Friendly Fires | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | St Albans, Hertfordshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
|
| Labels | |
| Members |
|
Friendly Fires are an English indie rock band from St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently signed to Polydor Records. Their self-titled debut album was released on 1 September 2008, [3] and was announced as one of the shortlisted twelve for the 2009 Mercury Prize on 21 July 2009. [4]
Friendly Fires met at St Albans School. At the age of 13, in year eight and nine (the second or third year), the members formed their first band, a post-hardcore outfit called First Day Back, [5] [6] covering songs by Green Day and other rock-like artists, which existed until they began university. During this time, lead singer Ed Macfarlane released his own music (under his own name) through the electronica label Skam, and Precinct Recordings. Upon leaving university, they formed a new band inspired by dance music, "lush shoegaze melodies", [7] and classic pop songwriting. [7] The name Friendly Fires originates from the opening track of the Section 25 LP Always Now. The band considers German techno label Kompakt, Carl Craig and Prince to be their greatest influences.[ citation needed ]
In late 2007, they became the first unsigned band to appear on Channel 4's Transmission programme. [8] Their single "Paris" achieved "Single of the Week" in The Guardian newspaper, NME magazine, and also on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show. They have toured extensively, with past performances and festival appearances throughout the UK, Europe, Japan, the US, Canada, Mexico, South America and Australia.[ citation needed ]
In May 2008, their song "On Board" was featured in North American television commercials for Nintendo's Wii Fit . "On Board" is also featured in the trailer for the PlayStation 3 game Gran Turismo 5 . "White Diamonds" is featured in one of the episodes in the second season of the American television series Gossip Girl . "Jump in the Pool" is the theme tune to BBC One's final score for the 2009–10 football season, aired on Saturday afternoons. "In the Hospital", and "Lovesick", are featured in the Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 driving game Colin McRae: Dirt 2 . "Lovesick" is played on Soccer AM as the week's football fixtures are announced.
In September 2008, they released their first LP: Friendly Fires , featuring the singles "On Board", "Paris", "Jump in the Pool", and "Skeleton Boy". The enhanced two-disc version of the album, released on 31 August 2009, included new summer single "Kiss of Life", earlier songs "Relationships" and "Bored of Each Other", other various remixes, and a DVD of their live performance of the band's at London's HMV Forum on 15 May 2009. [9]
The album was certified double gold in the UK; the band was nominated for a Best Breakthrough Award at The South Bank Show Awards and for Best Dancefloor Filler at the NME Awards. They were also second on the bill on the Shockwaves NME Awards Tour in January and February 2009, playing alongside headliner Glasvegas and other up-and-coming bands White Lies and Florence and the Machine. [10] In March 2009, Friendly Fires co-headlined with White Lies on an American equivalent of the tour called NME Presents, with The Soft Pack supporting. [11]
On 21 July 2009, Friendly Fires was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. They lost to Speech Debelle's Speech Therapy.
On 19 January 2010, the band was nominated for two Brit Awards: Best British Group and British Breakthrough Act. [12]
On 8 March 2010, Friendly Fires released a split 12" single with their New York city friends Holy Ghost!. Friendly Fires covered Holy Ghost!'s "Hold On"; Holy Ghost! covered Friendly Fires' "On Board". The 12" also included instrumental versions of both songs; the download version of the 12" included a dub version of Holy Ghost!'s "On Board". [13]
Friendly Fires have contributed the soundtrack to the Frank Miller-directed TV advertisement for 'Guilty', a women's fragrance by Gucci. It was a cover of the Depeche Mode song "Strangelove".
