White Lies (band)
White Lies |
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White Lies are an alternative rock band from Ealing in West London, England,[2][3] currently signed to Fiction Records. Formerly known as Fear of Flying,[4] the band consists of Harry McVeigh (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Charles Cave (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Jack Lawrence-Brown (drums).[5] The band have released two singles, "Unfinished Business" and "Death". Their debut album, To Lose My Life..., was released on 19 January 2009.
History
Formation (2005–2007)
Cave and Lawrence-Brown were both from Pitshanger Village in North Ealing, and first played together in a school show at North Ealing Primary School.[3] McVeigh (from Shepherd's Bush[6]) joined them two years later,[7] and they began playing under the name Fear of Flying. Cave described the band as a "weekend project", which later evolved into having support slots with The Maccabees, Jamie T and Laura Marling.[8] They released two double A-side vinyl singles on independent record label Young and Lost Club, "Routemaster/Round Three" on 7 August 2006 and "Three's a Crowd/Forget-Me-Nots" on 6 December 2006.[9] Both vinyls were produced by former Blur and The Smiths collaborator, Stephen Street.[10][11] They went on to play the inaugural Underage Festival in Victoria Park, England on 10 August 2007.[12]
Two weeks prior to the group starting university, they decided that they would take a second gap year, and perform new material which the band felt did not suit their current outfit. Bassist Cave stated that "I felt as though I couldn't write about anything personal, so I would make up semi-comical stories that weren't really important to anyone, not even me."[8] Fear of Flying disbanded in October 2007[13] with a MySpace bulletin stating "Fear of Flying is DEAD ... White Lies is alive!",[8] before introducing a darker sound[14] and a new name that reflected their maturity.[15] When asked about the name change in an interview with a radio station in San Francisco, Jack Brown stated that "We just thought that we should perform these songs as a different band. We had songs that we felt weren't suitable for the band that we were in and we thought White Lies would be the perfect vehicle for the songs."[14]
Name change and debut album (2007–present)
Playing under the new name, White Lies played their first gig at Hoxton Square's Bar & Kitchen on 27 February 2008, with a number of A&R executives in attendance. The band admitted rehearsing for two months for the gig.[8] Following this, the band received numerous record label offers, eventually signing to Fiction Records. When asked about their name, the band said they chose the name because "white lies are common but quite dark, and that's how we see ourselves".[16] They made their television debut on Later... with Jools Holland on 30 May 2008 playing singles "Unfinished Business" and "Death".[17][18] During the summer of 2008, the band headlined BBC Introducing at Radio 1's Big Weekend, in Maidstone, Kent on 11 May 2008.[19] They went on to play numerous UK and overseas music festivals, including major festivals Oxegen, T in the Park, and the Reading and Leeds Festivals.[20] Their first headline tour visited 13 UK venues between September and October 2008.[21]
Beginning in May 2008,[22] the band spent two months in sessions for their debut album in Belgium and London,[23][24] which was provisionally titled To Lose My Life or Lose My Love.[25] The title came from a line in the album's title track, "To Lose My Life". A provisional release date was set for January 2009.[26] During October 2008, the band scheduled a short United States tour, including an appearance at the CMJ Music Festival on 23-24 October alongside Jay Reatard, Amazing Baby and Violens.[27] Following this, the band return to support Glasvegas on their fifteen date UK tour in November and December 2008.[28] NME exclusively announced the official release through their website on 29 October 2008, stating that the album, with shortened title To Lose My Life..., would be released on 12 January. The band preceded the album with the single release of the album's title track "To Lose My Life" one week earlier.[24] The full-length video for "To Lose My Life" premiered exclusively on the band's MySpace on 21 November 2008,[29] before being added to the MTV Two and NME playlists.
