The Thrills

Last updated

The Thrills
The Thrills at Cardiff University.jpg
The Thrills in 2003
Background information
Origin Dublin, Ireland
Genres Indie pop, pop rock, indie rock
Years active2001–2008 (on hiatus)
Labels Virgin
MembersConor Deasy
Daniel Ryan
Padraic McMahon
Kevin Horan
Ben Carrigan
Website thethrills.com

The Thrills are an Irish pop band formed in Dublin in 2001. The band was founded by lead vocalist Conor Deasy and guitarist Daniel Ryan, guitarist and bass player Padraic McMahon, pianist Kevin Horan and drummer Ben Carrigan. Their break came with their debut album, So Much for the City , which became an Irish number one and charted at number 3 in the UK. The band's sound has been described as "inspired by classic American pop of the late '60s and early '70s" by Rovi [1] and "an ocean-soaked, harmony-heavy homage to California's dreamy dreams, shaking ground, and unrelenting sunshine" by Pitchfork Media . [2]

Contents

Early history and So Much for the City

The Thrills were formed in the Dublin suburb of Blackrock in the mid-1990s, when neighbours Conor Deasy and Daniel Ryan formed the Cheating Housewives with friends Kevin Horan, Padraic McMahon and Ben Carrigan. Several of the members attended primary school together at Hollypark Boys School in Foxrock. In 1999, the band spent four months living in San Diego, [3] during which time they wrote several of the tracks that would eventually appear on their debut album So Much for the City (such as "One Horse Town"). Upon returning to Dublin, they began writing and demoing more material, hoping to secure a record deal – which they soon did with local label Supremo Records, home of fellow Irish band Chicks. [4] [5] The relationship with Supremo produced no releases and was short-lived; when they were dropped by the label several months later, the band members pointedly chose not to inform their parents. [6] [7]

During a trip to San Francisco in 2001, the band decided to change their name to The Thrills. [1] Later that year they recorded six songs over the span of two demos. The second demo made a favourable impression on Johnny Davis of Bright Star Recordings and BMG Publishing. Through Davis, indie label Rough Trade Records became aware of the band and was impressed, offering the Thrills the money to record another demo. [7] The Rough Trade demo was recorded, but by then label interest in the band had grown rapidly, with up to thirty A&R men and record personnel attending the band's next musical showcase gig. [7] In September 2002, The Thrills signed with Virgin Records, attracted by the promise of artistic freedom and the label's decision to allow them to record their debut record in Hollywood with producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air). [1]

After releasing their debut EP in November 2002, the band flew to Los Angeles in December 2002 to record their debut album So Much for the City . [1] So Much for the City was released in 2003, debuting at No. 1 in Ireland, No. 3 in the UK and going platinum in both the UK and Irish Album Charts. [8] The album was nominated for the 2003 Mercury Prize but lost to Dizzee Rascal's 'Boy in da Corner'. [9] The album also won the 2003 Q Award for Best New Act, and Best New Act at the 2003 Irish Meteor Awards.

In 2004 The Thrills won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) [10] recognize the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year.

Let's Bottle Bohemia

The Thrills' second album Let's Bottle Bohemia was released in September 2004. It was recorded in L.A. (where their first album had also been recorded) [1] – this time with Dave Sardy as producer, featuring orchestration by Van Dyke Parks and a guest mandolin performance by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck. [1] The album enjoyed similar success to the band's debut, entering the charts at number one in Ireland and number nine in the U.K. – largely on the back of the single "Whatever Happened To Corey Haim?".

That same year, the band took part in the Band Aid 20 charity assemble, and performed the song "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" at the Live 8 Edinburgh 50,000 - The Final Push charity concert, which is also featured on the DVD release of the event. The band also performed a medley [11] with Ronnie Wood of their single "The Irish Keep Gatecrashing" and the Rod Stewart song "Maggie May" at the Irish Meteor Awards 2005.

