The Last Shadow Puppets
The Last Shadow Puppets | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | England |
Genres | Baroque pop[1] |
Years active |
|
Labels | Domino |
Members | |
Website | thelastshadowpuppets |
The Last Shadow Puppets are an English supergroup consisting of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Miles Kane (The Rascals, solo artist), James Ford (Simian, Simian Mobile Disco, music producer), and Zach Dawes (Mini Mansions). They are joined live by Loren Humphrey (Guards, music producer, session musician) and Tyler Parkford (Mini Mansions). The band released their debut album The Age of the Understatement in 2008. Following a lengthy hiatus, they returned, releasing second album Everything You've Come to Expect in 2016.
History
Formation
In August 2007 NME magazine reported that Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner and lead singer of then newly formed the Rascals, Miles Kane would be recording an album with Simian Mobile Disco member and former Simian drummer James Ford producing and playing drums.[2] Turner and Kane had become friends when Kane's previous band the Little Flames played support for Arctic Monkeys on their 2005 UK tour. The Little Flames also supported Arctic Monkeys on their April 2007 UK tour, when Turner and Kane wrote songs together for a collaborative project.[3] Their collaboration extended into Arctic Monkeys material, with Kane playing guitar on "505", the closing track of second Arctic Monkeys album Favourite Worst Nightmare and on "Fluorescent Adolescent" B-sides "The Bakery" and "Plastic Tramp." Kane also guested on "505" and "Plastic Tramp" at several Arctic Monkeys gigs in 2007, including the summer mini-festivals at Lancashire County Cricket Club and Arctic Monkeys' 2007 & 2013 appearances at Glastonbury.
The initial recording of the songs that would eventually form their debut album took place in France in late August 2007 with additional material added between August and December of that year. In December Owen Pallett was appointed to arrange the strings, brass and percussion for the album with the 22-piece London Metropolitan Orchestra. During the recording of the album Turner and Kane hired a documentary film-making team, Luke Seomore and Joseph Bull, to capture the story of the project.[4]
The Age of the Understatement (2007−2009)
On 20 February 2008, Miles Kane and Alex Turner revealed they would be known as the Last Shadow Puppets and that their album would be titled The Age of the Understatement and would be released on 21 April 2008. The album went straight to number one in the UK Albums Chart. The first single, "The Age of the Understatement", was released the week before on 14 April, with new song "Two Hearts in Two Weeks" and covers of Billy Fury's "Wondrous Place" and David Bowie's "In the Heat of the Morning" (a song previously mentioned by Turner as a favourite[5]) as b-sides.[6] The duo have said they took inspiration from Scott Walker and early Bowie. As well as this, there are also influences of the Beatles and late 60s/ early 70s progressive rock.
The second single, "Standing Next to Me", was released on 7 July 2008.[7] The album produced a third single, "My Mistakes Were Made for You."
The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize[8] but lost out to Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid.
Everything You've Come to Expect (2015–2016)
In a March 2010 interview with Absolute Radio, Alex Turner said that there were no plans for new material, however, Kane said in October 2010 they would get back together after he was done with his solo project.[9] In March 2011, Turner confirmed his interests in recording a second album.[10]
In January 2012, Miles Kane confirmed that he would reunite with Arctic Monkeys' singer Alex Turner to record again as the Last Shadow Puppets, saying that he and Turner would record the follow-up to The Age Of The Understatement "when the time is right."[11]
On 19 October 2015 Owen Pallett, who contributed the string arrangements on The Age of the Understatement, confirmed work on the second album on Twitter.[12]
In an interview with the Chilean site Rock & Pop on 17 November 2015, producer James Ford confirmed that work on the second album had been completed and that the record would be released sometime in spring 2016. When asked of his recent work, Ford said, "This year, I've just done a Last Shadow Puppets record, which is the guy from Arctic Monkeys and Miles. So we did the follow-up album to that. That's the last thing I did."[13]
On 3 December 2015, the band's official Facebook and YouTube pages released a teaser trailer[14] for the album, also confirming for the album to be released sometime in spring 2016. People such as Turner's ex-girlfriend, Taylor Bagley, and Zach Dawes of Mini Mansions made small cameos in the video. A second teaser trailer[15] for the album was released on 28 December 2015. The video featured Kane impersonating wrestler Ric Flair along with videos from the studio and various cinematic shots.