On 11 November 2008, NME announced that White Lies would be taking part in the 2009 ShockWaves NME Awards Tour, alongside Friendly Fires, Florence and the Machine and headliners Glasvegas. The annual tour, taking place in early 2009, visits seventeen cities in the UK.[30] White Lies ended the year with Xfm's indoor Christmas music festival Winter Wonderland, at the London date on 3 December 2008.[31] They have also been announced as one of four bands playing NME's Big Gig in February 2009,[32] and have been longlisted in the BBC's Sound of 2009 poll.[33] "From the Stars" appeared as iTunes's "Single of the Week" on 30 December 2008.[34] The band were also featured on the cover of UK music magazine The Fly in January 2009, and came third in the 2009 BRITs Critics' Choice Award behind Florence and the Machine and Little Boots.[35]
On 20th January Harry from the group announced to Samanthi on Q Radio that the groups next single would be Farewell to the Fairground, and that the video would be shot in Russia. [36]
Musical style
As Fear of Flying, Banquet Records described the band's second single as "Quite danceable indie",[37] while The Guardian's official website named them an indie-pop band.[8] In an interview with BBC London, they cited Talking Heads as a major influence.[38] White Lies' darker sound[2] has been compared to Editors,[39] Arcade Fire,[40] Joy Division,[41] Interpol,[42] The Killers,[40] Echo & the Bunnymen,[39] Tears for Fears[26] and The Teardrop Explodes.[43] Lead singer McVeigh's singing voice has been compared to that of Ian Curtis and Julian Cope.[4][44]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2009 | To Lose My Life... |
EPs
Singles
| Year | Song | Album | UK Singles Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Unfinished Business" | N/A | — |
| "Death" | To Lose My Life... | 52 | |
| 2009 | "To Lose My Life" | 35 |
References
- ^ "White Lies to Release EP". NeuFutur Magazine.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "WHITE LIES - 'DEATH'". noizemakesenemies.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Ealing band are critics favourite with 2009 album". Ealing Times.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "Ealing Times" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b "White Lies - Lies that don't need perfecting". Rob McCrae, new-noise.net.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "White Lies - 'Unfinished Business' album". musicremedy.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Death Becomes Them". Johnny K, The Fly.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "BBC - London - Radio - Fear of Flying". BBC.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e "White Lies:Murder, madness and lots of black trousers". Chris Salmon, guardian.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "YOUNG AND LOST CLUB - Shop - Records". Young and Lost Club.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Young and Lost Club - Releases - YALC0008". Young and Lost Club official website.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Young and Lost Club - Releases - YALC0011". Young and Lost Club official website.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Festival News:New additions for Underage Festival". virtualfestivals.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "First sight: White Lies". guardian.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "SF Station:Jack Brown of White Lies". sfsstation.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Little White Lies sound great". thisisgloucestershire.co.uk. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
- ^ "BBC - Music Profiles - White Lies". BBC.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "White Lies and Sweet Jane confirmed as special guests to Glasvegas". mcd.ie.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "White Lies - Unfinished Business / Death (Live On Jools Holland)". Angryape.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "BBC - Radio 1's Big Weekend 2008 - Lineup". BBC Radio 1.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Polydor - White Lies". Polydor Records.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "White Lies announce follow-up to Topman NME New Noise Tour". NME.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "White Lies UK Tour Dates". ilikemusic.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ BBC Radio 1 Introducing Show Interview with Huw Stephens, 14 August 2008.
- ^ a b "White Lies announce album details - exclusive". NME.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "White Lies preview debut album at Manchester show". NME.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Bright future for White Lies". Thisislondon.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Filter Presents FREE White Lies Roxy Show". Filter Magazine.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "White Lies Announce Tour". MTV One.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "News: 'To Lose My Life' Video Exclusive on MySpace". White Lies official website.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Shockwaves NME Awards Tour 2009 line-up revealed". NME.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Kaiser Chiefs, The View, Ladyhawke set for intimate Xmas shows". NME.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Crystal Castles, White Lies to join The Cure at NME Big Gig". NME. 15 December 2008.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "BBC Sound of 2009: White Lies". BBC News Online.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Simpson, Matt (30 December 2008). "A.M. Nuggets: Free Download on iTunes - From the Stars by White Lies". wnew.com.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "BRITs 2009 - Nominations". brits.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
- ^ http://radioplayer.qthemusic.com/
- ^ "BanquetRecords.com - Fear of Flying - Routemaster". Banquet Records official website.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "BBC - London - Radio - Fear Of Flying". BBC.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Review: White Lies, The Bodega Social". thisisnottingham.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Review: White Lies @ Manchester Night And Day". Lee Sentino, FemaleFirst.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Pop review: White Lies, ICA, London". Maddy Costa, guardian.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "White Lies @ London ICA". Natasha Arico, Clash Music.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "White Lies to release "Unfinished Business" + tour dates (NME New Noize Tour)". Band Weblogs.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "No 290: White Lies". guardian.co.uk.
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