The band performed a medley [12] of songs from the album on the U.S. television series The OC in the episode entitled "The Ex-Factor".

Extended break and Teenager

The band took an extended break after their second album, in an effort to evolve their sound. New material was written, and recording sessions took place in New York during 2006. [1] Failing to meet the band's standards, many of these new songs were ultimately discarded, and remain unreleased.

"We were definitely striving for a new standard," Deasy said in 2007. "We were willing to scrap months of work on songs, which is one of the reasons it took so long. We recorded maybe 30 songs." [13] During an interview with indie music magazine Under The Radar in October 2007, Deasy stated: "We wrote about 30 songs for this album, and a lot of the songs we discarded. They weren't poor songs. They were perfectly good songs, but they were songs that could have fit on the first or the second album a little too easily." [14]

More new material was written, including "Midnight Choir" which became the opening track for Teenager and was also released as a single. At the suggestion of R.E.M., the five relocated to a renovated morgue (owned by Canadian musician Bryan Adams) in inner-city Vancouver to record their third album with Tony Hoffer, who had previously produced their debut album. [1] [15] [16]

Teenager was released in Ireland on 22 July 2007 and Central Europe on 25 July 2007. It failed to light up the British and Irish charts and received generally positive reviews, getting a Metacritic score of 71%, [17] positive reviews from the BBC, [18] 7/10 from the NME, [19] a 6.9/10 from Pitchfork [2] and a 2/5 review from The Guardian. [20] A special CD/DVD edition of Teenager – which contained a film-length documentary about the band entitled The Thrills: The End of Innocence – was given limited release in the UK only. [15] [21]

Post-Teenager

The band was dropped by EMI in 2008 after the poor performance of their Teenager album, which only charted at No. 48 in the UK. [22] [23]

In an August 2010 interview with the Irish Times, Ben Carrigan confirmed that the Thrills remain on indefinite hiatus. [23] At the time, Carrigan was working on his debut solo record entitled The Greatest Narrators, which was released on 23 September 2011. [24] The first single from this album ("You Knew It All Along") was released on 19 August 2011.

While promoting his album in September 2011, Carrigan said of the Thrills: "We're just on a hiatus. We haven't done anything since 2008, when we toured Australia. We never split up, but we're all working on other projects. In time, I'm sure we'll get back together. It just got a bit crazy for a while because we were away from home, so we needed to take a break." [25] During an interview with Hot Press in late October 2011 Carrigan stated: "It's like a past life now, the whole Thrills thing, to be honest. Which is kind of nice because it's good to always feel like you're moving forward as opposed to looking back and wondering what might have been." [26]

On 22 August 2011, Virgin Records (the Thrills' former label) released a 'best of' compilation entitled 2002–2007. The compilation contained no previously unreleased or bonus material; all the tracks had been previously released in the Thrills' first three studio albums. To date, 2002–2007 has not been released in stores; the disc is only available through Amazon's UK site. [27] A digital-only edition is available on Amazon's US site. [28]

Kevin Horan would join Little Green Cars as a touring member [29] with Daniel Ryan as their manager. [30]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions Certifications
IRE
[32] [33]
BEL
[34]
FRA
[34]
ITA
[35]
NED
[34]
NOR
[34]
SWE
[34]
UK
[8]
US
[36]
US
Heat

[36]
So Much for the City
  • Released: 27 May 2003
  • Label: Virgin
110047752823314
Let's Bottle Bohemia
  • Released: 13 September 2004
  • Label: Virgin
1791838591526
Teenager
  • Released: 22 July 2007
  • Label: Virgin
2448
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

EPs

YearTitle
2007 The Thrills Bite Size

Singles

YearSingle IRE
[40]
ITA
[41]
NED
[42]
SCO
[43]
UK
[8]
US
AAA

[44]
Album
2002"Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)"107 So Much for the City
2003"One Horse Town"727184
"Big Sur"944551217
"Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" (reissue)173233
"Don't Steal Our Sun"384845
2004"Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?"172022 Let's Bottle Bohemia
"Not for All the Love in the World"38433915
2005"The Irish Keep Gate-crashing"445148
2007"Nothing Changes Around Here"1340 Teenager
"The Midnight Choir"

Other contributions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westlife</span> Irish boy band

Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 after 14 years and later reunited in 2018.

