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Feeder (band)
Encyclopedia
Feeder are an alternative rock
band, formed in Newport
, Wales
in 1991. Feeder's original line-up consisted of vocalist and guitarist
Grant Nicholas
, drummer
Jon Lee and bass player
Taka Hirose
. By 1995 they released their debut EP Two Colours
and a second EP titled Swim
, which was followed by their 1997 debut album Polythene
, after being met with critical acclaim and made the UK Top 75
. Their second album, Yesterday Went Too Soon
(1999), again found favour with critics and reached number eight in the UK. The band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in 2001, as they scored a UK Top 5
and South Africa airplay number one hit with the single "Buck Rogers
", and the attendant album Echo Park
(2001), which reached number five in the UK. Their next release, Comfort in Sound
(2002) was released nine months after Jon Lee committed suicide in his Miami home in January 2002, it spawned the hit singles "Come Back Around
", their second top 10 single "Just the Way I'm Feeling
", "Forget About Tomorrow
" and "Find the Colour
". The album was recorded with then former Skunk Anansie
drummer Mark Richardson
, before charting at number six. Two more studio albums were released being Pushing the Senses
(2005), which reached number two and spawned four hit singles including their third UK top 10 "Tumble and Fall
", before Silent Cry
(2008) charted at number eight, later becoming their last album recorded with Mark Richardson as he would return to a reformed Skunk Anansie in 2009. After the release of Pushing the Senses, The Singles reached number two in 2006, which was also their first album that gained major mainstream chart success outside of the United Kingdom and Ireland, when it charted at #37 in the Japanese album chart
.
After The Echo Label ceased trading, Feeder later started up Big Teeth Music. Karl Brazil formed part of their side-project Renegades
after joining Feeder as a session musician in 2009. Feeder are officially now a duo using session drummers live and in the studio, with former Mexicolas
drummer Tim Trotter and Australian Damon Wilson also lending their duties to the band. Their seventh studio album Renegades
(2010), peaked at number 16 on the albums chart. Feeder are also one of the most charted singles chart acts in the United Kingdom, appearing in the top 40 with twenty different singles. In terms of public response, the band have also been praised for their live performances, which landed them a headlining slot at the first day of the Download Festival
in 2005, one of the United Kingdom's most high-profile music festivals.
joined a band called 'Sweet Leaf', named after a Black Sabbath
song, who were the first band he had seen play live. At this time Japanese bassist Taka Hirose
and drummer Jon Lee were playing in different covers bands, but did not know each other at the time. While playing in different bands on the Newport
gig circuit, Grant and Jon became friends. They formed an electronic
duo called 'Temper Temper' after Jon left Newport band The Darling Buds
. Shortly thereafter, they formed a band called 'Rain Dancer'. Both of these bands failed to win a recording contract, with the sound of the latter once being compared by Grant with that of The Waterboys
.
Going back to the drawing board, they formed a three-piece band called 'Reel'. They fired their bass player and then changed their name to 'Real'. During this time they recruited Taka Hirose via an advert in Loot
, which Taka placed himself. The band then changed their name to Feeder, named after Grant's pet goldfish. They won their recording contract
with Echo after sending a demo tape, and then completed the deal after an employee from the label witnessed one of the band's gigs. A track called "Don't Bring Me Down", which featured on the demo appeared as a b-side on the "Day in Day Out
" single, albeit a different version to the demo recording. After signing with The Echo Label in 1994, the group toured with Scarborough band B.l.o.w.
who at the time, recently formed from the ashes of Little Angels
. It was this tour where Feeder met Mark Richardson for the first time.
, released in 1995 which was only available at the band's early gigs. It was limited to 1,500 CDs and 1,000 7" vinyls. In 1996, the band released their first commercially available release, being the EP Swim
and received a 4/5 review in Kerrang!
magazine (KKKK). Swim was later re-released in July 2001 with extra tracks, being a selection of b-sides from their earlier singles, alongside the videos for the Polythene
singles "Crash
" and "Cement". Overall unit sales for Swim stand at 40,000 as of February 2005.
Shortly before the release of Swim, a cassette tape titled Two Tracker was given away free with the magazines Kerrang! and Edge and contained the tracks "Sweet 16" and "Waterfall". The latter was described on the inlay card, as one of the tracks that would be on their forthcoming debut album proper, with the working title Here in the Bubble (whose name was soon changed to Polythene). The photography for the inlay of Swim was produced by Grant himself, while Chris Sheldon
produced the recordings. The band released "Stereo World
" as a single after appearing at the Reading festival
.
After building a strong fanbase with the release of Swim, the band released their first full-length album in 1997. The result Polythene, was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 1997 with Metal Hammer
and Kerrang!, placing the album at first and sixth in their respective end of year lists. Kerrang! later included the album in their 200 Albums For the Year 2000 list in the "Essential Britrock" category. Two tracks from Swim were used for the album, being "Descend" and "Stereoworld".
After the recording sessions were completed, the album's first single "Tangerine" was released and charted at #60 in the UK singles chart
. This was followed by "Cement", charting at #53 and then the release of the album which charted at #65. Two more singles were released before and after their main stage debut at the Reading festival, with "Crash" making number #48, while "High" charted at number #24.
The album as of February 2005, has sold 89,000 copies. They also re-issued the album in October 1997, with "High" included and the "Stereo World" b-side "Change" replacing "Waterfall" from the original tracklist. Also included as an enhanced element was the video for "High". The album caused many critics to label the band "The UK's answer to the Smashing Pumpkins", and also draw comparisons to The Pixies and Talk Talk
.
In early 1998, following the band's final 1997 tour in support of Polythene, the band travelled to the United States as a support act for Everclear
. During their U.S. tour, the band released a re-worked version of "Suffocate" for UK release, which charted at #37. After their return to the UK, they played their own headline tour with Everclear this time in the supporting position. Later that year, Feeder started to play various music festival
s in the United States, alongside a headline tour with "High" being released to radio stations and charting at #24 on the Billboard
Modern Rock Tracks
chart; it was the follow-up to "Cement" which had charted at #31, also on the same listing. During the bands first U.S. tour, Grant broke his ankle and picked up other injuries, while finding it hard to sleep at nights. This inspired him to write "Insomnia", which later appeared on their second album. They stayed in the U.S. for the majority of the year, with a trip back to the UK for their V98
appearance. Feeder later included live-only guitarist Dean Tidey; Grant once said in an interview with Kerrang!, that he was considering bringing in another guitarist for their live gigs.
, the band decided to self-produce the album, brought in Matt Sime for engineering duties and had the album mixed in New York by Andy Wallace
. "Dry" was re-recorded as a full band version after the original acoustic version appeared on "Suffocate" as a b-side. That single's b-sides featured tracks from the sessions for that album, therefore revealing what sort of direction it would take on. The working title for the album was originally A Life Through Headphones, and was originally set to be a double album
. The name change was due to former Take That
singer Robbie Williams
releasing his solo debut album Life Thru a Lens
, with the band not wanting to be compared to him.
When the album was released, the band's reputation was on the rise and it entered the UK albums chart
at number eight, which was at the time an unexpected chart position for the band. Before that, the band had released the album's first single, "Day in Day Out
", in March 1999 which charted at #31 followed by "Insomnia" at #22, resulting in their first appearance on Top of the Pops
. A week before the album's release, the band played the main stage of the Reading and Leeds festivals, while the title track from the album was at #20 in the singles chart. The album was then released on 30 August 1999. Only one single was lifted from the album after its release, in which a re-recorded version of "Paperfaces
" charted at #41.
