We Meet Robert Knight & Children of the Son

It’s a fascinating hook-up, whatever way you look at it. Legendary US rock photographer Robert Knight has created some of the era’s most iconic images. He has captured Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Slash and dozens of others in their prime. Meanwhile, young Wicklow contenders Children of the Son – built around the original core of brothers Max, Art and Jack Matthews – have been garnering plaudits and making friends by the bucket-load.

Now, Knight, a seriously well-connected man, has taken the band under his wing. He was recently in town to photograph them and generally assist in their progress. How did such a fascinating tie-up happen in the first place?
“I’ve been doing this project for Fender called the Brotherhood of the Guitar,” Knight explains. “I’m looking for young guitar players from around the world, aged between 14 and 20. I ran into a woman in an airport lounge in San Francisco who had a record company. She told me a friend of hers is managing these young guys in Ireland, Children of the Son. She said ‘they’re unbelievable’. I hear this a lot of course. Every band is ‘unbelievable’ –
to someone. Anyhow, I looked them up on YouTube and came to Ireland and met the guys. And I was convinced. There was something magical about them.”
Initially here to check out the band’s guitar and songwriting wunderkind Max, Knight quickly became enamored with the music and personality of all three siblings. He talks with huge enthusiasm about the band’s lead singer Jack – who, at the age of just 15, is a truly astonishing singer, with a huge vocal range.
“I was hearing a really sophisticated kind of music,” Knight says. “Where Jack was going with his voice was like hearing a brand new version of Morrissey in his days with The Smiths. What he was doing with his voice was – and is – rare in rock and roll. There’s a great understanding between the brothers. And the lyrics of their songs are really good. Plus, I like their work ethic, which is really quite exceptional.”
Already the band – who have just added Jules Chambers on drums as a full time member – have been garnering recognition among established artists. Robert Knight’s partner Maryanne Bilham Knight – she’s famous for her Divine Eros exhibition, as well as her acclaimed rock pics – is a fan, as are Scott Gorham and his fellow members of Thin Lizzy. But there is nothing parochial in this.
“I sent a track to Slash,” Knight reveals. “Within a very short period of time, he got back to me and his reaction to the track was: ‘I’m so excited for these boys and I’ll be listening out for them’. There’s something special here – that’s all I can say. It was like when U2 started, there was a viral thing that just kept on growing.”
Were the brothers aware in advance of the legendary status of their new mentor? Jack, the lead singer, with the big personality and booming voice nods.
“I certainly knew about him. He’s obviously pretty legendary. The first time he flew over, he got out of the elevator in the hotel and it was like meeting a rock star (laughs).”
“The amazing thing about Robert is he is full of integrity,” adds guitarist Max. “He turned us onto a few guitarists like Joe Bonamassa who he’s worked with. I looked up Joe’s stuff. He is a phenomenal musician.”
But being a phenomenal musician isn’t enough on its own.
“One of the things I can hopefully do is create shortcuts for the band,” Robert Knight adds. “Where most bands go wrong is they never think about what they’re doing as a business. They think about art – which of course you need to do. That’s the starting point. But the bands that think about a business model as well, like Cheap Trick or Def Leppard, are all still together.”
Knight is under no illusions about the challenges any young band faces, especially with the music industry going through such turbulent times. But some things remain constant.
“The number one challenge is still the songs,” he says. “I work with a lot of guitar players. No matter how good you are – if there’s not a song, in my view the whole thing is pointless. That’s why you can look at the career of, say, Jeff Beck versus Eric Clapton. They’re both brilliant guitar players but one is pretty much a billionaire. Because Eric Clapton had songs. So, good songs are still the foundation. But these boys have all the elements.”
The momentum is building too. Children of the Son have been added to the bill for Electric Picnic, playing the Salty Dog stage at a key time on Sunday evening. A documentary is being shot by advertising and TV production whiz, Graeme Wells. The track ‘Colourblind’ will be released shortly, together with a superb new video, also shot by Wells. Recording with U2 and Van Morrison collaborator Alastair McMillan is scheduled for September. There is also a major TV appearance upcoming, which should cement their position here at home as major contenders. And later in September, they travel to LA for the first time to record, with Warren Huart – the man behind the huge success of The Fray – slated to produce.
New member Chambers has a message tattoed on his arm. “To get to nowhere,” it says, “follow the crowd.” It’s one that resonates.
“We’re taking things step by step,” says bass player Art. “We’re working really hard, constantly writing and recording. But we’re shifting things up a gear now.”
“It feels like we’re on the cusp of something,” Max adds. “We’re learning all the time from our heroes, but we have our own vision. That’s the dream – to make music that can affect people, the way Kanye or Oasis or The Velvet Underground do. Deep down you have to know, that you can make records like that. You have to strive to be better. Once you accept that, it’s not complicated. Create or die.”