<i>So Much for the City</i> 2003 studio album by The Thrills

So Much for the City is the debut album of the Irish indie/pop band The Thrills. It was released on 27 May 2003 and quickly achieved success in Ireland, spending 61 weeks in the top 75 of the Irish Albums Chart. The album also won 'Album of the Year' at the national music awards. It gained significant popularity in the UK, debuting at #3 and remaining in the charts for 25 weeks. The single "Big Sur" reached #17 in the UK, which remains their highest charted position in the country to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Chemical Romance discography</span>

The official discography of My Chemical Romance, an American rock band, consists of four studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, six extended plays, 26 singles, four video albums, 18 music videos, and 13 original appearances on other albums. As of December 2021, the band has sold 8.7 million album-equivalent units in the United States, 5.6 million of which are from album sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feeder discography</span>

The discography of Feeder, a Welsh-Japanese rock band that formed in 1994, consists of twelve studio albums, twelve compilation albums, four extended plays (EP), and forty singles on The Echo Label, their own label Big Teeth Music, Cooking Vinyl and BMG as well as forty-nine music videos. Alongside charting fourteen Top 75 albums domestically, they also have 25 Top 75 singles. In 2022 Feeder became one of a few artists in UK Artist Album Chart history, to achieve top 10 albums in at least four different decades since its 1989 launch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foo Fighters discography</span>

The discography of Foo Fighters, an American rock band formed in 1995 by Dave Grohl, consists of eleven studio albums, ten extended plays (EPs), six video albums, 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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blood Red Shoes</span> English alternative rock band

Blood Red Shoes are an English alternative rock duo from Brighton consisting of Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell. They have released six full-length albums, Box of Secrets (2008), Fire Like This (2010), In Time to Voices (2012), Blood Red Shoes (2014), Get Tragic (2019) and Ghosts on Tape (2022) as well as several EPs and a number of singles. In 2014, they founded their own label, Jazz Life.

<i>Teenager</i> (The Thrills album) 2007 studio album by The Thrills

Teenager is the third album from Irish band The Thrills. It was released on 22 July 2007 in Ireland and three days later in Europe. The first single from the album was "Nothing Changes Around Here". The second release taken from the album was "The Midnight Choir" which was released as a download-only single. Teenager reached No. 48 on the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stereophonics discography</span>

Welsh rock band Stereophonics have released twelve studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, four extended plays (EP), two box sets, forty-seven singles and thirty-nine music videos. In the UK, Stereophonics have been awarded six multi-platinum album certifications, one platinum and six gold; one of their singles has been awarded a multi-platinum certification, three platinum, three gold and eight silver. They have sold over 15 million copies worldwide, which includes 9,000,000 albums, 6,400,000 singles and 100,000 video albums, making them one of the most successful Welsh rock acts. The band released their first studio album, Word Gets Around in 1997 which reached number six in the UK Albums Chart. With the release of "The Bartender and the Thief" and its album Performance and Cocktails (1999), the band achieved mainstream success within the UK. The album was certified 6× platinum and is one of the band's best-selling albums.