Some of the album's lyrical themes were derived from Grant's personal perspective of working in a menial supermarket job on a daily basis ("Day In Day Out"), his experiences after gigs on their US tour ("Insomnia" and "You're My Evergreen"), past relationships (the title track and "Dry"), the music industry ("Hole in My Head") and "fear of commitment in relationships" ("Anaesthetic") amongst others. Musically, the album employed an indie rock feel to it, which also featured extended appearances of an acoustic guitar
on some of its tracks.
The album was due for release in June, but this was delayed until August to include material written after its completion which the band felt was too good to leave off. Upon its release, the UK music press immediately warmed to the album, with Rob Fitzpatrick, then of Melody Maker
, writing "an absolute stormer it is. Unmissable. Absolutely." The album also received the magazine's Album of the Week accolade. This enthusiasm was shared by Metal Hammer, who awarded the album a 10/10 mark. The year ended with the band providing support for the Red Hot Chili Peppers
at Wembley Arena
and Manic Street Preachers
at the Millennium Stadium
. As of March 2003, the album has been certified
gold shipping 100,000 units in the UK, with total counter sales standing at 110,000 as of February 2005. The album was Melody Makers #24 album of 1999, while Metal Hammer placed the album in at #6 and Kerrang! ranked it at #16.
Feeder spent most of 2000 at Great Linford Manor studios
, writing and recording for their next album. The band also continued playing festivals around the country previewing the new material they were working on, such as V2000 and Glastonbury
, but would end the year promoting "Buck Rogers
", their first single since November 1999 and then playing a mini-tour at the end of the year to mainly showcase the new material. The release of the single on 8 January 2001 was coupled with a signing session at London's now defunct Tower Records
store and then a TV appearance on Top of The Pops before the single charted. The single charted at number five, becoming the band's first top 10 entry in the singles chart before appearing on Top of the Pops again. "Buck Rogers" then spent a second week in the top 10. Later on that year, "Buck Rogers" would reach the top spot of the 5FM
airplay chart in South Africa, before being invited by the station as a headline act for their 26th birthday celebrations concert. However, this would be the last time Feeder would come to the country until 2011, a wait of almost 10 years since reaching 5FM's top spot.
Grant wrote "Buck Rogers
" with The Pixies as an influence, but "on a comic book level". He had originally written the track for another band Echo Park producer Gil Norton
was working with, but decided not to give it away, as he felt Feeder could have a hit with it themselves. "Buck Rogers
" still receives regular airplay on alternative radio stations in the United Kingdom.
After a sell-out tour of two legs ending at the London Astoria
, the album Echo Park entered at number five in the UK album charts, shortly after "Seven Days in the Sun
", the album's second single charted at #14. A third single, "Turn
" reached #27 in July before festival season. "Just a Day
", a b-side from "Seven Days in the Sun", later reached #12 in December. The response the album received on a critical level was mixed, with Dan Genroe of Q magazine claiming that the listener will still be "feeling hungry half an hour later", alongside suggesting that the album is "hard to love". Ben Myers of Kerrang! gave the album 4/5 (KKKK) which indicates "blinding", while citing that the band "hit their stride" on the album, alongside suggesting that the album is "fat free and stripped to the bone".
The album saw the band take on much more of a commercially influenced sound, and also the appearance of Moog synthesizers, while being lyrically focused on a comedic approach, like with "Seven Days in the Sun", but also dark emotions, such as those shown on "Turn", "Oxygen", and "Satellite News". It was during the campaign for Echo Park that the band played another slot on the main stage at the Reading and Leeds festival, including T in the Park
. As of August 2003, the album has shipped 300,000 units in the UK going platinum, with counter sales standing at 293,000 as of February 2005. Grant said in a Melody Maker interview that if the album did not sell well enough the band would probably split up; he said at the time that "Its the same with any band. That's just the way the music business is. There is only a certain amount of money a label will put into a band. I'm just being realistic. We've been around for seven or eight years and I am not planning on giving up, but we're putting everything into this record and I'm just hoping that people like it". The album campaign helped the band in August 2001 win the "Best British Live Act" accolade at the Kerrang! awards, before ending the year supporting the Stereophonics
, and then releasing the "Just a Day
" single in December. As of June 2008, both "Just a Day" and "Buck Rogers" individually sold over 100,000 physical copies and digital downloads combined. In 2007 "Just a Day
" became the first-ever song to be played on Afan FM
.
In January 2002, Jon Lee committed suicide in his Miami
home, resulting in the band keeping out of the public eye for most of the year. It was during this time that lead-singer Grant Nicholas wrote a series of songs relating to their emotions and reactions to Jon's death, which formed their fourth album Comfort in Sound. The band brought in former Skunk Anansie and Little Angels
member Mark Richardson
for drumming duties. The album focused mainly on themes such as loss, depression, grievance and positivity, while dedicating "Quickfade" to Jon. The album was released in October of the same year to widespread critical acclaim in the British music press, with Kerrang! stating that "Comfort in Sound harnesses the anthemic appeal of a latter day U2
... and a quality that propels Feeder from the confines of the everyday into the neighbourhood of everyman..." and giving the album their Album of the Week award, alongside the heavy rock magazine Metal Hammer giving the album the similar accolade of Album of the Month while stating that it was "an album they should rightfully be proud of...". The band were invited to the Reading and Leeds festivals that year, headlining the second stage at Reading on the first day which took place on 23 August, before heading off to Leeds the next. Grant Nicholas told Steve Lamacq
during a broadcast of The Evening Session, that there were originally no plans to play any shows for the duration of the year, but thought "why not?" when the invite to that year's festival came about. The band also thought it was the best way to get themselves "back on the road playing gigs again", as they felt their main stage debut at the 1997 festival was where their career took off and had "happy memories of that day". Grant also mentioned that at the time their fourth album already had a series of backing tracks recorded, with a total of 15 when recording is completed with then 10 chosen for the final album, when the final tracklisting was revealed, this was increased to 12. The album is currently Feeder's best-seller, with an estimated 436,000 units sold as of February 2005. The album charted at #98 in Japan and #28 in Ireland
, beating the peak position of #57 that Echo Park managed during the previous year. In Japan, it would be the first time Feeder ever charted there. The album charted at number six in the UK.
Musically, the album was much more mellow, with the use of a string orchestra
on "Forget About Tomorrow
", while other tracks on the album also used an accordion
, trumpet
, and a piano
played by their manager Matt Page, with "Godzilla" being one of two tracks on the album to use loud guitars. The album was their first release to be certified platinum, (with Echo Park going platinum later on). It also spawned their second top 10 single, with "Just the Way I'm Feeling
" in January 2003. In December of the same year they took on their only arena
tour, after the album's first nationwide tour was a sell out with 50,000 tickets sold, and visited 21 different towns and cities in the United Kingdom over 23 different dates. In reaction to this, the band were invited to the Glastonbury Festival
being placed third on the last day, playing the "Pyramid Stage". Shortly after the release of the single, the band were invited to support Coldplay
on their UK and European tour
, due to their frontman Chris Martin
often saying how much he liked the Comfort in Sound album and their live shows. Their show at the Birmingham National Indoor Arena
was reviewed by Kerrang!, which seen Steve Beebee give the band 4/5 (KKKK) for their performance, while claiming "Feeder may be a long way short of being the perfect arena band, but to see them here marks a satisfying conclusion to one of British rock's more involving stories. Unlike the industry-groomed startlets thrown at us every week, Feeder have actually done it the hard way, working their way up from pubs and clubs, each album bettering the last, and acceptance not coming through PR
campaigns but through the quality of Feeder's songwriting and performance. This is Feeder's season in the sun, and they richly deserve it".
