They say it's not what you know, it's who you know – and that's especially true if who you know is The Who.
But knowing a few top musicians from Maidstone doesn't go amiss either, and after a whirlwind year supporting the aforementioned rock legends, rising stars The Wild Things are set to celebrate with a gig in their adopted home town.

It might sound like a step down from The Royal Albert Hall and Madison Square Garden, but guitarist Rob Kendrick said the County Town was just as important to The Wild Things' story as London or New York.

Well, almost. To begin at the beginning, the band started after Rob and his wife, singer Sydney Rae White, were cast in the 2009 stage production of The Who's rock opera Quadrophenia – Rob starring as Jimmy and Sydney as his girlfriend, Steph.

“It’s a Cupid story,” Who guitarist Pete Townshend told Rolling Stone magazine, which featured The Wild Things this year. “I watched the moment at which Rob and Syd fell in love onstage during a rehearsal.”

While Sydney – also star of Netflix/BBC show Uncle – had been in multiple bands with her brother Cam, Rob had never harboured any ambitions of rock stardom but soon got roped into the venture.

"I used to do script writing for TV and they needed someone to write lyrics", said Rob, who can also been seen in series one of Netflix's Bridgerton. "We started writing songs and we had enough fun to make it into a legitimate thing.

"Then we needed a drummer to do some EP sessions, and a guy we were working with told us about this incredible drummer from Maidstone.

"We got on like a house on fire and he was amazing."

Enter drummer Pete Wheeler, and the start of another love affair; this time between the Wild Things and the County Town.

With their new drummer on board, the band recorded their first album, and set about thinking where they might find a friendly ear in the music industry. Of course, they had one notable contact in their phone book, by the name of Pete Townshend.

"We thought why don't we just be cheeky and send him the album," recalled Rob. "He's only going to say yes or no. He said 'yes come over and let's talk about this'."

It might sound like a golden ticket, but Rob admits the meeting was a nervewracking venture.

"It was a bit like entering the lair of the final boss in a computer game," he added. "You couldn't come without knowing your stuff because he would catch you out, but he was just incredibly gracious – we met and talked about what he considered worked and what didn't.

"I think he had a good time just having a conversation with a young band and being part of the scene.

"He said if you do anything else, send it to me."

Naturally they did, and the band sent Townshend some more material just before lockdown.

"He said 'yes these are great, let's go in the studio and record before everything happens', and we went in", recalled Rob. "He helped us write some songs and produced some songs, and that became an incredibly fruitful partnership."

By this time another fruitful partnership had blossomed, thanks again to Maidstone, with multi-instrumentalist Josh Roots brought in.

"As the band evolved we realised we needed other elements," added Rob. "Some of the songs couldn't be without keys so Pete said he's got this other great friend called Josh. Then we ended up spending lots of time in Maidstone. It's fascinating; I don't understand how so many talented musicians have ended up in this one tiny piece of land. I'm so grateful, because every time we needed anything we can get Pete to walk down the road and wave a flag."

Both Maidstone musicians feature heavily on the resulting album, Afterglow – a collection of radio-friendly rock tunes packed with hooks and strong melodies – but the band had to wait until after lockdown to take their new tunes on the road.

And, of course, it was a bigger road than they had initially anticipated, taking them to the States and back, with further Maidstone crew members now in tow – expert bassist/guitar technician Jack Collier and sound engineer Nathan Biggs.

"Lockdown took us out of the game for two years," recalled Rob, "and the first gig we did after that was a friend's charity show to about 30-40 people in a hotel.

"From that we were straight into the Royal Albert Hall, supporting The Who. Then we were playing a show for Virgin Radio at Manchester Arena, with the Kaiser Chiefs, and then Madison Square Gardens."

Other huge shows included BST Hyde Park and Las Vegas, again with The Who, while the band also played on the Kiss Kruise, organised by American rockers Kiss.

"That was all literally this year," added Rob. "We've gone from no gigs at all to the most insane gigs of all time.

"You're thrust into that position that you've been waiting for your entire life, and you just think – are you going to get your stuff together and do it?"

And Rob said the fact they pulled it off was due in no small part to their Kentish contingent.

"It was so incredible having this team from Maidstone, because it was easy to rehearse," he said. "We're in Chiswick but we did some rehearsals in Maidstone and we spent a lot of time working on the set in Maidstone, so when it came for a time to do a show back in England it felt like the logical thing was to bring it back to Maidstone because it's been so good for us.

"We had a lot of offers to play in London but it felt more special to do the first show of 2023 in Maidstone."

The Wild Things show 'From Madison to Maidstone', sponsored by Paul Whitehead at Prime One Maintenance, will take place at Studio 6, Rock Hill, Maidstone, on Thursday, January 26, at 7pm - click here for tickets.

For further information on the band visit www.thewildthingsband.com