Rhodri Marsden | |
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 Marsden in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1 October 1971 St Albans, Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | writer, musician |
| Instrument(s) | keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, bassoon, musical saw, vocals |
| Years active | 1990–present |
Rhodri Marsden (born 1 October 1971) [1] is a London-based writer and musician. [2]
Prior to the demise of the print edition of The Independent , Marsden wrote a technology column for nearly ten years, along with other columns on a range of subjects for the daily paper and the Saturday magazine. He previously wrote The Observer Music Monthly's "Guitarist Wanted" column, which required him to go undercover to audition for bands that he had no intention of joining. Apart from music and technology writing, Marsden is well known for his humorous, offbeat features written in an understated, self-deprecating style. Other publications he has written for include The Guardian , Time Out , New Statesman , Daily Telegraph , and Olive magazine. His first book, FWD This Link, was published by Rough Guides in 2008 [3] and his next, The Next Big Thing followed a year later. [4] A third, Crap Dates: Disastrous Encounters From Single Life, was published in February 2012 [5] and featured stories of people's terrible dates that were initially shared on Twitter and subsequently went viral. [6] In 2017 his book A Very British Christmas was published by Harper Collins. [7]
From 1990–95 Marsden played guitar in London art-punk collective The Keatons, who notably supported Blur on their first tour of the UK but were thrown off for unprofessional conduct – as documented in Blur's biography, 3862 Days. He also sang with Gag, who recorded a Peel Session in 1993. Marsden had an earlier run-in with John Peel at the age of 17 when his fanzine, Glottal Stop, was the subject of a piece on Peel's show on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
In 2007 he worked on a DIY music project called "The Schema" – an attempt to get a single written, recorded, released and promoted on the internet in the space of a month. The accompanying video, directed by Alex de Campi and featuring Marysia Kay, became a hit on YouTube, but the single sold poorly. [8]
He currently plays with Scritti Politti, Stars in Battledress offshoot Lost Crowns, Kenny Process Team and the TV theme tribute band Dream Themes. [9] He also played regularly in Frank Sidebottom's Oh Blimey Big Band before creator Chris Sievey's death in 2010. A multi-instrumentalist, he has produced many recordings for Lush's ECC record label, and artists including Spearmint. He has also released three albums of his own music under the name The Free French on Spearmint's record label, Hitback Records.
In October 2019, along with a group of musicians calling themselves Article 54, he released The Hustle, an eight track concept disco symphony album with tracks inspired by the UK's Brexit negotiations. [10] [11] Tracks from the album were debuted on the 10 October edition of the BBC One political programme Brexitcast . It then appeared on the iTunes UK Album Chart, where it quickly began to outsell ABBA Gold . [12] [13] The album appeared on the Official UK Charts on 18 October, debuting at number 56 on the download chart. [14]
Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Pulp are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. At their critical and commercial peak, the band consisted of Jarvis Cocker, Russell Senior, Candida Doyle (keyboards), Nick Banks, Steve Mackey (bass) and Mark Webber.
Damon Albarn is an English and Icelandic musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He is the frontman and main lyricist of the rock band Blur and the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz.
S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, are a British pop group formed in 1998. They originally comprised Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens.
Gerry's Pacemakers, known until 2018 as Gerry and the Pacemakers, are a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongside the Beatles were instrumental in popularizing the Merseybeat sound and launching the wider British beat boom of the mid-1960s.
Bis are a Scottish indie pop band composed of Steven Clark, John Clark, and Amanda MacKinnon, formed in 1994. The band's name, rhyming with 'this', derives from "black iron skyline", a lyric from the song "Twilight of a Champion" by The The. After releasing numerous cult EPs and three studio albums the band broke up in 2003, but re-formed briefly in 2007 for a series of concerts. In 2009 they once again re-formed and released the album data Panik etcetera in 2014. The album Slight Disconnects was released in February 2019 with the band lineup returning to the original core three-piece. An archival album, Music For Animations, consisting of music recorded in 2004 for CBBC kids TV show BB3B, was released in 2020. In 2021 the band self-released a cassette-only live album entitled The Fan Club Tapes Vol. 1 - Live In Toulouse 1997. Low Level - a CD consisting of previously unreleased material recorded during the Return To Central sessions - was also released in 2021. In October 2022 Systems Music For Home Defence was released, which Sci-Fi Steven has described as the band's "rave" album.
Read My Lips is the debut studio album by English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. It was released on 27 August 2001 by Polydor Records. After the disbandment of the Britpop group Theaudience, in which Ellis-Bextor served as vocalist, she was signed to Polydor. Prior to the LP's completion, the singer collaborated with several musicians, including band Blur's bassist Alex James, Moby and New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander. The record was described as a collection of 1980s electronica and 1970s disco music.