The album's final single, being the title track, was only available to buy as a limited edition of 3,000 CDs on their 2003 arena tour. Four singles were released commercially, with those being "Come Back Around
" (#14), "Just the Way I'm Feeling
" (#10), "Forget About Tomorrow
" (#12), and "Find the Colour
" (#24), which was released following their V2003 appearance and Kerrang! award win for "Best British Band", beating competition from Muse
and the Stereophonics
, which Grant dedicated to Jon saying it was the award he had always wanted the band to win. The band later went on to win an Internet Music Award for their "Just The Way I'm Feeling" video, while the album became their first to appear on the end of year top 75 album charts, appearing at #66. The albums commercial reception, helped Echo experience their most successful financial year. Feeder then received their only nomination to date at The BRIT Awards, in which they appeared in the "Best British Rock" category at the 2004
event, before making their only appearance in the charts that year as part of Bob Geldof
's Band Aid 20
charity ensemble. The single was the Christmas number one, and became the year's biggest-selling UK single. Alongside only making one chart appearance in 2004, Feeder also only made one live appearance during the year as part of the Carling Live 24 event, playing their show at the Hammersmith Apollo
on 1 May.
Feeder returned to the studio to record their fifth album Pushing the Senses
. The album was seen by Grant as more of an extension to Comfort in Sound, as it focused on the same lyrical themes and musical styles, and also said that it had more of an organic sound, with more upbeat tracks added into the mix. It also seen a number of piano
driven tracks, with "Frequency" being an example. "Frequency" was produced by Coldplay producer Ken Nelson, while for the rest of the album, Gil Norton was on production duties. Grant told Kerrang! in May 2004, "I've done some recording on my own in a little studio up by where I live in North London. I demo the album in its full form before the rest of the band play on it. Its difficult to know at this stage what it will turn out like, but so far its slightly more mature sounding". Grant later added "Each album is a journey and a reflection of the past, there is some stuff that touches on what has happened, but there are songs about love, songs of loss and songs about the future. I don't want to give too much away but there's one track called "Bitter Glass". Its quite dark but uplifting too. Its about pulling yourself out of a big hole".
The album was Feeder's highest charting release, at number two on the UK album chart selling 42,951 units in its first week, while receiving a gold certification, and becoming a top 100 album in six other countries. Press response to the album was mixed, with Paul Brannigan of Q describing it as "An album that could finally establish Feeder as major league players", while Chris Heath of Dotmusic
dismissed the album, saying "Pushing the Senses is by no means soppy, but Feeder's young fanbase might need some convincing". Kerrang! were brutal towards the band for all of their review, with Ben Meyers referring to them as a "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
", including comparisons to a "Pastel box". A year later the album was marked as "Avoid" in a round-up of the bands material, which included the usual Coldplay and Keane comparisons the album suffered on release. Grant later said in a documentary with Kerrang! Radio that he was "Pissed off
" with the review their magazine counterpart gave them, while citing "It was a very unfair review and reviewed by the wrong person", alongside stating that if another journalist
did it they would have had a much better result. It was the only review Grant was annoyed with, due to the magazine previously supporting the band since their early days. In a 2008 interview with Kerrang! on a selection of the bands singles, Grant expressed his annoyance with the Coldplay comparisons, in which he said they were only made because he played a piano on many of the tracks that were on the album. In a 2011 interview with Cambridge
based webzine The Tab, Grant elaborated on these criticisms by saying "Feeder have a much broader music dynamic musically, and we are a much heavier band, both live and on record. I have a lot of respect for Coldplay and we have toured with them, but we are two totally different bands, both dynamically and musically. I just think its lazy journalism".
The album helped them win a headline slot at the Download Festival, shortly before supporting U2 for a brief period on their Vertigo Tour
, which was followed by an appearance at the Live 8
concert in Edinburgh
(the second charity event the band played that year after Tsunami Relief Cardiff
). The campaign in total spawned four UK top 40 singles, which included "Shatter", a reworked version of the "Tumble and Fall" b-side that became a double A-side with "Tender" (#11). Other singles included "Tumble and Fall
" (top five), "Feeling A Moment" (#13), and "Pushing The Senses" (#30). A fan-petition had been launched to see "Shatter" released as a single in its own right. The album was after ten weeks on sales of 111,214 units, 22 percent ahead of Comfort in Sound at that stage. However, the album did not keep up this momentum while also not going platinum. The last reported sales were that of 160,183 in October of the same year, which fell below Echo's expectations. It is however the bands most successful record based on peak chart positions in each country of release, while also being their only album so far to spawn a charting single outside of the UK and Ireland when "Feeling a Moment" peaked at #32 in Australia. Feeder already at the time charted four top 50 singles in Ireland
, with "Tumble and Fall" being their first and only top 40 to date reaching a peak position of #26. The album itself made the Irish top 20 artist album chart at #16, one week before its UK release.
In September 2005, Grant Nicholas was misquoted in an interview saying that the band were set to split, which caused the rumour to be reported on music television
and radio. The band's website soon made an official statement that read "Contrary to inaccurate reports in the press and on the radio, Feeder are not recording their last album, nor set to split. An over-enthusiastic reporter seems to have put 2 and 2 together and come up with 43. Indeed the group are looking forward to the release of new single "Shatter"/"Tender" in October and a Far East
and UK tour in November. They have already started writing new material for a Singles Album to be released in the New Year and a further studio album to follow the current album Pushing the Senses". Soon afterwards in a Kerrang! interview, Grant said that the interviewer misquoted him. He said the next album would be Feeder's last album on their current deal with Echo, before deciding to either re-sign or look for a new label.
Feeder would end the year seeing their then latest album appear at #39 on Qs end of year list, with "Feeling a Moment" voted the 98th best song of the year by its readers. However, on 3 December 2005, they were forced to postpone a winter tour, after Grant picked up bleeds on his vocal cords the night before during a gig in Brighton
, causing the show to be abandoned and later rescheduled along with the rest of the outstanding dates. During the year, Feeder's domestic studio album sales passed the one million units mark.
In late 2005, Feeder already returned to the studio, with Stephen Street
working as the band's producer to record three new tracks to appear on their then forthcoming singles collection. "Lost and Found" (which Grant described as "an urban love song") became the first single to promote the collection, and would reach #12 in the UK singles chart in May 2006
, after completing their delayed winter tour, which ended at the LG Arena in Birmingham
in front of 8,000 fans. The Singles, released in the same month as "Lost and Found", was the first Feeder album to have involvement from a major label, with EMI
taking part in a one-off collaboration with Echo as the album's distributor. The album reached number two on the UK albums chart with first week sales of 50,003 entering at number three, and was certified platinum in under three months, with a total of 500,000 units sold overall, including a gold certification in Ireland after charting at #13. The album also made the top ten in Europe with a debut top 40 peak in Japan at #37, while "Save Us
" was its second and final single in the UK, charting at #34 in late July. A version of the album included a DVD
of all their videos filmed up to that point, along with extensive sleevenotes by Ben Johncock. The album became only their second to appear on the end of year top 75 this time at #48, while becoming their first album to spend more than one week on the top 10. Sales of The Singles, alongside a series of changes at Echo making them into an "Incubator label", enabled the company to report a "modest profit" for 2006.