On 10 January 2016, the band released their first single since 2008.[16] The song, "Bad Habits", was accompanied with a music video[17] filmed in the same style as the first two teaser trailers.
On 21 January 2016, the band announced that their second album would be entitled Everything You've Come to Expect, and would feature the return of all three previous band members, as well as the addition of bass player Zach Dawes. It is set to be released on 1 April 2016.
On 10 March 2016, the band released the title track from Everything You've Come to Expect,as the album's second single. An accompanying music video was also released, of which there is 9 varieties, depicting Turner and Kane buried up to their necks on a beach while a woman dances around them.
On 16 March 2016, the band released the track "Aviation", as the 3rd single. A video similar in style to Everything You've Come to Expect was released showing Turner and Kane digging a sand pit on the same beach they were buried on in the previous video.
On 29 March 2016, the band released a 4th song,"Miracle Aligner",[18] which is to be the last one before the release of the entire album.
Live appearances
The band played their first ever show in Brooklyn, New York, at Sound Fix Records on 4 March 2008,[19] playing a second gig at the Lower East Side's Cake Shop the following night.[20]
The Last Shadow Puppets played a short two song set on 5 April at the Lock Tavern in Camden, London. They played "Meeting Place" and "Standing Next to Me" in support of Remi Nicole, who organised the party both to celebrate her birthday and to raise money for MS sufferers. The band have also performed on Jools Holland's show Later... with Jools Holland, with James Ford on drums, Stephen Fretwell on bass, John Ashton on keyboards and Owen Pallett conducting the string accompaniment. The duo also played on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 5 July.[citation needed]
The band played a secret set at Glastonbury on 28 June 2008 with Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders playing drums on "The Age of the Understatement" and Jack White playing a guitar solo on "Wondrous Place."[21]
On 4 July 2008, they performed "Standing Next to Me" as part of a birthday present for Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1. They also performed a cover of Rihanna's "SOS".[citation needed]
The band and a 16-piece orchestra played two intimate live shows as warm up sessions for Reading and Leeds Festivals 2008, at Portsmouth Guildhall and New Theatre Oxford. In October and November 2008, the band embarked on their first full headlining tour of the UK and US, which was generally well received by both fans and critics.[22][23]
On 3 February 2012, Miles Kane supported Arctic Monkeys at their Paris Olympia show. At the conclusion of the support slot, Alex Turner joined Miles Kane and his band to perform "Standing Next to Me". At Glastonbury 2013, Alex Turner joined Miles Kane on set near the end of his performance to play "Standing Next to Me" together. Miles Kane later on October joined the Arctic Monkeys on their headline set in Mexico to perform their last song "505" together. At Finsbury Park 2014, Alex Turner again joined Miles Kane for an acoustic performance of "Standing Next to Me".[citation needed]
In January 2016, the band announced their 2016 tour dates in support of Everything You've Come to Expect. Locations include Hackney Empire in London, Webster Hall in New York, Grant Park in Chicago for Lollapalooza, and most notably Indio, California for The 2016 Coachella Music Festival.[24] The band also added two shows during March in Cambridge and Middlesbrough[25] to bolster the UK portion of the tour.
In June 2016, the band performed on the pyramid stage at Glastonbury. During the set, they performed a cover of Moonage Daydream in memory of David Bowie.
They ended their 2016 tour on 26 August by playing at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris, France.