<i>Back Home</i> (Westlife album) 2007 studio album by Westlife

Back Home is the eighth studio album by Irish boy band Westlife, released on 5 November 2007 through Syco Music, Sony Music and RCA Records. The album was produced by Steve Mac, Quiz & Larossi, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger and Rami Yacoub, who also produced some of the group's previous material. Back Home was the group's final album before their temporary break from music in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Script</span> Irish rock band

The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin, Ireland. The band currently consists of Danny O'Donoghue, Glen Power, Benjamin Sargent and Ben Weaver (guitar). Mark Sheehan was a member of the band up until his death in 2023. The band moved to London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint Phonogenic and released their first album The Script in August 2008, preceded by the debut single "We Cry" as well as other singles such as "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", "Breakeven" and "Before the Worst". The album peaked at number one in both Ireland and the UK. Their next three albums, Science & Faith (2010), #3 (2012) and No Sound Without Silence (2014), all topped the album charts in Ireland and the UK, while Science & Faith reached number two in Australia and number three in the United States. Some of the hit singles from the albums include "For the First Time", "Nothing", "Hall of Fame" and "Superheroes". The band's fifth studio album, Freedom Child, was released on 1 September 2017, and features the UK Top 20 single "Rain". Their sixth studio album, Sunsets & Full Moons, was released on 8 November 2019, and features the single "The Last Time". A Greatest Hits album was released on 1 October 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloc Party discography</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What About Now (Daughtry song)</span> Song by Daughtry

"What About Now" is the seventh single from American rock band Daughtry's self-titled debut album. The song is a ballad, that was written by Ben Moody, David Hodges, and Josh Hartzler, who is married to Amy Lee. It is one of only two songs on the album not at least co-written by Chris Daughtry. The song was announced as the band's next single on their website. It was officially released in the U.S. on July 1, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Saturdays</span> British-Irish girl group

The Saturdays are an English-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and has been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa White. They were formed through Fascination Records, a sub-division of Polydor Records, which gave them an instant record deal with the label. As soon as the contract was finalized, the Saturdays went on tour with Girls Aloud during their Tangled Up Tour. The group's music style is pop, but throughout their career, their management has experimented with dance-pop and electropop. Songwriters and producers Ina Wroldsen, Steve Mac, Camille Purcell, and Quiz & Larossi have helped create their music. In July 2008, The Saturdays released their debut single and first Top Ten hit, "If This Is Love". Their debut album, Chasing Lights, released the same year, charted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart; it was certified platinum by the BPI and produced three more top ten singles: "Up", "Issues", and "Just Can't Get Enough". "Work" was also released from the album. The group's first concert tour, The Work Tour, took place in 2009. The group's second album, Wordshaker, produced the Top Ten hits "Forever Is Over" and "Ego". In 2010, the Saturdays released a mini album, Headlines!, which contained the top 10 hits "Missing You" and "Higher", the latter of which featured guest vocals from Flo Rida. The mini-album was supported by the group's second concert tour, The Headlines Tour. Their third album, On Your Radar, was released in 2011 and resulted in two top 10 singles: "Notorious" and "All Fired Up".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Us Against the World (Westlife song)</span> 2008 single by Westlife

"Us Against the World" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife from their eighth studio album Back Home (2007). The song was released as the album's second single on 3 March 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Sur (The Thrills song)</span> 2003 single by the Thrills

"Big Sur" is the third single released by Irish band the Thrills, taken from their debut album, So Much for the City (2003). The song contains elements from the 1966 song "(Theme from) The Monkees". "Big Sur" was released on 9 June 2003 and reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the most successful single release from the band. In their home country, the song reached number nine, giving them their second top-10 single, after "One Horse Town". Elsewhere, the song reached number 44 in Italy and number 55 in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Steal Our Sun</span> 2003 single by the Thrills

"Don't Steal Our Sun" is the fourth and final single released by Irish band the Thrills from their debut album, So Much for the City (2003). Released on 24 November 2003, the song reached number 45 on the UK Singles Chart and number 38 in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everybody in Love</span> 2009 single by JLS

"Everybody in Love" is a song by English boyband JLS from their self-titled debut album (2009). The song was released as a digital download on 1 November 2009, followed by a physical release the following day. The song became the band's second number one single in the UK on 8 November 2009, with a total of 600,000 copies being sold so far in the UK, earning the single a Platinum certification. The song was released to U.S. Mainstream Top 40 radio on 23 February 2010, but failed to chart on Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interpol discography</span>