Feeder returned to the Reading and Leeds festivals after a four year break, having a late slot on the main stage, before ending the year with a small tour of London, playing The Roundhouse
, and The Coronet
. These were in aid of War Child
who the band are patrons of, having earlier in the year visited The Congo as part of their work for the charity.
In 2007 Feeder returned to the studio to record their sixth album. Most of the year was spent on the recording, and in 2006 the band announced in an interview with XFM that the album would be reminiscent of their earlier material. The resulting album Silent Cry
was released on 16 June 2008.
The album overall received moderate reviews, with Dom Gourlay of Drowned in Sound
being very positive about the album, commenting "A remarkable turnaround then, and although not quite a 360 degree shift, this is a damn fine record that Feeder should be proud of", while The Guardian
s Caroline Sullivan was very negative towards the album, claiming that the record and the band have always been missing "a distinctiveness from other purveyors of guitar-and-two-veg rock". Phillip May of Rocklouder however, gave the album four stars claiming that "If ever there was an album to win back those that grew tired of Feeder, its Silent Cry". Q Magazine's Nick Duerden was negative towards the album with the suggestion that "Silent Cry replaces genuine poise with serviceable pose" and gave the album a 2/5. Meanwhile, Ben Hogwood of MusicOMH
noted "The confidence of a band that took over a year to record the album is notable, and theirs is an assured voice". Rob Beatley of Kerrang! suggested "Silent Cry is an infuriating listen" and gave the album 3/5 (KKK) indicating "average".
On its release week the album charted at number eight with sales of 16,029. In its second week the album then fell to number 30, with a third week drop to number 60 before leaving the top 75 albums listing. In Japan it peaked at #53 which is currently higher than all their studio albums, but lower than the peak of The Singles. Before the release of the album, "We Are the People" charted at #25 in the singles chart, making it their lowest chart position for a lead single
since 1999's "Day in Day Out". "Miss You
" from the album was given away by the bands official website as a free download in April, and gained over 8,000 downloads on its first day of release. As of December 2008, sales of Silent Cry stand at less than 50,000 units, less than was what hoped for by their label. Shortly after album release, the band recorded a cover of Public Image Ltd's 1978 self-titled single "Public Image", for a compilation album to celebrate Independents Day which celebrated independently released music. The second single from Silent Cry was Feeder's first download-only single, consisting of "Tracing Lines
" and the album's title track which failed to make the charts. In an interview with Rocksound
.TV, Grant said that he has already been writing for the bands seventh studio album.
In May 2008, the band played a small eight date tour to promote the album to the fanbase, which sold out in six hours. This was followed by a one-off gig on 12 June at the Proud Galleries in Camden
, which sold out in six minutes. The band then went on to play at the iTunes
festival in July, which saw a live six-track EP release of their performance, before playing the 2008 Reading and Leeds festivals in August, on the main stage. In July the band played at T in the Park, with an appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival
the month previous. In 2008, the band also introduced live keyboard player Dean Deavall, of the band Casino.
During the same year, on October 25 at 06:00 GMT after playing the Glasgow Barrowlands as part of their 29 date UK tour, the band's crew bus caught fire on the M62 motorway
whilst travelling between Glasgow
and Lincoln
, destroying it and the crew's personal items. It was also announced by Chrysalis
later on in the year, that Echo have been restructured into a copyright exploitation company, in which its main duty is maintaining the copyright on existing releases while no longer releasing any new records or signing any more artists. As a result, Feeder were until 2010 no longer on a record contract in their own country, while still being signed to their Japanese label Victor and Play it Again Sam (PIAS), their European label. Their 2008 UK tour, seen their first ever gig in Loughbrough, and their last ever show at the London Astoria on 18 November 2008. The venue was later torn down in early 2009 and was also their last ever show as an Echo Label artist.
After ending their tour at the Portsmouth Pyramids Centre
, a six track EP titled Seven Sleepers
was released in Japan, the same time they toured there in March. It included a collection of B-sides from the Silent Cry album, plus two new songs.
, and had also played drums for British band Ben's Brother
. Karl's first live appearances with the band, after a series of university events were at the UK leg of the Sonisphere Festival
, stating that this would be their only UK festival appearance of 2009, as they would be working on their seventh studio album. It was then later announced that they would be appearing at the Hevy Music Festival
in Folkestone
. Here they previewed a new track titled "Sentimental", with the announcement that they have been in a recording studio in South Wales.
At first, Tim Trotter then of Mexicolas was filling in on drum duties in the studio also as a session drummer, before Karl stepped in. With Karl playing drums for Robbie Williams
, Natalie Imbruglia
and Ben's Brother, Tim once again took over drum duties in the studio. On 2 December, the band's official webpage was changed to display the word "RENEGADES" and the names of each of the band members by their surname, with "BRAZIL" mentioned amongst these. On 17 December a sample of a new song "Sentimental" was added to their website, which was later replaced with a 20 second clip of another song called "Renegades". Later on that month the website announced a six date tour and the release of a tour-only EP which was released on "Big Teeth Music", also their own record label. After the tour was completed, another six date tour was shortly announced with the band this time playing bigger venues. Another EP was released to coincide with the tour, which included a further four new songs with one of these being titled "Home"; one of the new songs the band performed on their first tour under this alias. In response to fan claims if Feeder would continue as Renegades, it was announced that they will resume as Feeder, alongside citing that "this is the loud, uninhibited and exhilarated sound of Feeder doing what they want without a care in the world". The side-project was used as a method to promote the seventh Feeder studio album titled Renegades at live shows where they would mainly play the new songs, thus avoiding having to play any of their hits if they played as Feeder. The side-project would cease in 2010 after playing their final gig as Renegades at that year's Sonisphere Festival.
In an April 2010 interview with South Yorkshire newspaper The Star, Grant expressed his disappointment with the side-project band's sudden increase in success and awareness, in which he claimed that he wanted the band to continue playing in clubs with a slower ascendency to the bigger venues. The tour promoter however suggested that Renegades should play slightly bigger venues for the second tour than of those seen on their debut.
Looking back on this version of the band, Grant Nicholas explained in an interview with Culture Deluxe, "We were going to do it so underground, just turning up at venues and not even saying who we were, just doing gigs like any other band do and like we did when we first started. But we felt that by just road testing the new album some of the real diehard fans might feel a little bit left out so we kind of hinted that we were doing this thing but we didn’t say exactly what it was. Some of them got it straight away, "I’m sure they’re just doing this…" but some of them thought we’d split up or it was a new name or I’d done a solo record or whatever but it got people talking and excited and that was kind of the point as well. We didn’t sit down and work out this massive, amazing marketing plan, it wasn’t that calculated but it was just a way of us going back to doing some very small shows away from the usual Feeder thing and not having to play all the usual songs we always have to play. Not that we hate them, it’s just nice to do something different sometimes and be able to play a whole album live, which we haven’t done since our first album. The more albums you do and the more singles you have, that steadily becomes your set and it’s very difficult to get away from that because people go "oh I went to see so and so play and they didn’t play any of the fucking singles", you know it happens and people get pissed off about it so that would be the point. It was a bit confusing as there were some gigs where the promoters put Feeder on the bloody tickets so some more mainstream fans turned up and were like "what the fuck’s this?" you know, "where’s "Buck Rogers"?" but that was bound to happen, you can’t keep everyone happy. But we had a great time doing it, it was such good fun".
