Mongrel (band)

Last updated

Mongrel
Origin Sheffield / London, England
Genres
Years active2008–2009
Past members

Mongrel are a British band formed in 2008, founded by former Arctic Monkeys bassist Andy Nicholson. Alongside Nicholson in the band are Joe Moskow, both of Reverend and The Makers, Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell as well as London rapper Lowkey from the Poisonous Poets. [1]

Contents

Mongrel released their first album Better Than Heavy on 7 March 2009. The band have announced they will play a show at London's Boston Arms on 5 November, with a four-track digital EP due for release the same day. [2] [ needs update ]

For the album, McClure stated "We had Saul Williams come in and do a thing on it and hopefully M.I.A. is going to do something and maybe Pete Doherty. It's got a good flavour... We're really taking a few people to task, kind of like we're Public Enemy or something." [3] In an interview with The Guardian , McClure also expressed a desire to record in Venezuela and work with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez for the band's second album. [4]

In 2011 McClure was asked if there were plans to release anymore music he said Mongrel was a side project and a one off. [5]

Release

Better Than Heavy was released on Saturday 7 March 2009 free in The Independent newspaper. It was the first time a British band had given their début album away free with a national newspaper on release. [6] The full release, 23 March 2009, contains two CDs, Disc 2 is a reworked version of "Better Than Heavy" by Adrian Sherwood at On-U Sound Studios, tracks are re-titled Dub versions.

Discography

Albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supergroup (music)</span> Band whose members were successful in prior acts

A supergroup is a musical group formed with members who are already successful as solo artists or as members of other successful groups. The term became popular in the late 1960s when members of already successful rock groups recorded albums together, after which they normally disbanded. Charity supergroups, in which prominent musicians perform or record together in support of a particular cause, have been common since the 1980s. The term is most common in the context of rock and pop music, but it has occasionally been applied to other musical genres. For example, opera superstars the Three Tenors and hip hop duos Kids See Ghosts and Bad Meets Evil all have been called supergroups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Barât</span> English musician

Carl Ashley Raphael Barât is a British musician and actor, best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the Indie Rock band the Libertines. He was the frontman and guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and in 2010 debuted a solo album. In 2014 he announced the creation of his new band, The Jackals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew McConnell</span> Irish musician

Drew McConnell is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with Babyshambles, the band formed by frontman of the Libertines, Pete Doherty, and for former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher's band. He lived in Tenerife, Spain, for much of his childhood and he speaks Spanish fluently. Formerly in the band Elviss, McConnell participates in a number of side-projects, such as the Phoenix Drive and playing double bass and piano with Irish singer/songwriter Fionn Regan as well as writing and recording solo material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arctic Monkeys</span> English rock band

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. Former bassist Andy Nicholson left the band in 2006 shortly after their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, was released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fake Tales of San Francisco</span> 2005 promotional single by Arctic Monkeys

"Fake Tales of San Francisco" is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys originally released on the band's first EP, Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys, in May 2005. After being featured on the band's debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, the song was released as a radio-only single in the United States instead of "Leave Before the Lights Come On", which was released there at the end of October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Turner</span> British musician (born 1986)

Alexander David Turner is an English musician. He is the front man and lead singer-songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys. Turner is known for his lyricism ranging from kitchen sink realism to surrealist wordplay, which has been praised by music critics and the public. All but one of Turner's studio albums have topped the UK Albums Chart. He has won seven Brit Awards, an Ivor Novello Award, and a Mercury Prize among other accolades.

<i>Whatever People Say I Am, Thats What Im Not</i> 2006 studio album by Arctic Monkeys

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is the debut studio album by the English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 January 2006 in the United Kingdom and on 21 February 2006 in the United States by Domino Recording Company. Preceded by the chart-topping singles "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "When the Sun Goes Down", the album also contains re-recorded versions of both tracks from the band's debut extended play (EP), Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys (2005). It is the only Arctic Monkeys album to feature bassist Andy Nicholson, as he left the band shortly after the album's release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milburn (band)</span> English indie rock band

Milburn are an indie rock band from Sheffield, England, that consisted of Joe Carnall, Louis Carnall, Tom Rowley, and Joe Green. They announced their split on 28 March 2008, with the band playing one final gig at Sheffield's Carling Academy on 24 May 2008 before reuniting in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowkey</span> British rapper and activist

Kareem Dennis, better known by his stage name Lowkey, is a British rapper and activist from London. He first became known through a series of mixtapes he released before he was 18, before taking a hiatus from the music business. He would return in 2008, with appearances on BBC Radio and at various festivals and concerts including the BBC Electric Proms, Glastonbury, T In The Park and Oxegen in the buildup to his first solo album Dear Listener, as well as collaborating with other British musicians to form the supergroup Mongrel. He released his second solo album, Soundtrack to the Struggle, independently on in 2011.

