Ash are a Northern Irish rock band formed in Downpatrick, County Down in 1992 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. As a three-piece, they released mini-album Trailer in 1994 and full-length album 1977 in 1996. This 1996 release was named by NME as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. After the success of their full debut the band recruited Charlotte Hatherley as a guitarist and vocalist, releasing their second record Nu-Clear Sounds in 1998. After narrowly avoiding bankruptcy, the band released Free All Angels in 2001 and a string of successful singles.
Mew is a Danish alternative rock band made up of Jonas Bjerre, Johan Wohlert (bass) and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen (drums). Wohlert left the band in 2006 before the birth of his first child, but made a return in 2013 while the band were in the studio, before making his first live appearances since his departure in 2014. Guitarist Bo Madsen left the band in June 2015. This was confirmed in a statement on the band's official website on 1 July of the same year.
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 touring bassist Harry Deacon. Former members Matt Tong, Gordon Moakes and Justin Harris left the band in 2013, 2015 and 2023 respectively. Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music.
Gordon Peter Moakes is an English musician, best known as the bassist of rock band Young Legionnaire and former member of indie rock band Bloc Party.
Silent Alarm is the debut studio album by English rock band Bloc Party. Recorded in Copenhagen and London in mid-2004 with Paul Epworth as producer, it was released on 2 February 2005, by Wichita Recordings. The album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. In the United States, it entered the Billboard 200 at number 114 and the Billboard Independent Albums at number seven. The double A-side "So Here We Are/Positive Tension", "Banquet" and "The Pioneers" were released as singles. Silent Alarm went on to achieve worldwide sales of over one million copies.
Silent Alarm Remixed is the remix album to Silent Alarm, the debut album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released on 29 August 2005 in the British Isles on Wichita Recordings, the band's primary label, and on 13 September 2005 in the United States through Vice Records to coincide with Bloc Party's worldwide touring schedule. The record peaked at number 54 on the UK Albums Chart. In the US, it achieved a peak of number four on the Billboard Top Electronic Albums.
Paul Richard Epworth is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of the Music Producers Guild and is the founder and owner of the independent record label Wolf Tone, which has released music from Glass Animals, Rosie Lowe, and The Horrors.
"Song to Say Goodbye" is a song by English alternative rock band Placebo from their fifth studio album, Meds (2006). It was released on 6 March 2006 as the lead single from Meds in all territories outside of the United Kingdom, where "Because I Want You" was released as the lead single instead. The song was written by Steve Hewitt, Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal, and produced by Dimitri Tikovoi. It develops around piano notes that repeat throughout it, and deals with heroin addiction and its influence on the relationships of the parties involved. The cover art features a blurred picture of vocalist Brian Molko.
"Banquet" is a song from British band Bloc Party's debut album Silent Alarm. Originally released on a double A-side single along with "Staying Fat" in May 2004 by Moshi Moshi Records, it was re-released as a regular single in the United Kingdom by Wichita Recordings on 25 April 2005. It was their first single to chart on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks where it came in at number 34, and is often credited as their breakthrough single in North America. It was also featured in the song "Bloc Party" on the Fort Minor Mixtape: We Major. It was ranked No. 31 in NME's top 100 tracks of the decade, and was number 54 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of all time. It peaked at No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2011, NME placed it at number 20 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". The song was featured in the 2018/19 video game Life Is Strange 2.
Size 14 was an American rock band in the late 1990s based out of Hollywood that gained some notoriety with the novelty song "Claire Danes Poster". This song appeared on the Dude, Where's My Car? soundtrack; other Size 14 songs appeared on movies such as Sugar & Spice, 100 Girls, and 100 Women. They released one self-titled album on Volcano Entertainment in 1997.
Paul Mullen is an English musician, multi-instrumentalist & singer songwriter who first gained recognition for being vocalist and guitarist of the band Yourcodenameis:milo, who went on hiatus in 2007. Since their hiatus, Mullen has gone on to both join and form a number of bands, which he currently splits his time between – including The Automatic, Young Legionnaire, Losers, HorseFight and Bleach Blood.
Intimacy is the third studio album by English indie rock band Bloc Party. It was recorded in two weeks at several locations in London and Kent during 2008 and was produced by Jacknife Lee and Paul Epworth. The band members made the album available for purchase on their website as a digital download on 21 August 2008. Minimal promotion was undertaken in the UK. The record was released in compact disc form on 24 October 2008, with Wichita Recordings as the primary label. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and entered the Billboard 200 in the United States at number 18.
Young Legionnaire are a British band formed in 2009. Since 2010, the band's lineup has consisted of founders Paul Mullen and Gordon Moakes alongside drummer Dean Pearson. Will Bowerman was the band's drummer from their formation until his departure in 2010, returning to touring duties with La Roux.
The Hunter is the first EP by Kele Okereke, lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Bloc Party. It was released on 7 November 2011 by Wichita Recordings in the UK, set back a week from the original release date, and 3 days earlier on 4 November 2011 by Wichita Recordings and Liberator Music in Australia. The first single released from the EP was "What Did I Do?", which features guest vocals from Lucy Taylor. The music video was released on 13 September 2011, with the song released as a digital single in Japan 10 days later.
Four is the fourth studio album by British rock band Bloc Party. It was recorded in late 2011 and early 2012 at Stratosphere Sound, New York City, with producer Alex Newport. Newport also produced Wreckonomics—the EP of bassist Gordon Moakes' side project, Young Legionnaire. It was released on 20 August 2012 on independent label Frenchkiss Records, and was made available to stream the week preceding its release. The album peaked at number 3 in the UK Albums Chart, and at number 36 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. It is the last album featuring the original line-up with Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong.
Robt Ptak is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, and record producer who is the co-founding member and bassist/backing vocalist for 1990s pop punk band Size 14.
The Bastard Kings Of Rock were a local New York rock band formed by American bassist Robt Ptak, of the band Size 14. The band was started after Ptak's formed band Artificial Joy disbanded in 2001. The Bastard Kings Of Rock were a three piece group with Aristotle Dreher on bass and Michael Hamilton on drums. Hamilton left the band in 2004 to join the band Vaeda and was replaced by Alex Elena. Elena's stay in the band was short-lived as the band split later the same year. At one time former Psychotica drummer Buz also played with the band.
+ − is the sixth studio album by Danish alternative rock band Mew. It was released on 24 April 2015. The album was produced by Michael Beinhorn and was promoted by the singles "Satellites" and "Water Slides". It was Mew's first studio album in five-and-a-half years, following their 2009 record No More Stories.... Bassist Johan Wohlert made his return on this album after being absent from the band's previous album following his departure in 2006. + - was also the final album to feature guitarist Bo Madsen, who left the band on 1 July 2015, as well as the final album to featured original formation.
Hymns is the fifth studio album by English indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released worldwide in January 2016 on BMG. The album was recorded between March and August 2015 at Lynchmob Studios in London, following a hiatus during which Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes departed the band. It is the first album to feature new band member Justin Harris on bass and keyboards. The songs "The Love Within", "The Good News", and "Virtue" were released as singles.
Alpha Games is the sixth studio album by English indie rock band Bloc Party, released on 29 April 2022. It is the first studio album by the band since 2016's Hymns. It is notably the first album with drummer Louise Bartle, who joined the band after drum sessions for Hymns had been completed, and the first to feature significant songwriting input from Bartle and bassist Justin Harris with Hymns having been mostly written by lead singer Kele Okereke and guitarist Russell Lissack.