" under the name of Feeder before shortly revealing the name of their seventh album as Renegades
. All of the new songs performed live as Renegades were listed on the album with the free download track "Fallen" being a b-side on "Call Out" and was released as a download and vinyl single, with the album released on 5 July. In an interview with the Irish Independent
, Grant Nicholas revealed that a second Feeder album would be released in 2010 and will contain mellow Feeder songs as opposed to the heavy side of the band as shown on Renegades, but in an August interview with Highland News, Taka Hirose said that as the band got more busy than they expected, it looks like the album will be released in 2011 instead. Renegades peaked at #16 in the UK album charts, giving them their seventh top 20 album with sales of 8,729, before being followed-up by the single release of the title track, also only on vinyl and download. Dean Deavall then departed from Casino to concentrate more on his time with Feeder, including his own band The High Hurts.
The album received mostly favourable reviews, with Clash Music awarding it 8/10, calling the album "Passionate". Contact Music were also positive in their review, with Andrew Lockwood suggesting "The return to a primal style may theoretically alienate more recent fans, but Grant Nicholas still proves his knack for writing a catchy tune. The lack of variation may drag slightly toward the finale of the record, but at just over 30 minutes the length of the LP is perfect to avoid this becoming detrimental". While Will Dean of BBC Online did not praise the album giving it a mixed response by at first giving "White Lines" high approval before saying keeping each track to 3 minutes "makes it look like the band are making excuses" before giving criticism to the lyrics of "City in a Rut" and duration of "Barking Dogs", before claiming the album is only for "the hardcore". Max Raymond of MusicOMH suggested that "Renegades, quite unexpectedly, is one of the best British rock albums you will hear all year", before awarding the album a 4/5 mark.
After a tour of Japan which saw Luna Sea
guitarist Inoran join them on stage at the Daikanyama Unit for a performance of "Breed
" (originally recorded by Nirvana
), Feeder returned to the UK for a sell-out tour in late October which started at the Leeds Metropolitan University
, before ending at Southampton University. This was followed by a small tour of Europe, South Africa and Australia, before a brief return to the UK ended their year. "Down to the River / This Town
" also became the final single from the album, released only as a download and vinyl on 6 December.
, this included overdubs, guitars and keyboards with Grant also flying over to record vocals, while some of the album was already recorded in London. On 19 January 2011 a photo of song lyrics written on a sheet of paper was posted on their official Facebook
page. One song is already in public knowledge, being so far played live on tour under three different working titles, with those being "Jessie", "White City Rock" and "Borders". In an interview with Heineken
Music, on 27 January 2011 Grant revealed that 19 or 20 songs are so far in the recording stages, while the album is planned to be released after their tour of the United Kingdom and Europe ends in March, and like Renegades, looks likely to be released domestically on their own Big Teeth Music imprint.
In an interview with The University Observer
, Grant describes the new album: "Its eclectic, much more eclectic than the Renegades album... "Its definitely a more commercial record. I think if you liked Comfort in Sound and you liked Yesterday Went Too Soon, then I think you’ll like this album" ... "There are some real tunes on this and some anthems; there are some rocky moments as well". Grant also revealed in the same interview, that there will be rock songs and melodic songs on the record. There were also plans to release a single or a free track download during their February - March tour which may or may not be on the new album. This later went on to become "Side By Side
", which was a chart-eligible paid download in aid of the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
in Japan. The single charted at #91, marking their first top 100 chart visit since 2008's "We Are the People", while becoming their 25th top 100 single in the process. Grant Nicholas cited on the band's Facebook page, that the single was released purely for the Japanese Tsunami disaster with the chart position not being as important. During their 2011 touring, Feeder introduced drummer Damon Wilson as a live regular and session musician. On 23 September 2011, Grant Nicholas posted on the band's Facebook page that the recording of their yet-untitled eighth studio album is complete with only mixing on the final song to be finalised, before mastering then began on the 30 September in New York. Feeder announced on 10 October that they were currently doing artwork on the new album, before an announcement was made on 14 November, that acoustic versions of some of the new songs are being recorded while Taka is staying in Tokyo. On 29 November 2011, the sequencing process of album began.
Gold and platinum records
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band, formed in Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
in 1991. Feeder's original line-up consisted of vocalist and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Grant Nicholas
Grant Nicholas
Grant Nicholas is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist of the rock band Feeder, along with bassist Taka Hirose and drummer Karl Brazil.-Early years:...
, drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Jon Lee and bass player
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Taka Hirose
Taka Hirose
Takashi "Taka" Hirose is a Japanese musician who is the current bass guitarist for the rock band, Feeder.-Biography:...
. By 1995 they released their debut EP Two Colours
Two Colours EP
Two Colours EP was Feeder's first release on The Echo Label. Released on a 7" and a CD in 1995 , it is one of the hardest Feeder records to find nowadays , occasionally a copy will become available on eBay...
and a second EP titled Swim
Swim (EP)
Swim was the second EP by the British alternative rock band Feeder. It was Feeder's second commercial release, but failed to have much commercial success....
, which was followed by their 1997 debut album Polythene
Polythene (album)
Polythene was the first full-length album by the Welsh rock band Feeder and was released 18 May 1997 on the Echo Label, and then re-issued on 28 October in the same year in an Enhanced CD version, featuring their UK top 40 breakthrough single "High" and its video...
, after being met with critical acclaim and made the UK Top 75
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. Their second album, Yesterday Went Too Soon
Yesterday Went Too Soon
Yesterday Went Too Soon is the second full-length album by the British rock band Feeder. It was released on August 30, 1999 on The Echo Label....
(1999), again found favour with critics and reached number eight in the UK. The band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in 2001, as they scored a UK Top 5
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and South Africa airplay number one hit with the single "Buck Rogers
Buck Rogers (song)
"Buck Rogers" is a song performed by the British rock band Feeder. It was written by frontman and lead guitarist Grant Nicholas for the band's breakthrough album Echo Park. The song was originally written by Grant for an American band called Radio Star, but the band's label and producer Gil Norton...
", and the attendant album Echo Park
Echo Park (album)
-Personnel:*Taka Hirose – bass*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Grant Nicholas – guitar, keyboards, vocals, producer*Jon Lee – drums-Accolade:...
(2001), which reached number five in the UK. Their next release, Comfort in Sound
Comfort in Sound
Comfort in Sound is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Feeder, released on October 21, 2002 and also the first to be released by the band after the suicide of drummer Jon Lee earlier in the year...
(2002) was released nine months after Jon Lee committed suicide in his Miami home in January 2002, it spawned the hit singles "Come Back Around
Come Back Around
"Come Back Around" was the first single released from British rock band Feeder's 2002 album Comfort in Sound. It was their first release after drummer Jon Lee's death earlier in the year...
