stage with 3 last songs, including the one for the Dior fashion show.

And just when you thought the Zouk crowd couldn’t get any more hyped up, one of the guitarists, Chris Ketley grabbed an extra pair of drumsticks and joined the drummer. That was a perfect end to the performance but fans were grateful the night didn’t end there. The Rakes stayed on and continued to spin some great music for those who couldn’t get enough of them. At last count, that was everyone.