The Troubadours

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The Troubadours
Origin Liverpool/Runcorn/Wigan, England
Genres Rock, pop
Years active2005-2009, 2011-present
Labels Loog Records, BMG Japan
Associated acts The Stands
Website www.the-troubadours.co.uk
Members Mark Frith
Tony Anthony Ferguson
Nathan "Elmo" Watts
Johnny Molyneux

The Troubadours are an English rock band comprising members from Liverpool, Runcorn and Wigan. The band was originally formed by Mark Frith and Johnny Molyneux in 2005, and they split in late 2009 but reformed in late 2011. Their debut single, "Gimme Love" was released in 2007, and reached Number 20 on the Radio 1 Indie Chart in November. [1] Their second single, "(I'm Not) Superstitious" was released in June 2008 reaching Number 8 in the UK Indie Singles Chart. Their album The Troubadours was never released in the UK but was successful in Japan securing a top ten chart placing and single "Gimme Love" spent three months on top of the MTV Japan video chart.

England Country in north-west Europe, part of the United Kingdom

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the early 1950s, and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, a style which drew heavily from the genres of blues, rhythm and blues, and from country music. Rock music also drew strongly from a number of other genres such as electric blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical and other musical styles. Musically, rock has centered on the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass, drums, and one or more singers. Usually, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse–chorus form, but the genre has become extremely diverse. Like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political.

Liverpool City and metropolitan borough in England

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in North West England, with an estimated population of 491,500. Its metropolitan area is the fifth-largest in the UK, with a population of 2.24 million in 2011. The local authority is Liverpool City Council, the most populous local government district in the metropolitan county of Merseyside and the largest in the Liverpool City Region.

Contents

History

The Troubadours originally started in 2005, when Mark Frith (songwriter/lead vocalist/guitarist) decided to get a band together to play his growing number of self-penned songs. He began work with Johnny Molyneux (lead guitar) immediately. Without a bassist or a drummer, he put adverts in local newspapers in and around the Liverpool area. with the name The Troubadours already born, the band soon recruited Tony Ferguson to play bass, and Nathan Watts to be their drummer after both expressed a strong interest in joining the band.

Mark Frith is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, and currently the lead singer of the band The Troubadours.

After countless gigs, they built up a large fan base, amongst them was the record producer, John Leckie, known for his previous work with The Stone Roses, Pink Floyd and Radiohead. In 2007, Leckie offered to produce two of their songs, which the band accepted. They recorded "Gimme Love" and "Here Comes The Tide" under the production of John Leckie [1] in May 2007 at the Dog House Studios in Henley-on-Thames. Their debut single, "Gimme Love" was released soon after recordings were finished.

John Leckie English music producer, and recording engineer

John William Leckie is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's Real Life (1978), XTC's White Music (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's 25 O'Clock (1985), the Stone Roses' The Stone Roses (1989), Radiohead's The Bends (1995), Muse's Origin of Symmetry (2001) and the Levellers' We the Collective (2018).

The Stone Roses English rock band

The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic & most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire, bassist Mani and drummer Reni.

Pink Floyd English rock band

Pink Floyd were an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining a following as a psychedelic band, they were distinguished for their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics and elaborate live shows, and became a leading band of the progressive rock genre. They are one of the most commercially successful and influential groups in popular music history.

In the February 2008 edition of Q magazine, the Troubadours were included in the "10 Best New Acts of 2008". [2] 2008 also saw the band support Paul Weller during his UK tour. Their second single, "(I'm Not) Superstitious" was released in June 2008.

Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by the journalists and broadcasters Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series Whistle Test.

The summer of 2008 saw the band playing many festivals including V festival in Chelmsford/Stafford and Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo. Late 2008 saw the departure of original lead guitarist, Johnny Molyneux. The permanent replacement was announced to be Robbie Taylor in January 2009.

Summer Sonic Festival music festival

The Summer Sonic Festival is an annual two or three-day rock festival held at the same time in Osaka and Chiba. The majority of the bands playing in Osaka the first day go to Chiba the following day and vice versa. The line-up contains many Japanese rock musicians from both major and indie record companies, and also international acts. It also operates the festival Sonicmania, with an EDM focus, since 2011. Summer Sonic is an independent festival, owned by Creativeman Productions Ltd.

The recording and mixing of their debut album was completed in September 2008, and was released in Japan in the same month. The album was originally supposed to be released in early/mid-2009, but was pushed to an early 2010 release. [3]

In late 2009 the band went into a supposed hiatus after heavy touring schedules through 2008 and 2009. But it turned out that the band had actually split. Even though many sources close to the band already knew of the split, it was confirmed on 8 June by Frith, who posted a message to fans on the networking site, Facebook.

The Troubadours announced in October 2011 that they would be reforming and went on to perform a sell-out show at the Liverpool Lomax on Friday 23 December.

Sound and influences

The Troubadours' distinct style comes from a blend of genres such as 1950s rockabilly, 1960s garage and blues. Their unique tunes have been noted by both Paul Weller and John Leckie as 'classic British songwriting'. The artists that have influenced their sound include Beefheart, Love, The Rolling Stones and The Seeds. The band members also cite The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Stone Roses and The Who as other major influences.

Their distinctive sound has been compared to many other, more recent bands from the north-west of England, including The La's, The Coral, Cast and The Zutons. Friths strange yet captivating vocal style has been compared to that of the frontman of The La's, Lee Mavers.

Members

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References

  1. 1 2 "Altsounds.com News | The Troubadours release Surrender on June 1st". Hangout.altsounds.com. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  2. ↑ "10 Best New Acts Of 2008 - News - QTheMusic.com". News.q4music.com. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  3. ↑ "The Troubadours | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos". Blogs.myspace.com. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
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