", their second top 10 single "Just the Way I'm Feeling
Just the Way I'm Feeling
"Just the Way I'm Feeling" is the second single to be released from Feeder's fourth album Comfort In Sound. The single was due to be released on 6 January 2003, almost a year to the day the band's drummer Jon Lee committed suicide in his Miami home. Technical glitches on many on the CDs were found...
", "Forget About Tomorrow
Forget About Tomorrow
"Forget about Tomorrow" was the third single to be taken from Feeder's 2002 album Comfort in Sound.The single charted at number 12 in the UK...
" and "Find the Colour
Find the Colour
"Find the Colour", is a single from UK rock band Feeder, and was fourth to be taken from their album Comfort In Sound during 2003.The single made #24 in the UK charts. The version on the single was an edit of the album version, with the song easing up to end and the guitar rifts being loudened and...
". The album was recorded with then former Skunk Anansie
Skunk Anansie
Skunk Anansie is an English rock band whose members include Skin , Cass , Ace and Mark Richardson .Skunk Anansie formed in March 1994, disbanded in 2001 and reformed in 2009...
drummer Mark Richardson
Mark Richardson (musician)
Mark Richardson is an English drummer, of the UK rock band Skunk Anansie and formerly of Little Angels and Feeder.-Personal life:...
, before charting at number six. Two more studio albums were released being Pushing the Senses
Pushing the Senses
Pushing the Senses is the fifth album by the British rock band Feeder. It was released on Echo, Liberation Music and PIAS on 31 January 2005 in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, while being released on Pony Canyon in Japan on 10 February 2005...
(2005), which reached number two and spawned four hit singles including their third UK top 10 "Tumble and Fall
Tumble And Fall
"Tumble and Fall" was the first single released from British rock band Feeder's 2005 album Pushing the Senses. It reached #5 in the UK charts, the group's highest placed single along with "Buck Rogers"....
", before Silent Cry
Silent Cry
Silent Cry is the sixth full studio album by rock band Feeder. It was released by Echo, on 16 June 2008, on CD, deluxe CD, vinyl, and digital download. It was the follow-up to 2005's Pushing the Senses and in terms of all albums, the highly successful singles album in 2006...
(2008) charted at number eight, later becoming their last album recorded with Mark Richardson as he would return to a reformed Skunk Anansie in 2009. After the release of Pushing the Senses, The Singles reached number two in 2006, which was also their first album that gained major mainstream chart success outside of the United Kingdom and Ireland, when it charted at #37 in the Japanese album chart
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
.
After The Echo Label ceased trading, Feeder later started up Big Teeth Music. Karl Brazil formed part of their side-project Renegades
Renegades (band)
Renegades were a British rock band, which started out as a side-project from two members of the band Feeder, featuring guitarist Grant Nicholas and bassist Taka Hirose, before becoming a pseudonym name for Feeder themselves. Nicholas formed Renegades alongside Hirose with Karl Brazil from Ben's...
after joining Feeder as a session musician in 2009. Feeder are officially now a duo using session drummers live and in the studio, with former Mexicolas
Mexicolas
Mexicolas are a rock band from Birmingham, England, formed by Jamie Evans in 2004 and signed to Midlands based In Exile Records. Mexicolas were featured in a documentary series for Channel 4 entitled '4-Play'...
drummer Tim Trotter and Australian Damon Wilson also lending their duties to the band. Their seventh studio album Renegades
Renegades (Feeder album)
Renegades is the seventh studio album by the British rock band Feeder. It was released on July 5, 2010. It was due to be the first in a series of two albums released in 2010 by the band, before its follow-up was delayed for 2012...
(2010), peaked at number 16 on the albums chart. Feeder are also one of the most charted singles chart acts in the United Kingdom, appearing in the top 40 with twenty different singles. In terms of public response, the band have also been praised for their live performances, which landed them a headlining slot at the first day of the Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
in 2005, one of the United Kingdom's most high-profile music festivals.
Formation (1991-1994)
At the age of 14, singer and guitarist Grant NicholasGrant Nicholas
Grant Nicholas is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist of the rock band Feeder, along with bassist Taka Hirose and drummer Karl Brazil.-Early years:...
joined a band called 'Sweet Leaf', named after a Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
song, who were the first band he had seen play live. At this time Japanese bassist Taka Hirose
Taka Hirose
Takashi "Taka" Hirose is a Japanese musician who is the current bass guitarist for the rock band, Feeder.-Biography:...
and drummer Jon Lee were playing in different covers bands, but did not know each other at the time. While playing in different bands on the Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
gig circuit, Grant and Jon became friends. They formed an electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
duo called 'Temper Temper' after Jon left Newport band The Darling Buds
The Darling Buds
The Darling Buds were an indie band from Newport, South Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel The Darling Buds of May – a title taken in turn, from the third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May".-Career:Influenced...
. Shortly thereafter, they formed a band called 'Rain Dancer'. Both of these bands failed to win a recording contract, with the sound of the latter once being compared by Grant with that of The Waterboys
The Waterboys
The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
.
Going back to the drawing board, they formed a three-piece band called 'Reel'. They fired their bass player and then changed their name to 'Real'. During this time they recruited Taka Hirose via an advert in Loot
Loot (magazine)
Loot is one of the United Kingdom's leading free classified advertising publishers, distributing its products via print, internet, interactive television and Wireless Application Protocol...
, which Taka placed himself. The band then changed their name to Feeder, named after Grant's pet goldfish. They won their recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Echo after sending a demo tape, and then completed the deal after an employee from the label witnessed one of the band's gigs. A track called "Don't Bring Me Down", which featured on the demo appeared as a b-side on the "Day in Day Out
Day in Day Out
"Day in Day Out", is a single from the UK rock band Feeder, and was the first single to be taken from their debut top 10 album Yesterday Went Too Soon....
" single, albeit a different version to the demo recording. After signing with The Echo Label in 1994, the group toured with Scarborough band B.l.o.w.
B.l.o.w.
b.l.o.w. were a short-lived English blues rock band from the mid nineties. The band released one full album, Pigs , a "mini-album" called Man And Goat Alike and a collection of singles and live recordings.- Lineup :...
who at the time, recently formed from the ashes of Little Angels
Little Angels
Little Angels were a hard rock band of the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s.-History and members:Little Angels formed in Scarborough, England in 1984, under the name Mr Thrud. The founding members were Toby Jepson , Mark Plunkett , Dave Hopper and the brothers Bruce John and Jimmy Dickinson...
. It was this tour where Feeder met Mark Richardson for the first time.
Early releases (1995–1996)
Feeder's first official release was a two-track EP entitled Two ColoursTwo Colours EP
Two Colours EP was Feeder's first release on The Echo Label. Released on a 7" and a CD in 1995 , it is one of the hardest Feeder records to find nowadays , occasionally a copy will become available on eBay...