Blur is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 10 February 1997 by Food Records. Blur had previously been broadly critical of American popular culture and their previous albums had become associated with the Britpop movement, particularly Parklife, which had helped them become one of Britain's leading pop acts. After their previous album, The Great Escape, the band faced media backlash and relationships between the members became strained.
Doves were an English indie rock band, formed in Manchester in 1998. The band was composed of twin brothers Jez and Andy Williams, and Jimi Goodwin. Additionally, the band employed Martin Rebelski, as a touring and session musician on keyboards. The band released five studio albums between 2000 and 2020, three of which reached #1 on the UK album charts. A compilation album, The Places Between: The Best of Doves, was released in April 2010.
Sheik Yerbouti is a double album by Frank Zappa, released in March 1979 as the first release on Zappa Records It is mostly made up of live material recorded in 1977 and 1978, with extensive overdubs added in the studio. In an October 1978 interview, Zappa gave the working album title as Martian Love Secrets. It was later released on a single CD.
Cornershop are an English indie rock band best known for their single "Brimful of Asha", originally released in 1997 and, in a remixed version, topping the UK chart in 1998. The band was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh, his brother Avtar Singh, David Chambers (drums) and Ben Ayres, the first three having previously been members of Preston-based band General Havoc, who released one single in 1991. The band name originated from a stereotype referring to British Asians often owning corner shops. Their music is a fusion of Indian music, indie rock, alternative and electronic dance music.
Spearmint are a London-based independent band founded in 1995, comprising Shirley Lee, Simon Calnan, James Parsons and Ronan Larvor (drums).
"Girls & Boys" is a song by the English rock band Blur, released in March 1994 by Food Records as the lead single from the group's third studio album, Parklife (1994). Charting at number five on the UK Singles Chart, "Girls & Boys" was Blur's first top-five hit and their most successful single until "Country House" reached number one the following year. The single surpassed their previous commercial peak "There's No Other Way" by three spots on the UK Singles Chart and saw the group achieve greater worldwide success. In the US, the track reached number 59 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the band's second single to enter the chart after "There's No Other Way". It also reached number four on the Billboard Modern Rock songs chart. Frontman of Blur, Damon Albarn wrote the song's lyrics with bandmembers Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, while Stephen Street produced it.
The discography of English rock band Blur consists of nine studio albums, five live albums, five compilation albums, one remix album, two video albums, four extended plays, 35 singles, 10 promotional singles and 37 music videos. Formed in London in 1988, the group consists of singer/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/singer Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Three years later, their debut release, the Madchester and shoegazing-tinged Leisure (1991), peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart. Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993) inaugurated the Britpop phase of their career. Its multi-Platinum follow-ups Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995) helped the band achieve mainstream popularity in Britain; every Blur studio album from Parklife onwards has topped the British charts.
"On Your Own" is a song by English rock band Blur. It was released as a single on 16 June 1997 from the band's fifth studio album, Blur (1997). It charted at number five on the UK Singles Chart. Although it was not released under the Gorillaz name, Damon Albarn, frontman of both musical projects, has since referred the song as 'one of the first ever Gorillaz tunes'.
Bogshed were an Indie band formed in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England, in 1985 by Phil Hartley (vocals), Mark McQuaid (guitar), Mike Bryson (bass) and Tristan King (drums). They released two albums, two EPs and two singles before splitting up in 1987.
Blurred Lines is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Robin Thicke. It was first released in Germany on July 12, 2013, and released in the United States on July 30, 2013, by Star Trak Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from T.I., Pharrell, Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz. will.i.am also features as a guest writer on the track "Give It 2 U" and also serves as a producer on the tracks "Feel Good" and "Go Stupid 4 U".
Brexit is the commonly used term for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020, which resulted from a referendum on 23 June 2016. This article details the mostly critical response to this decision in the visual art, novels, theatre, and film.
Brexitcast is a British political talkshow and television programme produced by BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC News. It was launched on 5 June 2017 following the success of Electioncast, a podcast that had covered that year's general election. Originally aired on radio, it was announced on 3 June 2019 that Brexitcast had been commissioned as a television programme for BBC One. It was the first BBC podcast to be commissioned for television.
The Good, the Bad & the Queen were an English art rock supergroup composed of singer Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, bassist Paul Simonon of the Clash, guitarist Simon Tong of the Verve, and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen. They released their self-titled debut album in 2007. Their second album, Merrie Land, coproduced with Tony Visconti, was released in 2018. They disbanded in 2019, and Allen died in 2020.
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