Bromheads Jacket are a three-piece British post punk band originating from Sheffield, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Helders</span> English drummer, vocalist and songwriter

Matthew Helders is an English drummer, vocalist and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member and the drummer of indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums.

<i>Favourite Worst Nightmare</i> 2007 studio album by Arctic Monkeys

Favourite Worst Nightmare is the second studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, first released in Japan on 18 April 2007 and released in their home country of United Kingdom on 23 April 2007 by Domino Recording Company. Recorded in East London's Miloco Studios with producers James Ford and Mike Crossey, the album was preceded by the release of lead single "Brianstorm" on 2 April 2007. It was the band’s first album with new bassist Nick O'Malley, replacing their previous bassist Andy Nicholson, who left the band shortly before the North American tour of the band's debut studio album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon McClure</span> Musical artist

Jon McClure, known as The Reverend, is an English musician. He is the lead singer and frontman of Reverend and The Makers, and ex-vocalist of 1984 and Judan Suki. He says that the name "Reverend" became his moniker because "I'm a big mouth and always running on at people".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last Shadow Puppets</span> English band

The Last Shadow Puppets are an English supergroup consisting of Alex Turner, Miles Kane, James Ford, and Zach Dawes.

<i>Better Than Heavy</i> 2009 studio album by Mongrel

Better Than Heavy is the debut and only studio album from supergroup Mongrel. It was released on 7 March 2009.

Reverend Soundsystem or RSS are an English 'indiestep' band that formed in Sheffield in 2010. The band's vocalist Jon McClure had been playing under the Reverend Soundsystem pseudonym for some time in between Reverend and The Makers albums, and he recruited his Makers-bandmate and wife Laura McClure to join him, with Ocelot and Maticmouth Sheffield MC and former classmate of Jon.

The Violet May are an English 6-piece rock act from Sheffield, England. Formed in early 2009, The Violet May quickly earned a reputation for their wild live shows and were named by Alan McGee in The Guardian as one of his "Top 15 Tips for 2010".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reverend and the Makers</span> English rock band

Reverend and the Makers are an English rock band from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The band is fronted by Jon McClure, nicknamed "The Reverend". Their debut album, The State of Things (2007), helped them gain success in Britain and spawned the UK top 10 single "Heavyweight Champion of the World". The band released their second album, A French Kiss in the Chaos (2009), which led to them being invited to support Oasis on their final tour, playing venues such as Wembley Stadium. The band's third studio album, @Reverend_Makers, was released in 2012, their fourth studio album, ThirtyTwo, was released in 2014 which had more electronic and dance music influences. These were followed by Mirrors in 2015 and The Death of a King in 2017 which showcased a hard rock and folk influenced sound. Their seventh album, the soul and R&B inflected Heatwave in the Cold North was released in 2023 and became the band's first Top 10 album in the UK in 16 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Nicholson</span> English musician, DJ and producer (born 1986)

Andy James Nicholson is an English musician, DJ, record producer, and photographer, best known as the original bassist of rock band Arctic Monkeys, which he left in 2006. In 2008, he founded Mongrel with Jon McClure of Reverend and The Makers. In 2009, he became the bassist for ex-Milburn frontman Joe Carnall's band The Book Club, but left later that year to join Reverend and The Makers. He is currently producing and performing in hip hop group Clubs & Spades with Maticmouth from Reverend Soundsystem.

<i>Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino</i> 2018 studio album by Arctic Monkeys

Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is the sixth studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 11 May 2018 by Domino Recording Company. The album was written by frontman Alex Turner in 2016 on a Steinway Vertegrand piano in his Los Angeles home. It was produced in Los Angeles, Paris and London by frequent Arctic Monkeys collaborator James Ford and Turner, alongside a wide array of guest musicians including Tom Rowley, Loren Humphrey, James Righton, Zach Dawes, Tyler Parkford and Cam Avery. Turner designed the album artwork himself, which depicts the eponymous resort with cardboard cut-outs and a tape recorder. Its title refers to Tranquility Base, the site of the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing.

References

  1. Fletcher, Alex (19 May 2008). "Ex-Arctic reveals new group Mongrel". Digital Spy.
  2. "Monkeys 'supergroup' to perform". 31 October 2008 via news.bbc.co.uk.
  3. "Doherty, M.I.A. Eyed For Ex-Arctic Monkey Project". Billboard.
  4. Michaels, Sean (5 January 2009). "Indie supergroup to record with Venezuelan president". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  5. "Indie supergroup Mongrel to release debut album free with The Independent". The Independent. 27 February 2009.