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The Fratellis

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The Fratellis

The Fratellis are an alternative rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli (born John Lawler), bass guitarist Barry Fratelli (born Barry Wallace), and drummer, backing vocalist, occasional guitarist and banjo player Mince Fratelli (born Gordon McRory). During live shows, they are assisted by pianist/rhythm guitarist, Will Foster. The group's debut album Costello Music was released on 26 September 2006 and debuted at a high #2 on the UK Album Charts and was also successful in the United States peaking at #48 on the Billboard 200.[1]. The album contained 2 UK Top 10 singles "Chelsea Dagger" and "Whistle for the Choir" It also contained 2 UK Top 40 hits "Henrietta" and "Baby Fratelli". It produced other singles such as "Flathead" that made #67 on the UK Singles Charts and #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 which became a hit after featuring in an iPod commercial. The song "Chelsea Dagger" was adopted by the Chicago Blackhawks as their goal-scoring anthem in the 2008-2009 season and was their theme song in their 2009-2010 championship season when they won the Stanley Cup.

The band's second album Here We Stand was released on 9 June 2008 and peaked at #5 on the UK Album Charts and #80 on the Billboard 200.[2] The album yielded 1 UK Top 40 song "Mistress Mabel"[3] and another UK Top 100 single "Look Out Sunshine!"[4] and contained a third single, "A Heady Tale" which failed to chart.

History

2005–2006: Beginnings and The Fratellis EP

The band's name came from the surname of the criminal family in the 1985 film The Goonies, although Barry's mother's maiden name was also Fratelli. They played their first show on 4 March 2005 in the O'Henry's bar in Glasgow across the road from the famous Horseshoe bar, and received their first radio playing in 2005, on central Scotland's Beat 106 (later XFM Scotland, now Galaxy Scotland) Beatscene show hosted by Jim Gellatly. They were signed by Fallout Records.

The Fratellis EP was released on 3 April 2006, featuring the tracks "Creepin' Up the Backstairs", "Stacie Anne" and "The Gutterati?". The NME ran a two page feature on The Fratellis in 10 August 2006 issue, proclaiming them "the best new band in Britain". "Creepin' Up the Backstairs" was never a single released by the band, even though a video was made for it. It was not eligible for the charts. The first single released by the band was "Henrietta", which was released on 12 June 2006 and charted at number 19 on the UK Charts.

2006–2007: Costello Music

The Fratellis performing in 2007

Costello Music was the debut album for The Fratellis and was released on 11 September 2006. It charted at number two in the UK album charts for three weeks.[5] The success of the album led to The Fratellis winning the BRIT award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 2007, an award that was voted for by BBC Radio One listeners.[6]

The Fratellis perform in Scotland.

The Fratellis supported Kasabian in December 2006 on their UK tour before playing 10 dates by themselves in February and March 2007. The locations included Nottingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and London.[7] Following the release of the album, The Fratellis embarked on a tour of the UK festival circuit, playing at Glastonbury and headlining at festivals such as NME's Rock 'n' Riot tour, OXEGEN 2007 and T in the Park 2007, amongst others.[8][9][10] They also opened for The Police Reunion Tour in the summer of 2007 in some of the North America dates. The Fratellis also recorded some cover songs during the year including "All Along the Watchtower" for Radio 1's 40th Anniversary Double Album, Radio 1: Established 1967, and "Solid Gold Easy Action" for the soundtrack of the film Hot Fuzz, which also included the single "Baby Fratelli".

The band released their first live DVD Edgy In Brixton in the UK on October 1, 2007, which was recorded at the Brixton Academy in London. The DVD contains a full live performance of the debut album Costello Music, B-sides from various singles and a new song called "Pretty Like a Girl". Extras on the DVD include the band being asked questions by members of The Fratellis' website, and on the deluxe edition, highlights from the T in the Park 2007 festival. It was released in the United States on 30 October 2007.

On 10 February 2009, three songs from the album Costello Music, "Creepin' Up the Backstairs", "Flathead" and "Henrietta" were made available as downloadable content (DLC) for the video game Rock Band 2.

2007–2009: Here We Stand

The Fratellis performing at T in the Park, Scotland 2008.

The band's second album Here We Stand, was first mentioned being worked on during November 2007, the Fratellis' official website stated that work had begun on the second album in rehearsal space in Glasgow. The band stated that they were self-producing the album and had their own studio to record in. Recording finished on 13 January 2008.[11]

The Fratellis performing at Birmingham Academy in 2008.

On 22 February 2008, they played a small show for fans at Queen Margaret Union to debut new songs from the upcoming album. About eight new songs from their new album were played, including "Mistress Mabel", "Acid Jazz Singer", and "Look Out Sunshine!".[12] This performance introduced two new touring members, a guitarist, Robin Peringer and a keyboard player, Will Foster. However, after the Teenage Cancer Trust show in 2008, Robin departed the tour for unknown reasons. Will Foster now plays both keyboard and guitar during live performances.

