10 years, 4 albums, and countless gigs later Coventry lads The Enemy have called it quits. The band, who consist of Tom Clarke, Andy Hopkins, and Liam Watts, made the announcement earlier this year, but after watching them at one of their final hometown shows this weekend, it seemed the right time to say goodbye to one of my favourite bands.

I saw The Enemy for the first time on the NME Rock ‘N’ Roll Riot tour at Newcastle Carling Academy in 2007. I remember hearing ‘Away From Here’ on an E4 advert (I think it was for Scrubs) and thought it was brilliant, so when my Dad asked if I fancied seeing them I was well up for it. When I got to the gig, there was a competition to meet The Enemy before their set…and I only went and bloody won it! I couldn’t believe it. I was a pretty nervous 14 year old toddling up the stairs to their dressing room, but I had no reason to be. The lads welcomed me and were more than happy to chat and take photos.

It’s one of my favourite things about the band, the fact that they’re all so down to earth. Anyone who has met them will tell you that they’ve got all the time in the world for their fans.

Their debut album ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’, in my eyes, is one of the greatest albums of the last decade. It’s an album full of angst and honesty, with three young lads wearing their heart on their sleeves about the lows that life has thrown at them. It’s an album I never get sick of hearing, so when they announced on stage that they’d be playing it in full at the gig on Friday, I was over the moon.

Being at one of their three gigs at The Empire, in their hometown, was special to say the least. The crowd roared from start to finish, lads took their tops off and swung them round their heads within minutes of the band taking to the stage. People around me were holding my hand, putting their arms around me while we all jumped up and down. There was no hassle in the room, just pure love for the local lads. The atmosphere was incredible. The whole room sang along to every single song so passionately and from where I was standing, it was the perfect send off.

The Enemy are a band that I’ve held close to my heart ever since I was a teen, and their gigs are some of the best that I’ve been to. They’re a band that, for me, evoke so many emotions, and it’s so sad to have to say goodbye.

Thanks for the memories fellas, it’s been a blast.