Franco Bandini aka Manchester Musician Sam Smith joined us in October 2015. At the time he said:

“I am very pleased to announce that I have signed a deal with German Shepherd Records and will be delivering my first record for them in due course. ‘2014 Was a Bad Year’ is collection of four songs far removed from anything I ever did with both Sam Smith & Company and The Parish Church Fire and will be my first release under my new stage name Franco Bandini. The name of the EP, the artwork and ‘Bandini’ are all nods to the criminally underrated novelist John Fante which is highly appropriate as I’ve spent my time away from music devouring his prose. I’ve given up on all of that dystopian ‘commercial stardom’ bullshit and I’m making music using only my true voice going forward so you may want to look away now: this stuff is rough, raw and ready but I’m very proud of it. There will be no physical release (just digital) nor will there be any live shows whatsoever going forward. It’s good to be back with regards to creative urges and if you like the record, please support both myself and the label by buying it.”

There were two releases by Franco Bandini before he metamorphosised into Sam Smith & The Parish Church Fire.