, released in 1995 which was only available at the band's early gigs. It was limited to 1,500 CDs and 1,000 7" vinyls. In 1996, the band released their first commercially available release, being the EP Swim
Swim (EP)
Swim was the second EP by the British alternative rock band Feeder. It was Feeder's second commercial release, but failed to have much commercial success....
and received a 4/5 review in Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine (KKKK). Swim was later re-released in July 2001 with extra tracks, being a selection of b-sides from their earlier singles, alongside the videos for the Polythene
Polythene (album)
Polythene was the first full-length album by the Welsh rock band Feeder and was released 18 May 1997 on the Echo Label, and then re-issued on 28 October in the same year in an Enhanced CD version, featuring their UK top 40 breakthrough single "High" and its video...
singles "Crash
Crash (Feeder song)
"Crash" was the third single from Feeder's critically acclaimed 1997 album Polythene.It made #48 in mid August of the same year, giving Feeder their first top 50 hit despite the band still yet to appear on Radio 1's playlist at the time...
" and "Cement". Overall unit sales for Swim stand at 40,000 as of February 2005.
Shortly before the release of Swim, a cassette tape titled Two Tracker was given away free with the magazines Kerrang! and Edge and contained the tracks "Sweet 16" and "Waterfall". The latter was described on the inlay card, as one of the tracks that would be on their forthcoming debut album proper, with the working title Here in the Bubble (whose name was soon changed to Polythene). The photography for the inlay of Swim was produced by Grant himself, while Chris Sheldon
Chris Sheldon
Chris Sheldon is a record producer, particularly of rock music, based in London, UK. He has produced or mixed records for the Foo Fighters, Garbage, Feeder, Biffy Clyro, Oceansize and Pixies amongst others...
produced the recordings. The band released "Stereo World
Stereo World
"Stereo World" is a song by Feeder, released as the group's first single in 1996. It was taken from the Swim mini-album. It also appears on the later released LP debut Polythene of 1997...
" as a single after appearing at the Reading festival
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
.
Polythene (1997–1998)
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
and Kerrang!, placing the album at first and sixth in their respective end of year lists. Kerrang! later included the album in their 200 Albums For the Year 2000 list in the "Essential Britrock" category. Two tracks from Swim were used for the album, being "Descend" and "Stereoworld".
After the recording sessions were completed, the album's first single "Tangerine" was released and charted at #60 in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. This was followed by "Cement", charting at #53 and then the release of the album which charted at #65. Two more singles were released before and after their main stage debut at the Reading festival, with "Crash" making number #48, while "High" charted at number #24.
The album as of February 2005, has sold 89,000 copies. They also re-issued the album in October 1997, with "High" included and the "Stereo World" b-side "Change" replacing "Waterfall" from the original tracklist. Also included as an enhanced element was the video for "High". The album caused many critics to label the band "The UK's answer to the Smashing Pumpkins", and also draw comparisons to The Pixies and Talk Talk
Talk Talk
Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....
.
In early 1998, following the band's final 1997 tour in support of Polythene, the band travelled to the United States as a support act for Everclear
Everclear (band)
Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
. During their U.S. tour, the band released a re-worked version of "Suffocate" for UK release, which charted at #37. After their return to the UK, they played their own headline tour with Everclear this time in the supporting position. Later that year, Feeder started to play various music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s in the United States, alongside a headline tour with "High" being released to radio stations and charting at #24 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart; it was the follow-up to "Cement" which had charted at #31, also on the same listing. During the bands first U.S. tour, Grant broke his ankle and picked up other injuries, while finding it hard to sleep at nights. This inspired him to write "Insomnia", which later appeared on their second album. They stayed in the U.S. for the majority of the year, with a trip back to the UK for their V98
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
appearance. Feeder later included live-only guitarist Dean Tidey; Grant once said in an interview with Kerrang!, that he was considering bringing in another guitarist for their live gigs.
Yesterday Went Too Soon (1999)
For 1999's Yesterday Went Too SoonYesterday Went Too Soon
Yesterday Went Too Soon is the second full-length album by the British rock band Feeder. It was released on August 30, 1999 on The Echo Label....
, the band decided to self-produce the album, brought in Matt Sime for engineering duties and had the album mixed in New York by Andy Wallace
Andy Wallace (producer)
Andy Wallace is a Grammy Award-winning music studio engineer with a long track record of successful productions, beginning with the 1986 production of the Run-DMC/Aerosmith collaboration on "Walk This Way" with Rick Rubin...
. "Dry" was re-recorded as a full band version after the original acoustic version appeared on "Suffocate" as a b-side. That single's b-sides featured tracks from the sessions for that album, therefore revealing what sort of direction it would take on. The working title for the album was originally A Life Through Headphones, and was originally set to be a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
. The name change was due to former Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
singer Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
releasing his solo debut album Life Thru a Lens
Life thru a Lens
Life Thru a Lens is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was Williams' first solo album following his departure from Take That.-Background:...
, with the band not wanting to be compared to him.
When the album was released, the band's reputation was on the rise and it entered the UK albums chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at number eight, which was at the time an unexpected chart position for the band. Before that, the band had released the album's first single, "Day in Day Out
Day in Day Out
"Day in Day Out", is a single from the UK rock band Feeder, and was the first single to be taken from their debut top 10 album Yesterday Went Too Soon....
", in March 1999 which charted at #31 followed by "Insomnia" at #22, resulting in their first appearance on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. A week before the album's release, the band played the main stage of the Reading and Leeds festivals, while the title track from the album was at #20 in the singles chart. The album was then released on 30 August 1999. Only one single was lifted from the album after its release, in which a re-recorded version of "Paperfaces
Paperfaces
"Paperfaces" is the fourth and final single from UK rock band Feeder's 1999 album Yesterday Went Too Soon. The version released on the single is a re-recording from that of the album version....
" charted at #41.
Some of the album's lyrical themes were derived from Grant's personal perspective of working in a menial supermarket job on a daily basis ("Day In Day Out"), his experiences after gigs on their US tour ("Insomnia" and "You're My Evergreen"), past relationships (the title track and "Dry"), the music industry ("Hole in My Head") and "fear of commitment in relationships" ("Anaesthetic") amongst others. Musically, the album employed an indie rock feel to it, which also featured extended appearances of an acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
on some of its tracks.
The album was due for release in June, but this was delayed until August to include material written after its completion which the band felt was too good to leave off. Upon its release, the UK music press immediately warmed to the album, with Rob Fitzpatrick, then of Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, writing "an absolute stormer it is. Unmissable. Absolutely." The album also received the magazine's Album of the Week accolade. This enthusiasm was shared by Metal Hammer, who awarded the album a 10/10 mark. The year ended with the band providing support for the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
and Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
. As of March 2003, the album has been certified
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
gold shipping 100,000 units in the UK, with total counter sales standing at 110,000 as of February 2005. The album was Melody Makers #24 album of 1999, while Metal Hammer placed the album in at #6 and Kerrang! ranked it at #16.
Echo Park and mainstream breakthrough (2000–2001)
Linford Manor
Linford Manor is an old mansion or manor house converted into a recording studio complex in Great Linford, Milton Keynes, England. It is now owned by Pete Winkelman who is chairman of football club....
, writing and recording for their next album. The band also continued playing festivals around the country previewing the new material they were working on, such as V2000 and Glastonbury
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, but would end the year promoting "Buck Rogers
Buck Rogers (song)
"Buck Rogers" is a song performed by the British rock band Feeder. It was written by frontman and lead guitarist Grant Nicholas for the band's breakthrough album Echo Park. The song was originally written by Grant for an American band called Radio Star, but the band's label and producer Gil Norton...
