The NME Tours consist of a variety of tours organised by British music industry publication NME . Throughout the year, NME sponsors numerous tours of the United Kingdom by various up-and-coming and established bands in a variety of formats. The tours are titled to reflect the genre and type of bands playing on them.
The ShockWaves NME Awards Tours (known without sponsorship as the NME Awards Tour before 1999, and the Brat Bus Tour before 1998) normally takes place in the lead up to the official NME Awards themselves. The tour has been known to sell out in just a matter of hours. [1] The tour normally showcasts the main protagonists of the independent alternative rock scene, with a number of relatively unheard of bands usually supporting more mainstream acts. A number of previous support acts on the tour have gone on to become very successful commercially, such as Arctic Monkeys (support act in 2006) and Franz Ferdinand (who played the opening slot in 2004). Since 2005, the tour has been sponsored by unisex hair product company ShockWaves.
In 2007, the main NME Awards tour was split into two different tours of four bands each. The first tour, the ShockWaves NME Indie Rock Tour was created to reflect the growing indie rock scene in Britain throughout 2006–2007. The second tour, the ShockWaves NME Indie Rave Tour, displays the small number of bands currently associated with the new rave music genre. NME editor Conor McNicholas stated that the reason for the tour split was to allow more fans to gain tickets to the Awards tour, and allow them to display more bands at the one time. [2] The tours were played in a number of intertwined dates at the same time. This format was kept for one year, before reverting to one tour in 2008. In 2017, rather than organise a tour themselves, NME sponsored a series of previously announced headline dates by the band Blossoms. In 2018, for the first time in 23 years, an NME sponsored tour did not take place. Though NME are yet to make a statement about the cancellation of the tour, they have run articles about the demise of the Warped Tour on their website.
The NME Radar Tour (formerly known as the Topman NME New Noise Tour in 2008, [11] and the Topman NME New Music Tour before 2008 [12] ) has taken place in venues throughout the United Kingdom since 2005. The tour is played by relatively unknown bands to gain them more mainstream exposure. In 2009, a second "Autumn Radar Tour" took place during September and October. [13] In 2014, the event was rebranded the NME New Breed Tour; NME and headliners Superfood handpicked a different support act for each night of the tour. The tour did not return in 2015.
The NME Rock 'n' Roll Riot Tour (sponsored by O2) started in 2003. The tour usually takes place later in the year compared to the main awards tours, taking place in September–October of each year. Some of the bands have even gone on to play in other NME Tours; The Horrors, following their support slot on the 2006 Riot Tour, would later play on the 2007 NME Awards Indie Rock Tour.
1Support for the tour was confirmed by Fused Magazine. [18] Official support acts were never announced by NME.
On 20 August 2007, NME announced they would be adding a further Rock 'n' Roll Tour, this time as a tour of the US. [19] The inaugural tour features mainly bands from areas of the US, such as New York City, Brooklyn and Los Angeles. [20]
The NME Freshers Tour is taking place around "Freshers week", the week in which Universities in the UK begin their first academic term. 2007 marks the debut of this tour.
The NME New Rave Revolution Tour was a tour that took place throughout September to October 2006. [22] The line-up consisted of bands who were closely related to the "new rave" music scene which appeared throughout 2006. Klaxons would go on to headline the Indie Rave leg of the NME Awards Tour in February 2007
It is unknown whether or not another New Rave Revolution Tour will take place, due to the small number of bands and the short-lived nature of the genre.
Bloc Party are an English rock band that was formed in London in 1999 by co-founders Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack. They are joined in the band's current iteration by Louise Bartle and bassist Harry Deacon. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music.
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who originally formed in 1996 as Runston Parva, before reforming as Parva in 2000, and releasing one studio album, 22, in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation, the band has consisted of lead vocalist Ricky Wilson, guitarist Andrew "Whitey" White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick "Peanut" Baines and since 2013 drummer Vijay Mistry, who replaced founding drummer Nick Hodgson following his departure from the band in late 2012.
Nine Black Alps are an English alternative rock band, formed in 2003 in Manchester. The band consists of vocalist-guitarist Sam Forrest, guitarist David Jones, drummer James Galley and bassist Karl Astbury. Prior to becoming Nine Black Alps the band was originally called The Chelsea Girls with Ilana Xup on bass duties. Once Ilana moved to London in 2003, Martin joined the band as the bass player and the band then became Nine Black Alps. Ilana's bassline features on 'Ilana Song', from the Shot Down EP, released in 2005.