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | MOJO Awards | Breakthrough Artist | Themselves | Won |
Mercury Prize | Best Album | The Age of the Understatement | Shortlisted | |
UK Music Video Awards | Best Cinematography | "The Age of the Understatement" | Won | |
Q Awards | Best New Act | Themselves | Won | |
2009 | 2009 BRIT Awards | British Breakthrough | Nominated | |
NME Awards | Best British Band | Nominated | ||
Best Track In The Universe | "Mist" | Won | ||
Best Video | "My Mistakes Were Made for You" | Won |
Band members
- Alex Turner – vocals, guitar, bass, baritone guitar, tambourine, keyboards (2007–present)
- Miles Kane – vocals, guitar, bass, saxophone (2007–present)
- James Ford – drums, percussion, organ, piano, keyboards, production (2007–present)
- Zach Dawes – bass, guitar (2015–present)
- Live members[26]
- Tyler Parkford − keyboards, backing vocals (2016–present)
- Loren Humphrey − drums, percussion (2016–present)
- Former live members
- Alex MacNaghten − bass (2008)
- Stephen Fretwell – bass (2008)
- John Ashton – keyboards, guitar (2008)
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [27] |
AUS [28] |
BEL (FL) [29] |
BEL (WA) [30] |
FRA [31] |
IRL [32] |
NLD [33] |
NOR [34] |
SWE [35] |
US [36] | |||
The Age of the Understatement |
|
1 | 30 | 4 | 39 | 18 | 2 | 12 | 23 | 34 | 111 | |
Everything You've Come to Expect |
|
1 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 58 | 83 |
|
Extended plays
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Standing Next to Me |
|
My Mistakes Were Made for You |
|
The Dream Synopsis |
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [27] |
UK Indie [38] |
BEL (FL) [29] |
BEL (WA) [30] |
FRA [39] |
IRL [40] |
MEX [41] |
NLD [42] |
SCO [43] |
SPA [44] | |||
"The Age of the Understatement" | 2008 | 9 | 1 | 52 | 69 | 81 | 34 | — | 97 | 4 | 3 | The Age of the Understatement |
"Standing Next to Me" | 30 | 2 | 60 | — | 64 | — | — | — | 10 | 13 | ||
"My Mistakes Were Made for You" | 81 | 1 | 52 | — | 64 | — | — | 75 | 8 | — | ||
"Bad Habits" | 2016 | — | 27 | 46 | — | — | — | 42 | — | — | — | Everything You've Come to Expect |
"Aviation" | 150 | 12 | 52 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Is This What You Wanted" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Dream Synopsis | |
"Les Cactus" | — | — | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Promotional singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [27] |
UK Indie [38] |
BEL (FL) [29] |
BEL (WA) [30] |
FRA [39] |
MEX [41] | |||||||
"Everything You've Come to Expect" | 2016 | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | Everything You've Come to Expect | ||||
"Miracle Aligner" | 180 | 16 | 73 | 90 | 199 | 41 | ||||||
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Other charting songs
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [27] |
UK Indie [38] |
FRA [39] |
MEX [41] | |||||||||
"In The Heat Of The Morning" | 2008 | 111 | — | — | — | "The Age of the Understatement" single | ||||||
"Two Hearts In Two Weeks" | 182 | — | — | — | ||||||||
"Wondrous Place" | 187 | — | — | — | ||||||||
"Dracula Teeth" | 2016 | — | 32 | — | — | Everything You've Come to Expect | ||||||
"The Element of Surprise" | — | 37 | — | — | ||||||||
"Sweet Dreams, TN" | — | 29 | — | — | ||||||||
"Used to Be My Girl" | — | 39 | — | — | ||||||||
"Pattern" | — | 48 | — | — | ||||||||
"The Dream Synopsis" | — | — | 54 | — | The Dream Synopsis | |||||||
"This Is Your Life" | 2017 | — | — | — | 38 | |||||||
"—" denotes a song that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
References
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys – "Reckless Serenade"". Stereogum. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys frontman to record surprise album this month". NME.
