Bus and beats: Glasto musicians get tatt-ally on board with service 376 rave-up

Inspired by their love of the First Bus journey between Glastonbury and Bristol, a group of four young multi-genre DJs have named themselves ‘3SEVEN6’ after the 376 bus service, and one of them has even had the service number tattooed across his stomach.

The quartet; Charlie ‘CHAS23’ Chamberlain (aged 26 from Glastonbury), Harley ‘CUB’ Kingham (22 from Street), Hayden ‘HAINS’ Salter (24 from Wells) and Josh ‘DOUBLE VISION’ Herridge (28 from Frome) are this month marking their first anniversary performing as ‘3SEVEN6’ which has seen them fill local venues and festivals, with hundreds of party goers seeing them DJ behind their own bus front with working headlights, even projecting footage of the bus journey behind them.

And this weekend (Saturday 16^th November) they will take their love of the bus service, which was named one of the UK’s most scenic routes by Bus Users UK, to a new level when their “dream comes true” and they get the chance to perform aboard the very bus which inspired them during the town’s biggest annual event, Glastonbury’s illuminated carnival.

The ‘3SEVEN6’ boys, whose music ranges from UK garage and speed garage to jungle and drum and bass, have been consistently putting on dance music events in their home town of Glastonbury, and regularly pack out local venues. They have also played Goodentime and Get On Festivals, and would love the opportunity to perform at Glastonbury Festival.

Charlie, one of the DJ quartet who, by day, builds timber-framed marquees and has the numbers 376 tattooed across his stomach, said: “My parents used to have a bus when we were kids and we used to do festivals and go on holiday in it – so that’s where my love for buses really started.

“We were already DJing under different names before we formed a group and the boys said ‘let’s call it 3SEVEN6’. We needed a logo, and Hayden drew a bus shelter with 3SEVEN6 on it on the back of a receipt then Harley edited it on his laptop and we said ‘that’s it’, and we turned it into stickers, flyers and t-shirts.

“There is such a massive local cult following for the 376 bus. It’s part of a lot of people’s lives when they want to go out. Some of the best nights of my life have started on the back of the bus.

“Most people’s idea of getting the bus is sitting down in silence; we like to treat it as more of a social. Have a laugh.

“We have joked about DJing on the actual 376 for so long; we still can’t actually believe we have been given the opportunity to do that. When I told the rest of the guys we had the chance to do it they lost their minds.”

‘3SEVEN6’ will be performing on Saturday alongside two other huge 376 fans, The Bad Cowboys. A song dedicated to the service, written by the duo, Steve Bilsborough (aged 57 from Glastonbury) and John Carroll (57 from Wells), has hundreds of fans across Somerset.

The tongue-in-cheek take on the journey from Glastonbury to Bristol, which includes the lyrics ‘take the 376 when you’re living in the sticks, it’s where I get my kicks, no car-based politics’, name checks some of the towns and villages en-route including Temple Cloud, Chewton Mendip, Clutton, Pensford, and Farrington Gurney, and also features Bristol Temple Meads Station with mention of the some of the weird and wonderful things that can happen on board.

Steve, who lives in Glastonbury and works as an aerospace project manager, explains that The Bad Cowboys’ love of the 376 also comes from it providing freedom from the countryside to the city as a teenager.

He said: “Most of the music we do is nostalgic, and in the early days John said he really wanted to write a song about the bus because when we were growing up in the 1980s it was your escape; you’d go to Bristol – the big city.

“It was a time when we didn’t have cars and your parents weren’t prepared to drive you to Bristol, so the story is all about that with all the 80s references. It definitely isn’t a mickey take, because we both love the 376.”

Steve is proud that their 376 song, which has been performed at dozens of local venues and gigs including Glastonbury Festival, is a nostalgic trip along a journey aboard the bus in the 1980s with cultural references to Sony Walkmans, cassette tapes, a Triumph TR7, Casio watches, Melody Maker Magazine and Bristol fashion emporium Boney Maroney.

The full 376 video can be viewed on YouTube.

Christian Lockyer, PR Manager for First West of England, said: “There’s bus fans…and then there’s bus fans, and these guys have taken it to the next level. The DJs naming themselves after the bus service is one thing but getting a tattoo and showing the bus route on a big screen is another, and we love it! And The Bad Cowboys writing and performing a song dedicated to the 376 is just genius – it’s also a great catchy tune.

“But there is a more serious side to this; their story of using the 376 bus service to find freedom from the rural parts of Somerset to the bright lights of Bristol is really inspiring. It shows the freedom that bus travel can offer, especially to those living in more isolated areas or with limited access to transport.

“We can’t wait to see them climb aboard the 376 at Glastonbury Carnival and perform on the bus which has been such an inspiration to them.”

‘3SEVEN6’ and The Bad Cowboys will be performing in front of a 'pimped up' 376 bus outside Glastonbury Town Hall in Magdalene Street between 3pm and 5pm on carnival day (Saturday 16^th November), before taking part in the illuminated procession through the town from 6.45pm. More details about the parade can be found on the Glastonbury Carnival website.

The two groups will be performing during the following slots (times subject to change on the day):

3pm - 3.45pm: The Bad Cowboys
4pm – 5pm: 3SEVEN6