Indignation Meeting are punky rail fans from Leeds. 15-year-old Peter is the driver – he’s the drummer and lead singer, writes most of the songs, and also plays bass and trumpet on the album. The rest of the crew is his dad Michael on guitar, Hugo on bass, and with Keith, Heather and Sally often along for the ride when they play out. While still at primary school, Peter Hirst discovered that he had a natural affinity for the drums, and by age 10 had started writing his own songs, mostly about his first love – the railway. Roping his dad in on guitar meant the band were not hindered by lockdown, their debut live appearance being a Facebook live stream in February 2021 which gained hundreds of viewers, one of whom was a local promoter who offered Indignation Meeting the chance to play at the Brudenell when covid restrictions were lifted. Peter, still only 12 (possibly the youngest artist to play that hallowed stage) rose to the challenge magnificently, and the band have been gigging regularly ever since, mostly around Leeds, but also as far afield as Brighton, Hitchin and even Bradford. Trouble In The Shed contains 14 self-penned songs, covering a myriad of topics including railways, diesel locomotives, steam trains, rolling stock, swingball, more railways, Leeds and Cybill Shepherd. Peter’s main influences – Blyth Power, Zounds, The Astronauts and Half Man Half Biscuit – are evident in some of his songs, but most are startlingly original - his lyrics are witty and imaginative, and he has a good ear for a catchy tune – there are several earworms on Trouble In the Shed which will stay in your head for weeks!

Here at DGHQ we’ve been listening to their self-released debut album Trouble In The Shed since last year and finally spoke with the band and agreed to release it on vinyl for the first time. Welcome on-board! We caught up with Peter to ask as few questions about the band…In a week when the Labour Party promised to return the rail network to public ownership, we ask how did your fascination with trains begin? Honestly, I don’t really know - I’ve just loved them ever since I can remember. It’s not like with some people who had a family connection or watched Thomas the Tank Engine; I’ve just always loved them. I guess it’s just a childhood obsession that never went away! 'Trouble In The Shed' is quickly becoming a firm office favourite here at DG. There's a touch of punk, indie and new wave about it. What would you say are the key influences that make up your musical DNA? My main influence when this album was released was Blyth Power. They’d been my favourite band for years when this was recorded, so everything on it was influenced by them in some way. They’ve had so many different musical styles over the years that they kind of conglomerated into this album, to create yet another eclectic mix of songs. The only real exception to that on this album is Electrification - no prizes for guessing the influence there! If you see us live, however, you may notice another influence pervading through our songs. That influence is the anarcho-hippy band ‘The Astronauts,’ whom I discovered midway through the recording process, and have quickly become one of my all-time favourite bands!