The discography of American rock band Interpol consists of seven studio albums, seven 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klaxons discography</span> British music bands discography

The discography of British indie rock band Klaxons consists of three studio albums, one compilation album, one extended play (EP), and nine singles. Klaxons were formed in October 2005 in New Cross, London by Jamie Reynolds, James Righton and Simon Taylor-Davis. Steffan Halperin joined as an official member in February 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dead 60s</span> English ska punk band

The Dead 60s were an English ska punk band from Liverpool. The band's sound is a mixture of punk rock, ska, dub and reggae. They have taken influences from artists such as King Tubby, Jackie Mittoo, Gang of Four and A Certain Ratio.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Thrills | Music Videos, Songs, News, Photos, and Lyrics". MTV. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Album Reviews: The Thrills: Teenager". Pitchfork. 26 November 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  3. "The Thrills:: Music:: Features:: Paste". PasteMagazine.com. 1 December 2003. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  4. "The Thrills Biography – ARTISTdirect Music". ArtistDirect.com. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  5. "The Thrills tour dates, concert photos, music news, show cancellations and concert ticket info". Livedaily.com. 16 September 2004. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  6. "1 Thrill Communication". HotPress.com. 2003. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 "The Secret History of the Thrills". HotPress.com. 2003. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 "The Thrills". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  9. "Rocklist.net...Mercury/Nationwide Music Prize Nominations And Winners". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  10. "EBBA – EBBA, European Border Breakers Awards, the awards for best European new music". europeanborderbreakersawards.eu.
  11. "The Thrills and Ronnie Wood Live @ The Meteors". YouTube. Google. 15 June 2007. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  12. "The Thrills on the OC". YouTube. Google. 28 December 2009. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  13. "More info About THE THRILLS". Eventful.com. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  14. "The Thrills – Under The Radar". Undertheradar.com. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  15. 1 2 "Featured article – /The Thrills". Subba-cultcha.com. Retrieved 6 March 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  16. Balderston, Adele. "The Thrills Awaken Inner Adolescence with 'The Midnight Choir'". SPIN. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  17. "Teenager Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  18. "Music – Review of The Thrills – Teenager". BBC. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  19. "NME Album Reviews – The Thrills; Teenager". Nme. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  20. Maddy Costa (19 July 2007). "CD: The Thrills, Teenager | Music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  21. "Teenager [CD + DVD Special Edition]". Amazon UK. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  22. "The Thrills – Teenager". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  23. 1 2 "Mon, 9 August 2010 – The Thrills now pursuing 'other personal goals'". The Irish Times. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  24. "Welcome to Ben Carrigan.com". Bencarrigan.com. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  25. "Ben Carrigan, drummer of the Thrills, releases his first solo album - ClickOnline.com". Clickonline.com. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  26. "A Thriller in Our Midst". Hotpress.com. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  27. "2002–2007: The Thrills: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  28. "Amazon.com: 2002–2007: The Thrills: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  29. "Gig review: Little Green Cars". Independent.ie. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  30. "Little Green Cars: A year in the life and a trip to their dark side". The Irish Times .
  31. "Stillorgan 90210". genius.com . Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  32. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 558. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  33. "The Thrills – Teenager – Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 Steffen Hung (26 October 2010). "The Thrills – Let's Bottle Bohemia". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  35. "The Thrills – So Much for the City – Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  36. 1 2 "The Thrills Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard . Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  37. "The Thrills So Much For The City". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  38. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irish Recorded Music Association . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  39. "The Thrills Let's Bottle Bohemia". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  40. "The Thrills – Big Sur – Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  41. "The Thrills – Italian Music Charts". italiancharts.com. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  42. Steffen Hung. "Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  43. Peaks in Scotland:
  44. "The Thrills – Chart History: Triple A". Billboard. Retrieved 27 August 2019.