On 27 September 2010, Friendly Fires released through Rough Trade Records a special compilation with London club promoters Bugged Out! called Bugged Out Presents Suck My Deck. The 19 songs included on the album were 18 songs, including remixes of songs by Phenomenal Handclap Band and Lindstrom and Christabelle handpicked by the band and "Stay Here", a collaboration between the band and Azari & III. [14]
In May 2011, their second album Pala was released. The first single was "Live Those Days Tonight", soon followed by "Hawaiian Air". On 16 August of that year, Friendly Fires announced that their trumpet player, Richard Turner, who contributed to their live shows, had died. Turner had suffered a cardiac arrest while swimming on 11 August 2011. [15] At the end of 2011, Friendly Fires played their biggest UK tour to date, starting in Brighton on 10 November, and performing in cities, such as Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow and London. [16] An ongoing illness of singer Ed Macfarlane's caused several of these gigs to be rescheduled for December 2011. [17]
Friendly Fires headlined the inaugural ABLE2UK charity concert for disabled awareness on 20 August 2012 at The Roundhouse in London. All proceeds from ticket sales went to ABLE2UK. [18]
When asked in July 2012 by NME about their future direction, Macfarlane stated that the trio have no intentions of writing another pop record like Pala. They have been working with producer Andrew Weatherall and so far, they have come up with some dramatically different results to the band's usual output. Speaking to NME at Poland's Open'er Festival, Macfarlane said, "The music – the way we're writing and the style of it – is very different to anything we've done before; I think we're still learning to write music in a different way. We want to write something long and expansive and drawn-out and, I suppose, a bit more psychedelic." Macfarlane also confirmed that the tracks would definitely be released at some point, most probably under the band's name, "even if it is totally weird, psyched out, eight-minute long jams, we're still gonna call it Friendly Fires." [19]
In 2016, Ed McFarlane and Edd Gibson collaborated with Jon Brooks (The Advisory Circle) under the name The Pattern Forms and released the album Peel Away the Ivy in October 2016. [20]
On 25 September 2017, the band announced on their Facebook page that they are returning and will be performing at O2 Academy Brixton on 5 April 2018. A 40-second clip of new music was added in a video along with the announcement. On 5 April 2018, the band released "Love Like Waves", their first release since 2012. [21]
On 24 June 2019 the band announced their first album in eight years, Inflorescent . It was released on 16 August 2019 via Polydor Records. [22]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [23] | UK Indie [23] | AUS [24] | IRE [25] | JPN [26] | SCO [23] | US [27] | US Alt [28] | US Indie [29] | US Rock [30] | |||||
| Friendly Fires |
| 21 | 2 | 92 | 50 | 56 | 31 | — | — | — | — | |||
| Pala |
| 6 | 3 | 19 | 29 | 37 | 6 | 152 | 18 | 22 | 36 |
| ||
| Inflorescent | 15 | — | — | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Bugged Out! Presents Suck My Deck (Mixed by Friendly Fires) |
|
| Late Night Tales: Friendly Fires |
|
| Title | Details | Track listing [33] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photobooth [34] |
|
| ||
| Cross the Line EP [35] |
|
| ||
| The Remix EP [36] |
|
| ||
| Offline EP [37] |
|
|
| Single | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [23] | UK Indie [38] | BEL (FL) Tip [39] | JPN [40] | MEX Air. [41] | SCO [42] | SWI Air [43] | |||||
| "On Board" [44] | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Friendly Fires (+ Deluxe) | ||
| "Paris" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Jump in the Pool" | 2008 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Paris" (re-release) | 105 | 13 | — | 44 | 37 | 63 | — | ||||
| "Jump in the Pool" (re-release) | 57 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Skeleton Boy" | 2009 | 48 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Kiss of Life" | 30 | 4 | — | — | 17 | — | — | ||||
| "Hold On" [45] | 2010 | — | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | Friendly Fires / Holy Ghost! split 12" [13] | ||
| "Live Those Days Tonight" [46] | 2011 | 80 | 11 | — | 40 | 33 | 84 | — | Pala | ||
| "Hawaiian Air" [47] | 92 | 9 | — | — | 28 | 87 | — | ||||
| "Blue Cassette" [48] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Hurting" [49] | 2012 | — | — | 31 | — | 30 | — | — | |||
| "Before Your Eyes" / "Velo" (with Asphodells) [50] | 2014 | — [A] | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Love Like Waves" [52] | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Inflorescent | ||
| "Heaven Let Me In" [53] | — | — | — [B] | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Lack of Love" [54] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Silhouettes" [55] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 87 | ||||
| "Offline" [56] (with Friend Within) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
| Song | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Indie [38] | |||
| "Bring Out Your Dead" | 2007 | 41 | Cross the Line EP |
| "Bored of Each Other" | 2009 | — [C] | Friendly Fires (Deluxe Edition) |
| "Relationships" | — [D] |
| Song | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Paris" | 2009 | Radio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 4 |
| "Stay Here" (with Azari & III) [14] | 2010 | Suck My Deck |
"Light My Fire" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. Although it was principally written by the band's guitarist, Robby Krieger, songwriting was credited to the entire band. Recognized as one of the earliest examples of psychedelic rock, it was recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967 on their eponymous debut album. Due to its erotic lyrics and innovative structure, the track has come to be regarded as synonymous with the 1960s psychedelic and sexual revolutions.
"Yellow" is a song by the British rock band Coldplay. The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson for their debut album, Parachutes (2000). The song was released on 26 June 2000 as the second UK single from Parachutes, following "Shiver", and as the lead single in the United States.
"The Scientist" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. The song is credited to all the band members on their second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. It is built around a piano ballad, with lyrics telling the story about a man's desire to love and an apology. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2002 as the second single from A Rush of Blood to the Head and reached number 10 in the UK Charts. It was released in the United States on 15 April 2003 as the third single and reached number 18 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 34 on the Adult Top 40 chart.
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley; bassist and co-founder Andy Nicholson left the band in 2006.
"Reptilia" is a song by American rock band the Strokes. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, Room on Fire (2003) on February 9, 2004. The song was written by Julian Casablancas and produced by Gordon Raphael. In the US, it peaked at number 19 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It fared better in the UK, where it reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The single cover depicts an alien from the video game Centipede.
