WATCH THIS: Debyshire brothers go viral on TikTok with 1.6million views of their cover of Rusted Root's song Send Me On My Way

George and Howard Morritt, who are known musically as The Whiskey Brothers, launched their version of Rusted Root’s Send Me On My Way on TikTok a fortnight ago.

"It got 1.2million views in two days and it’s now up to 1.6million views,” said Howard. “It’s been really good, we’ve had so many people trying to book us. We weren’t trying to book out The Whiskey Brothers, we were just trying to get a fan base so we could release original music.”

While The Whiskey Brothers was launched just six months ago, George and Howard have been performing together for around 17 years. They play alongside a third brother Jack, 35, in a band called Dammit Jack which mainly does weddings. Howard, 37, who lives in Kirk Hallam, said: “We go anywhere and everywhere, mostly in the UK. This weekend we’re gong to Germany, to Derby’s twin city of Osnabruck. We’ll be on a big stage with a few thousand people watching us. We’ve been for the past seven or eight years – it’s good fun.”

Jack and Howard gave up their jobs as firefighters in Belper and George packed in work as a tree surgeon to become full-time musicians. Howard said: “I was in the fire service for over six years and I quit just before Covid because the band was doing so well. It kind of backfired because then Covid hit and we didn’t have any work with the band!”

“We’re a family of four siblings – we have a sister Charlotte who is Jack’s twin. She is not in the band – we don’t allow her to get all the attention! She is cabin crew for British Airways and lives in Bristol.”

A lifelong fan of Michael Jackson’s music, Howard recalls that from the age of three year old he copied MJ’s dancing and dress style. He said: “I still love Michael Jackson’s songs and occasionally do a bit of dancing which comes out at the end of the set. George liked Michael Jackson until he was a teenager and then he got into the punk kind of music like Offspring.”

George and Howard are singer/songwriters and guitarists; George also plays saxophone and Howard is a pianist. They record covers and original music in a garage which George, 39, has converted into a studio at his home in Belper.

Howard said: “Now we’ve got an okay fanbase, we’ll start releasing a few original songs as well as doing lots of covers which tends to get us the views. Our original material is folk/acoustic/pop - perfect for a sunny road trip. We have covered loads of different songs and artists – Noah Kahan, Ed Sheeran, Michael Jackson, the Klllers, Lewis Capaldi, Tracy Chapman and lots more. Hopefully, it will transition to just being original songs which would be the dream. We’re going to put everything onto all of the streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music.

"As soon as we have enough fans that we can tour and fill up places then we will play as The Whiskey Brothers.”