The Cribs are a British indie rock band originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, that formed in 2001. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who was an official member of the group from 2008 until 2011.
Post-punk revival is a genre or movement of indie rock that emerged in the early 2000s as musicians started to play a stripped down and back-to-basics version of guitar rock inspired by the original sounds and aesthetics of post-punk, new wave and garage rock. It is closely associated with new wave revival and garage rock revival.
Luísa Hanae Matsushita, known by her stage name Lovefoxxx, is the lead singer of the Brazilian indie band Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS).
The Sunshine Underground were an English alternative dance band based in Leeds, England. Their style developed from indie, alternative to electronic music, and they released four full-length albums; Raise the Alarm (2006), Nobody's Coming to Save You (2010), The Sunshine Underground (2014) and their farewell album, Luminescent (2016). The group, named after a song from the 1999 album Surrender by The Chemical Brothers, were often associated with the British nu-rave scene of 2006 and built a respectable live following after years of touring.
The Maccabees were an English indie rock band, formed in 2004 in London. They released four albums: Colour It In in 2007, followed by Wall of Arms in 2009, Given to the Wild which was released on 9 January 2012 and their last album Marks to Prove It released on 31 July 2015. The band announced that they decided to disband in August 2016, with farewell gigs in 2017.
NYPC are an English electronic music band from London. The band was formed by Andy Spence and Tahita Bulmer in 2004. Their influences are predominantly post-punk and new wave artists.
New rave is a genre of music described by The Guardian as "an in-yer-face, DIY disco riposte to the sensitive indie rock touted by bands like Bloc Party." It is most commonly applied to a British-based music scene between 2005 and late 2008 of fast-paced electronica-influenced indie music that celebrated the late 1980s Madchester and rave scenes through the use of neon colours and using the term 'raving' to refer to going nightclubbing.
The Dykeenies are a Scottish indie rock band from Cumbernauld, formed in 2005. The group consists of brothers Brian Henderson and Andrew Henderson, along with Steven Ramsay and John Kerr. Since their formation, they have released one studio album, Nothing Means Everything, accompanied by three singles. After a worldwide tour, the band began work on their second album, which was released in October 2011. They broke up in January 2012, before re-forming for two performances in 2017. The Dykeenies released their EP 'I Wanted To Show Her All The Beautiful Things in the World' on 11 May 2018. The title of the 2018 EP was taken from Bret Ellis-Easton's 'American Psycho'.
Myths of the Near Future is the debut album by English rock band Klaxons. It was released on 29 January 2007 through Polydor Records. Following their debut single, the band coined the term "new rave" to refer to their sound; not long after their second single, they signed to Polydor Records. They recorded their debut album with James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco at The Premises and Parkgate Studios. Myths of the Near Future, which takes its title from a poem, is a science-fiction concept album about the future; some of the song's titles and lyrics are literary references to the works of J. G. Ballard, William S. Burroughs and Thomas Pynchon. To critics, its sound recalled the indie dance-punk revival led by bands such as Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand.
Bombay Bicycle Club is an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London, consisting of Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram, and Ed Nash. They are guitar-fronted and have experimented with different genres, including folk, electronica, world music and indie rock.
White Lies are an English post-punk revival band from Ealing, London. Formerly known as Fear of Flying, the core band members are Harry McVeigh, Charles Cave, and Jack Lawrence-Brown (drums). The band performs live as a four-piece, when they are joined by Tommy Bowen.
Alternative dance is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained American and worldwide exposure through acts such as New Order in the 1980s and the Prodigy and in the 1990s.
Surfing the Void is the second studio album by British indie rock band Klaxons, released on 23 August 2010 through Polydor Records. The album was produced by Ross Robinson, and was recorded in Los Angeles, California. The album was preceded by lead single "Echoes" on 16 August.
The Not Accepted Anywhere album tour was the touring period from 2005 through to 2007 when Welsh rock-band the Automatic promoted their debut album Not Accepted Anywhere. Over the three-year period, the band covered the United Kingdom several times, as well as touring in the United States, Japan, France and the Netherlands.
Klaxons were an English rock band, based in London. Following the release of several 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on 29 January 2007. The album won the 2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize. After playing festivals and headlining tours worldwide during late 2006–07, the band started working on their follow-up album in July 2007. Klaxons' second album, Surfing the Void, was released on 23 August 2010. Their third album, Love Frequency, was released on 16 June 2014.
