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The Wombats

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The Wombats
The Wombats pictured at a gig
The Wombats pictured at a gig
Background information
OriginLiverpool, England, United Kingdom
GenresIndie rock, alternative dance, post-punk revival, new wave, Trance/ House (all the same)
Years active2003–present
Labels14th Floor Records
Bright Antenna (US only)
MembersMatthew Murphy
Dan Haggis
Tord Øverland Knudsen
Websitethewombats.co.uk


The Wombats are an English pop rock band formed in Liverpool. The band comprises native Liverpudlians Matthew Murphy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard), Daniel (Dan) Haggis (drums, percussion, keyboard and backing vocals) and Norwegian-born Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass guitar, guitar, keyboard and backing vocals). The band is signed to 14th Floor Records in the United Kingdom and Bright Antenna in the United States.

History

The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation (2003–2008)

Matthew 'Murph' Murphy attended Liverpool College, then moved on to LIPA. The three band members met in 2003 at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, soon becoming friends, they formed The Wombats. Over the course of 2004 to 2005 the band released many EPs such as "The Hangover Sessions", "No.3" and "The Daring Adventures of Sgt. Wimbo and His Pet Otter". In 2006, the band released their debut album Girls, Boys and Marsupials which was only available as a release in Japan.

In January 2007, the band released a second limited edition vinyl called Moving to New York, then in May of that year they released a third single entitled "Backfire at the Disco", which reached number 35 in the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by then band's first full single "Kill the Director" in late July. Their debut album, entitled The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, coincided with the release of "Let's Dance to Joy Division" in October 2007, and peaked at number 11 in the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by a European tour ending with a thanksgiving party at Liverpool Academy.[citation needed]

The band started 2008 as the opening act at the opening ceremony of Liverpool, European Capital of Culture at Liverpool Arena. "Moving to New York" was re-released on 14 January 2008 and reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming their highest charting release to date. On 28 February 2008 the band was awarded 'Best Dancefloor Filler' for their single "Let's Dance To Joy Division" at the NME Awards.[1]

The Wombats EP (2008–2010)

In April 2008 the band put out their first U.S. release on Bright Antenna, The Wombats EP. Following this release the band went on a full UK tour, as well as playing dates in Europe and Japan. The band also played for Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1 where they covered the Take That song "Patience", as well as the Postman Pat theme tune, which Tord sang in his native Norwegian language.

The summer of 2008 saw the band perform live at a number of major festivals including Glastonbury Festival in June and T in the Park in July, opening the BBC Radio 1 / NME Stage set on the Friday. They also played Reading and Leeds Festival on the Saturday and Friday respectively on the Radio 1/NME Stage supporting Babyshambles. In September 2008 the band were filmed for a cameo appearance on Australian soap Neighbours.[2]

The band also announced via their MySpace blog that they would be releasing two singles, a seasonal 'Anti-Christmas' themed "Is This Christmas?" on 15 December 2008, followed by a track titled "My Circuitboard City" on 3 March 2009.

The Wombats Proudly Present... This Modern Glitch (2010–2013)

In September 2010, the band announced they were near to completing their second studio album, This Modern Glitch in the MRG Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California. The band worked with producers Eric Valentine and Jackknife Lee.

The first single to be released from the album, "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)" was released in the UK on 27 September 2010[3] and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 23; marking the band's fifth Top 40 hit and third most successful single to date. The accompanying music video was shot in Los Angeles, CA during August 2010 and was directed by The General Assembly. Following the rumoured release of "Techno Fan" as the second single from the album, the track "Jump into the Fog" was confirmed for a release on 24 January 2011.[4] "Anti-D" was the next single, with the album following two weeks later. The album, entitled This Modern Glitch, was released in April 2011 as a CD, digital download and also on 7" and 12" vinyl.[5] The Wombats also played at the 2011 Southside and Hurricane music festivals in Germany.

The Wombats' song 'Techno Fan' is currently[citation needed] being used in European airline easyJet's new television and Facebook campaigns.

Glitterbug (2013-present)

See Also: Glitterbug (album) and Glitterbug Tour 2015

On 11 September 2013, a mysterious hashtag message appeared on the band's Facebook page which read "#yourbodyisaweapon". After the release of this message certain fans started to speculate about the possibility of a new single. This speculation was confirmed after a second message on 16 September, when the band gave the date of October 1, once again as a hashtag and officially announced four days later that it was going to be released on the 2nd of October 2013 stating:

"Seismic activity is going on! Excited to announce that our new track Your Body Is A Weapon will be out on October 2nd."

The single was then played on BBC Radio 1 on 1 October at 7:30PM as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record and on XFM at 8PM. The track was officially released on iTunes the next day and on YouTube, featuring a cartoon-like styled lyric video. It has been released as an EP which includes three remixes of the track.[6] Lead singer Matthew Murphy confirmed that their next album would be released at some point in 2014.[7]

On 6 November 2014, the official Wombats page started displaying a countdown to 10am (GMT) on Monday 10 November 2014, which was speculated to be counting down to a new single release or album pre-launch. This was revealed to be not a new release but the announcement of a UK and US tour in the beginning of 2015. [8] Later in November, several pictures were released on instagram and twitter of the band members in the studio recording, paired with the hashtag "#album3"[9][10][11]

On the 17th December 2014, The Wombats announced that their new album, Glitterbug, will be available to pre-order from January 2015 as well as leaking the official album cover.

On the 14th January 2015, The Wombats second single from the album Glitterbug titled 'Greek Tragedy' was premiered 7:30PM as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1. On the same day, the video was aired to those subscribed to their mail list and was shortly after publicly aired.

Discography

Main article: The Wombats discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions
UK
2007 The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation 11
2011 The Wombats Proudly Present: This Modern Glitch 3
2015 Glitterbug TBA

Extended plays

Awards and Nominations

Awards and nominations for The Wombats
Year Award Category Recipients and nominees Result
2008 NME Awards [12] Best New Band The Wombats Nominated
Best Dancefloor Filler Let's Dance to Joy Division Won
Best Track Let's Dance to Joy Division Nominated
2008 MTV Europe Music Awards [13] Best UK and Ireland New Act The Wombats Won


References

  1. ^ "Shockwaves NME Awards 2008: The Wombats win Best Dancefloor Filler | News". Nme.Com. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  2. ^ "The Wombats to appear on 'Neighbours'". NME. IPC Media. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves): Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  4. ^ "The Wombats Jump Into The Fog (Single). Buy online, http://www.thewombats.co.uk/". Thewombats.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  5. ^ [1][dead link]
  6. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/your-body-is-a-weapon-ep/id749908590
  7. ^ "Hear The Wombats' new single, new album details revealed". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  8. ^ https://twitter.com/thewombats/status/531749851001008128
  9. ^ https://twitter.com/thewombats/status/536849524439150592
  10. ^ http://instagram.com/p/vzA6-lyIvO/
  11. ^ https://twitter.com/thewombats/status/539434327755730945
  12. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/nme-awards/34797#
  13. ^ http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/wombats-back-liverpool-tonight---8458925
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