"Because the Night" is a rock song from 1977 written by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith that appears on the Patti Smith Group album Easter, which was released in 1978. On March 2, 1978, the song was released as a single, and was commercially successful, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 5 in the United Kingdom, which helped propel Easter to mainstream success.
Boy Kill Boy were an English rock band based in Leytonstone, East London. The band produced two studio albums and six singles before splitting in 2008. Their highest-charting single was "Suzie", which reached #17 in the UK singles chart in 2006.
The discography of Franz Ferdinand, a Scottish indie rock band, consists of six studio albums, one remix album, two compilation albums, two live albums, one video album, six extended plays, 29 singles, four promotional singles and 33 music videos.
The Strokes are an American rock band. Formed in New York City in 1998, the group consists of singer Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. The Strokes discography consists of six studio albums, two extended plays (EP), seventeen singles, one video album and twenty music videos.
The discography of Foo Fighters, an American rock band formed in 1995 by Dave Grohl, consists of eleven studio albums, fourteen extended plays (EPs), six video albums, one live album, and 57 singles. The current Foo Fighters line-up consists of Grohl, Rami Jaffee (keyboard), Nate Mendel (bass), Chris Shiflett (guitar), Pat Smear (guitar) and Josh Freese (drums).
Miles Peter Kane is an English singer and musician, best known as a solo artist and the co-frontman of the Last Shadow Puppets. He was also the former frontman of the Rascals, before the band announced their break-up in August 2009.
The discography of Bloc Party, a British indie rock band, consists of six studio albums, three extended plays (EPs), and two remix albums released on primary label Wichita Recordings. Bloc Party were formed in 1999 by chief songwriter and frontman Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack. Bassist Gordon Moakes and drummer Matt Tong joined the band later. The first song by them that we know of is called "This Is Not A Competition" although it hasn't been officially released, it was the first song the band put on their official website. The quartet's first release was the Bloc Party EP in 2004; the first single, "She's Hearing Voices", was released and it failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The next EP, Little Thoughts was released the same year only in Japan; it included Bloc Party's first UK Top 40 entry, the double A-side "Little Thoughts/Tulips", which peaked at number 38.
Friendly Fires is the debut album from British band Friendly Fires. It was released in the UK on 1 September 2008 where it reached a peak of number 21 on the UK Albums Chart. All tracks were produced by Ed Macfarlane apart from the first track, "Jump in the Pool", which was produced by Paul Epworth. The album was re-released on 31 August 2009 with the addition of five remixes of the album's original tracks, plus three new tracks including the Epworth-produced "Kiss of Life".
"Use Somebody" is a song recorded by the American rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album Only by the Night, and it entered American and British charts in December 8, 2008, three weeks after the album release. The single was augmented with a music video released a month later.
The Boxer Rebellion is an international indie band formed in London, United Kingdom in 2001, consisting of Tennessee-native Nathan Nicholson and Englishmen Andrew Smith, Adam Harrison, and Piers Hewitt (drums). They have so far released an eponymous EP, six studio albums, Exits (2005), Union (2009), The Cold Still (2011), Promises (2013), Ocean by Ocean (2016) and Ghost Alive (2018), as well as a compilation album, B-Sides & Rarities Collection, Vol. 1 & 2 (2012).
"Magnificent" is a song by U2. It is the second track on the band's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon and was released as the album's second single. The song was originally titled "French Disco", but was renamed later in the recording sessions. It is played before the start of every New York Rangers home game at Madison Square Garden.
American rock band LCD Soundsystem has released four studio albums, three extended plays (EP), one compilation album, two remix albums, three live albums, eighteen singles, and fourteen music videos. The music of LCD Soundsystem is a mix of dance music and punk, and contains influences of disco. The band first gained attention when they released the single "Losing My Edge" on DFA Records, which became a well-known indie song in 2002. They then released more singles over the next few years and their self-titled debut album to critical acclaim. The album was certified gold in the UK but failed to chart on the US Billboard 200.
The discography of American rock band Interpol consists of seven studio albums, nine extended plays (EPs), and fifteen singles. Interpol was formed in 1997 by New York University students Daniel Kessler and Greg Drudy, with Carlos Dengler and Paul Banks joining later. Drudy left the band in 2000, and was replaced with Sam Fogarino.
Pala is the second album from British alternative dance band Friendly Fires. It was released in the UK on 16 May 2011, and charted at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart. The album name comes from Aldous Huxley's final novel Island, which tells the story of a journalist shipwrecked on the fictional island of Pala, which supports a utopian society. The scarlet macaw photograph was chosen from the private collection of Norwegian fashion photographer Sølve Sundsbø.
Inflorescent is the third studio album by British indie pop trio Friendly Fires. It was released on 16 August 2019 through Polydor Records and is the group's first album in eight years, following Pala, released in 2011.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
