The Filthy Youth

Ed Westwick rose to prominence as a TV actor, portraying the seedy socialite Chuck Bass in Josh Schwartz's prime-time hit Gossip Girl. Although filming took place in New York City, Westwick also found time to focus on the Filthy Youth, a U.K.-based rock quintet whose mix of punky energy and cheeky British attitude recalled such bands as the Rakes, Razorlight, and the Libertines. A native of Stevenage, England, frontman Westwick had formed the band several years prior with fellow countrymen Benjamin Lewis Allingham (guitar), Jimmy Wright (guitar), Tom Bastiani (bass), and John Vooght (drummer). Shows on both sides of the Atlantic (not to mention Westwick's rising profile) contributed to the band's buzz in 2008, but Westwick's acting career kept the group's career from ever truly taking flight. By 2010, the Filthy Youth had lapsed into inactivity. ~ Andrew Leahey, Rovi