The album, was released on 9 June 2008 in the UK and 10 June 2008 in the United States. The band marked the US release of the album with sold-out shows in New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles. The first single from the album was called "Mistress Mabel" and was released on 26 May 2008. The next single was "Look Out Sunshine!", released on 18 August 2008 and with money going towards the Teenage Cancer Trust. The third single was "A Heady Tale", released on 22 December. The Fratellis released a deluxe edition of Here We Stand internationally on 8 December. The CD included a new song titled "Moriarty's Last Stand" and the accompanying DVD which features "The Year of the Thief" (a documentary of the band on the road in the US); a live show filmed on 18 June 2008 at the Fillmore, San Francisco; performances of "Milk and Money", "Flathead" and "Mistress Mabel" from Abbey Road Studios and the videos for the singles "Mistress Mabel" and "Look Out Sunshine!".

During 2009, the band did a mini-tour of Australia and Japan during February and March. Barry has said that they will be taking some time off after these dates, with no date confirmed for the recording of album 3 [13]. The Fratellis headlined the Island Records 50th anniversary show on 27 May 2009 where they debuted their new track to be included on the Island 50: 50 Years of Island Records which was Bob Marley's "Stir It Up". The band also headlined the Hop Farm Festival 2009 on 4 July, with a gig at the Middlesbrough Empire on 3 July to prepare for the upcoming headline slot.

2009–Present: Hiatus and New Bands

Since the Hop Farm Festival appearance in July 2009, the Fratellis are on hiatus and have each moved on to new bands. Jon formed a new band with singer/songwriter Lou Hickey called Codeine Velvet Club. He released an album with the band in December 2009 and toured during late 2009 and early 2010, before declaring that he will be leaving the band to pursue a solo career, taking the backing band with him.[14]

Barry has stated that he is starting his own musical project in the coming months and will let Fratellis fans know about it via The Fratellis website [15]. No further news has been announced as of June 2010, but it is known that Barry recently became a father, which may explain the lack of news. Mince has joined a heavy metal band called Throne o' Diablo and is regularly performing with them and recording material [16][17].

On 22 April 2010, various media sources reported that the band had split up, taking posts from Jon and Barry on the band's forum and twisting the truth [18][19]. After the story was put out, Jon updated his Twitter with a "cryptic message" which pointed towards the band's split being false [20], he then posted on a thread on the band's forum which was discussing the split, stating "I haven't split from anyone....!"[21]. In a June 2010 interview, Jon said on the band's future "Back home, it's been misjudged. People need absolutes and definites, but I've never lived my life like that. I have no plans to work with the Fratellis right just now, but that doesn't mean not ever. Sometimes, you find people you like to play with, and that's what it's like with the Codeine band. It's good to have choices."[22]

Discography

For a more comprehensive list, see The Fratellis discography.

Studio Albums

Awards

Date Award Awarding Body
4 July 2008 Best British Band 33rd Silver Clef Awards 2008
27 January 2008 Best European Border Breaking Act- United Kingdom 2008 European Border Breakers Awards
14 February 2007 Best British Breakthrough Act BRIT Awards 2007

References

  1. ^ http://acharts.us/album/14895
  2. ^ http://acharts.us/album/36231
  3. ^ http://acharts.us/song/35784
  4. ^ http://acharts.us/song/37317
  5. ^ BBC News Online – Timberlake takes album top spot
  6. ^ NME.com – Fratellis win BRIT for British Breakthrough Act
  7. ^ "The Fratellis announce 2007 tour dates". Indie London. 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
  8. ^ "Glastonbury line up 2007". BBC. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
  9. ^ "T In The Park line-up unveiled". NME. 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2007. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Paul McNamee (2007). "Costello Music review". NME. Retrieved 30 July 2007. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Sunday Mail – Fratellis Celebrate Finishing Second Album
  12. ^ [1] – Fratellis Fans Get Chance To Hear New Songs
  13. ^ [2] The Fratellis – Gig preview
  14. ^ CVC Split with newspaper interview embedded
  15. ^ the flame still burns? – Post by BarryFratelli on The Fratellis forum
  16. ^ http://www.myspace.com/throneodiablo
  17. ^ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Throne-o-Diablo/239517394648
  18. ^ The Fratellis Forum, 15 April 2010
  19. ^ The Fratellis announce split – Daily Gossip, NME.com, 22 April 2010
  20. ^ Jon Fratelli Twitter Update
  21. ^ Post by JonFratelli on the band's forum
  22. ^ Fratellis Is Music to Blackhawks' ears
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