- ^ Arctic Monkeys interviewed by Tom Doyle, Mojo, May 2007, p. 96
- ^ "Monkeys star making film about new album". Digital Spy.
- ^ "Random Rules:Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys". The A.V. Club.
- ^ "Alex Turner and Miles Kane cover David Bowie". NME.
- ^ "Standing Next To Me by The Last Shadow Puppets: Amazon.co.uk: Music". amazon.co.uk.
- ^ "Home - Bearded Magazine: The Home of Independent Music". beardedmagazine.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008.
- ^ "Miles Kane: 'Last Shadow Puppets to return after my solo album'". NME.
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys frontman 'would like to write James Bond theme'". 8Ball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
- ^ "The week's 20 biggest news stories (8 January)". NME. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ Helman, Peter (11 October 2015). "Owen Pallett Reveals Work On Second Last Shadow Puppets LP". Stereogum. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ Milton, Jamie (17 November 2015). "The Last Shadow Puppets Have "Finished" Their Second Album". DIY. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ "TLSP2". YouTube. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ "TLSP2". YouTube. 28 December 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ "Alex Turner's The Last Shadow Puppets return with 'Bad Habits' - watch". Nme.com. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ "The Last Shadow Puppets - Bad Habits (Official Video)". YouTube. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ "Listen to "World Record: The Last Shadow Puppets - "Miracle Aligner"" posted by Zane Lowe on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "Turner's Shadow Puppets play debut gig". Digital Spy.
- ^ "Alex Turner and Miles Kane play second New York gig". NME.
- ^ "Last Shadow Puppets and Jack White play secret Glastonbury gig". NME.
- ^ "Liverpool Echo: Latest Liverpool and Merseyside news, sports and what's on". liverpooldailypost.co.uk.
- ^ "Review - The Last Shadow Puppets". thetartpaper.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
- ^ Hendicott, James (25 January 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets announce four UK tour dates". NME. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ Renshaw, David (15 February 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets add extra dates to March UK tour". NME. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ "The Last Shadow Puppets play first UK gig in seven years". Nme.com. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Peaks of The Last Shadow Puppets in the United Kingdom:
- Studio albums and singles (except noted): "The Last Shadow Puppets". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- "In The Heat Of The Morning", "Two Hearts In Two Weeks" and "Wondrous Place": "UK Chartlog: DJ Steve L. – LZ Love". zobbel.de. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- "Miracle Aligner" and "Aviation": "CHART: CLUK Update 9.04.2016 (wk14)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ "Australian album positions". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ a b c "Belgian Positions (Vlaanderen)". ultratop.be. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ a b c "Belgian Positions (Wallonie)". ultratop.be. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "French album positions". lescharts.com. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ "Irish The Age of the Understatement album position". chart-track.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ "Dutch album positions". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ "Norwegian album positions". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ "Swedish album positions". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ "US album positions". Billboard. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ "Certified Awards Search" (To access, enter the keyword "Miles Kane" and check the 'Exact match' checkbox). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ a b c Peak chart positions on UK Independent Singles chart:
- "The Age of the Understatement": "2008-04-20 Top 40 Independent Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- "Standing Next to Me": "2008-07-13 Top 40 Independent Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- "My Mistakes Were Made for You": "2008-10-26 Top 40 Independent Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- "Aviation", "Miracle Aligner", "Bad Habits", "Sweet Dreams TN", "Everything You've Come to Expect", "Dracula Teeth", "The Element of Surprise", "Used to Be My Girl", and "Pattern": "2016-04-08 Top 40 Independent Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ a b c "French single positions". lescharts.com. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ "The Age of the Understatement single Irish position". chart-track.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ a b c "Mexico Ingles Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Dutch single positions". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ Peaks in Scotland:
- The Age Of The Understatement: "2008 04 20 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/.
- Standing Next To Me: "2008 07 13 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/.
- My Mistakes Were Made For You: "2008 10 26 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/.
- ^ "Spanish single positions". spanishcharts.com. Retrieved 15 July 2009.