Some bands get together just to have fun playing music with friends, with no real ambitions of ever taking it further than a hobby.

For local band Marauders however, the aim is to get right to the top.

“Our motives for starting the band were to make great music, have fun, and eventually headline Glastonbury festival,” says lead singer and guitarist Ollie Leyfield.

Ollie, and bandmates Jakob Hamley-Round (drums) and Ben Marshall (bass), met at Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School in Wotton-Under-Edge.

Jakob and Ben, both aged 15, live in Wotton, while Ollie, 16, lives a few miles away in Hillesley.

He continued: “I’m originally from Malmesbury but moved to a small village outside Wotton-Under-Edge where I learned a few guitar chords from my Dad and began my musical adventure as such.

“We formed the band in mid 2017 and immediately began putting together a set of half covers from our various influences, and songs I had written prior to meeting the boys in the band.”

Marauders are still in the early days of their musical journey but have developed a sound well beyond their years, with influences from some of the most iconic names in rock.

Ollie said: “Our musical style would probably be described simply as Rock N’ Roll with influences such as The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Led Zeppelin, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, and Pearl Jam.”

The band have been working with MAS records, whose patrons include Led Zeppelin founding member Robert Plant. MAS aim to give emerging bands a bridge into music, and Ollie says working with them has given the band a slightly better insight into the industry.

Although the band performs original songs at gigs and festival, they are yet to take the step into recording, something Ollie thinks will change this year.

“We currently plan on recording an EP and releasing it by the end of the year, but we are yet to decide a moniker for it or what songs are going to go on it,” he added.

“But I am positive that it will be good fun.”

For now the boys are just enjoying the thrill of playing music with their mates, a sensation that Ollie thinks you can’t beat.

“Being on stage is the best feeling in the world and playing in a band makes for a great creative outlet for any frustrations that one may have,” he explained.

“But what made me fall in love with the idea of being in a rock n’ roll band was a mix of two things – the raw connection between you and the crowd when you’re singing or playing your heart out, and the filthy, bombastic sound of a distorted, fuzzy guitar screaming out riffs and solos.”