Athlete (band)
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| Athlete | |
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 Athlete performing in 2008
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Deptford, London, England |
| Genres | Indie rock Alternative rock |
| Years active | 1999-present |
| Labels | Parlophone (UK) 2003-2009 Fiction Records (UK) 2009 Astralwerks (USA) |
| Website | www.athlete.mu |
| Members | |
| Joel Pott Carey Willets Steve Roberts Tim Wanstall |
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Athlete are an Ivor Novello Award winning English indie rock band formed in Deptford, London, comprising Joel Pott (lead vocals and guitar), Carey Willetts (bass and backing vocals), Stephen Roberts (drums and backing vocals) and Tim Wanstall (keyboards and backing vocals). Recently, the quartet have recruited Jonny Pilcher of Weevil as a live guitarist.
Friends since the age of fourteen, Athlete took their wide ranging influences such as Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips and started jamming and practising in the basement of The Bear, a pub which was converted into a church and sandwich bar, on Deptford High Street in 1999. They began recording there, before sending demos out.
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[edit] History
[edit] Vehicles & Animals (2002-2003)
Signing with Regal Recordings, the band released their first single in February 2002. The band came to prominence in 2003 with their debut album, Vehicles and Animals, producing popular singles such as "You Got the Style" and "El Salvador". The album earned a Mercury Music Prize nomination and went on to sell over 250,000 copies. They played their first live session on UK radio on the Dermot O'Leary Show, BBC Radio 2.
[edit] Tourist (2004-2006)
Their second album, Tourist, reached Number One in the UK Album Charts in its first week, following the huge success of single "Wires". The song was brought around when the lead singer's newborn baby was rushed to intensive care after a premature birth, and in 2006 it won them the Ivor Novello Award for "Best Contemporary Song". In the UK charts, the band has frequently been frustrated by singles just missing out on top 40 placings, due to inconsistent support by music television channels and radio stations. For instance, certain songs, such as "Wires" and "Half Light", were played up to 10 times a day on larger UK radio stations, yet other singles such as "Westside" and "Tourist" received little to no radio play whatsoever.
[edit] Beyond the Neighbourhood (2007-2008)
On 10 June 2007, it was announced that the title of their third album would be Beyond the Neighbourhood.[1] The album was mixed by Ben Allen and Michael Brauer, who also worked on Tourist. Released on 3 September 2007, Beyond the Neighbourhood was a self-produced collection of low-key songs, viewed as a disappointment by some,[2] and an interesting sidestep by others.[3] It entered at #5 on the UK album chart.
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They embarked on tours of the UK in late 2007 and early 2008 in support of the album. They also played during the 2008 TT motorcycle racing festival on the Isle of Man.[4]
[edit] Black Swan (2009-present)
In April they announced a 29 date tour of the UK to promote their 4th studio album, called Black Swan. The tour took place throughout June and July. On the 2nd June 2009 it was announced that the band had parted ways with Parlophone records and signed up with Fiction Records, who released Black Swan on 24 August 2009. The first single from the album "Superhuman Touch" was released on 17 August 2009, entering the UK charts at #74, climbing to #71 a week later.
On the 12th of June 2009, Athlete released the song "Summer Sun" as a free download for email-subscribers. The song is not included in the track listing confirmed by band member Carey Willetts, and is likely to be considered as a b-side from the upcoming album.
Athlete have recently signed a deal with Original Signal Recordings to release Black Swan in America. The first single to be released in America is "The Getaway".[5]
[edit] Discography
- Vehicles and Animals (2003)
- Tourist (2005)
- Beyond the Neighbourhood (2007)
- Black Swan (2009)
[edit] In popular culture
- "Chances" from Tourist was used in the 2006 Russell Crowe film A Good Year
- "Wires" is the theme song for The Learning Channel's show Diagnosis X
- "Wires" is heard in the last episode of the second season of CW's "One Tree Hill"
- "El Salvador" is in the movie The Last Kiss with Zach Braff
- "El Salvador" appears on the 2 CD set "Top Gear: Seriously Cool Driving Music"; inspired from the BBC 2 TV show.
- "Tourist" is used in the Adidas commercial Impossible is 0 featuring Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas.[6]
- "Street Map" is heard in the first episode of the third season of CW's "One Tree Hill"
- "Flying Over Bus Stops" is heard in the second episode of the second series of Dirty Sexy Money
- "Tourist" from the album of the same name can be heard in the second season of The O.C.
- "Best Not To Think About It" is heard in the tenth episode of the fifth season of One Tree Hill
- "Street Map" has recently been used by Sky One for their "Great Drama" adverts
- "Don't hold your breath" is heard in the sixth episode of the seventh season of One Tree Hill
- "Don't hold your breath" is heard in the third episode of the fourth season of Ugly Betty
- "You've Got The Style" is heard in the episode "S3X" of Brothers and Sisters
[edit] References
- ^ Athlete.mu
- ^ Beyond The Neighbourhood album review from Guardian Unlimited
- ^ Beyond The Neighbourhood album review from stv.tv/music
- ^ BBC News Online - Rock band Athlete announce TT gig
- ^ http://www.readjunk.com/news/music/athlete-releasing-the-getaway-ep-on-november-3rd/
- ^ Gilbert’s Story - Impossible is 0 | Gilbertology.net
[edit] External links
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