the band that "I thought, 'This sounds shit, we don't deserve to be in this place.' The band sounded complacent. I don't suppose it was anyone's fault. Maybe it got far too much attention for very little effort in the early stages, because of what I'd done in the past." Solo and The Yards (1999–2009) Following The Seahorses' early demise, Helme undertook a short solo tour across England which culminated with a gig at the Improv Theatre in London. Backed by a newly formed band featuring members of York band, 'The Lo Beams', Fraser Smith of Shed Seven and fellow ex-Seahorse, Stuart Fletcher performing material written whilst in The Seahorses. The gigs were confirmed just 11 days following the official announcement of the Seahorses' split. Following these initial gigs, which the NME described as "fairly unambitious rock music", Helme abandoned the band format and returned to his native York where he performed sporadic low-key solo acoustic shows. In 2000 Helme started working with session guitarist James Nisbet and began playing showcase gigs in London backed by a revolving cast of session musicians, which at one point featured drummer Toby Drummond, who temporarily replaced Andy Watts in The Seahorses. With a full band, Helme headlined his biggest gig to date as a solo artist, at the Theatre Royal in York in May 2000. In 2001 a permanent backing band was assembled with Nisbet, drummer John Miller and Stuart Fletcher back on bass. With new management and PR, an official website was launched and a 3 track demo CD was serviced to the media. With the new band, Helme performed numerous London showcase gigs at Ritz and undertook a short UK tour in November of that year. Helme then went on to form The Yards from the ashes of his solo backing band. Initially named Super Zero, the band originally featured former Shed Seven guitarist Paul Banks who left before the release of their debut EP The Devil Is Alive and Well in D.C. in April 2003. The band released their self-titled debut album in 2005 and second album Imperial Measures in 2009 via their own label Industrial Erotica. The band split in November 2009 with members pursuing their own projects. Solo (2009 – present) Helme set up an independent record label, promo company and booking agency "Little Num Num Music" with fellow York musician Andy Gaines. It was on this label