", their first single since November 1999 and then playing a mini-tour at the end of the year to mainly showcase the new material. The release of the single on 8 January 2001 was coupled with a signing session at London's now defunct Tower Records
Tower Records
Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....
store and then a TV appearance on Top of The Pops before the single charted. The single charted at number five, becoming the band's first top 10 entry in the singles chart before appearing on Top of the Pops again. "Buck Rogers" then spent a second week in the top 10. Later on that year, "Buck Rogers" would reach the top spot of the 5FM
5FM
5FM is a South African FM radio station that follows a Top 40 music format and is owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation , South Africa's public broadcaster...
airplay chart in South Africa, before being invited by the station as a headline act for their 26th birthday celebrations concert. However, this would be the last time Feeder would come to the country until 2011, a wait of almost 10 years since reaching 5FM's top spot.
Grant wrote "Buck Rogers
Buck Rogers (song)
"Buck Rogers" is a song performed by the British rock band Feeder. It was written by frontman and lead guitarist Grant Nicholas for the band's breakthrough album Echo Park. The song was originally written by Grant for an American band called Radio Star, but the band's label and producer Gil Norton...
" with The Pixies as an influence, but "on a comic book level". He had originally written the track for another band Echo Park producer Gil Norton
Gil Norton
Gil Norton is a British record producer known for his work with such bands as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, The Distillers, Maxïmo Park, Counting Crows, Terrorvision, The Triffids, Del Amitri, James, The Feelers, The Beekeepers,...
was working with, but decided not to give it away, as he felt Feeder could have a hit with it themselves. "Buck Rogers
Buck Rogers (song)
"Buck Rogers" is a song performed by the British rock band Feeder. It was written by frontman and lead guitarist Grant Nicholas for the band's breakthrough album Echo Park. The song was originally written by Grant for an American band called Radio Star, but the band's label and producer Gil Norton...
" still receives regular airplay on alternative radio stations in the United Kingdom.
After a sell-out tour of two legs ending at the London Astoria
London Astoria
The London Astoria was a music venue, located at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. It had been leased and run by Festival Republic since 2000. It was closed on 15 January 2009 and has since been demolished...
, the album Echo Park entered at number five in the UK album charts, shortly after "Seven Days in the Sun
Seven Days in the Sun
"Seven Days in the Sun" is a song by Feeder, released as the second single from their Echo Park album. It was released in April 2001 and reached #14 in the UK charts...
", the album's second single charted at #14. A third single, "Turn
Turn (Feeder song)
"Turn" was Feeder's third UK single to be taken from the Echo Park album. It reached #27 in the UK singles charts, and led to the Echo Park album re-entering the top 75 due to the pre-release airplay and stocking of the single on release week...
" reached #27 in July before festival season. "Just a Day
Just a Day
"Just a Day" is a song by Feeder, released as the band's final single of 2001, notable for being their last with drummer Jon Lee. The Alan Moulder Mix featured as the opening track for the European version of Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. It was first released on the "Seven Days in the Sun" single as a...
", a b-side from "Seven Days in the Sun", later reached #12 in December. The response the album received on a critical level was mixed, with Dan Genroe of Q magazine claiming that the listener will still be "feeling hungry half an hour later", alongside suggesting that the album is "hard to love". Ben Myers of Kerrang! gave the album 4/5 (KKKK) which indicates "blinding", while citing that the band "hit their stride" on the album, alongside suggesting that the album is "fat free and stripped to the bone".
Its funny, I don't even particularly like that song, I've always thought I was a pretty dark songwriter, and what do I finally get known for?. A throwaway pop song. But I really shouldn't complain, should I?. If it wasn't for "Buck Rogers", I probably wouldn't be here talking to you now.— Grant Nicholas talking about "Buck Rogers
Buck Rogers (song)"Buck Rogers" is a song performed by the British rock band Feeder. It was written by frontman and lead guitarist Grant Nicholas for the band's breakthrough album Echo Park. The song was originally written by Grant for an American band called Radio Star, but the band's label and producer Gil Norton...
" in a 20052005 in British musicThis is a summary of 2005 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts. Average sales for a number one were 80,437 per week.-Summary:...
edition of Q magazine.
The album saw the band take on much more of a commercially influenced sound, and also the appearance of Moog synthesizers, while being lyrically focused on a comedic approach, like with "Seven Days in the Sun", but also dark emotions, such as those shown on "Turn", "Oxygen", and "Satellite News". It was during the campaign for Echo Park that the band played another slot on the main stage at the Reading and Leeds festival, including T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
. As of August 2003, the album has shipped 300,000 units in the UK going platinum, with counter sales standing at 293,000 as of February 2005. Grant said in a Melody Maker interview that if the album did not sell well enough the band would probably split up; he said at the time that "Its the same with any band. That's just the way the music business is. There is only a certain amount of money a label will put into a band. I'm just being realistic. We've been around for seven or eight years and I am not planning on giving up, but we're putting everything into this record and I'm just hoping that people like it". The album campaign helped the band in August 2001 win the "Best British Live Act" accolade at the Kerrang! awards, before ending the year supporting the Stereophonics
Stereophonics
The Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band now living in turners x that formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in Cynon Valley, Wales. The band currently comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist and backing vocalist Richard Jones, drummer Javier Weyler, guitarist and backing...
, and then releasing the "Just a Day
Just a Day
"Just a Day" is a song by Feeder, released as the band's final single of 2001, notable for being their last with drummer Jon Lee. The Alan Moulder Mix featured as the opening track for the European version of Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. It was first released on the "Seven Days in the Sun" single as a...
" single in December. As of June 2008, both "Just a Day" and "Buck Rogers" individually sold over 100,000 physical copies and digital downloads combined. In 2007 "Just a Day
Just a Day
"Just a Day" is a song by Feeder, released as the band's final single of 2001, notable for being their last with drummer Jon Lee. The Alan Moulder Mix featured as the opening track for the European version of Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. It was first released on the "Seven Days in the Sun" single as a...
" became the first-ever song to be played on Afan FM
Afan FM
XS is a community radio station serving the Neath Port Talbot county borough. The station is owned and operated by Neath Port Talbot Broadcasting CIC and provides a range of dance and alternative music together with information services, primarily for 11-25 year-olds, from studios in the Water...
.
Jon Lee's death and Comfort in Sound (2002–2003)
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
home, resulting in the band keeping out of the public eye for most of the year. It was during this time that lead-singer Grant Nicholas wrote a series of songs relating to their emotions and reactions to Jon's death, which formed their fourth album Comfort in Sound. The band brought in former Skunk Anansie and Little Angels
Little Angels
Little Angels were a hard rock band of the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s.-History and members:Little Angels formed in Scarborough, England in 1984, under the name Mr Thrud. The founding members were Toby Jepson , Mark Plunkett , Dave Hopper and the brothers Bruce John and Jimmy Dickinson...
member Mark Richardson
Mark Richardson (musician)
Mark Richardson is an English drummer, of the UK rock band Skunk Anansie and formerly of Little Angels and Feeder.-Personal life:...
for drumming duties. The album focused mainly on themes such as loss, depression, grievance and positivity, while dedicating "Quickfade" to Jon. The album was released in October of the same year to widespread critical acclaim in the British music press, with Kerrang! stating that "Comfort in Sound harnesses the anthemic appeal of a latter day U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
... and a quality that propels Feeder from the confines of the everyday into the neighbourhood of everyman..." and giving the album their Album of the Week award, alongside the heavy rock magazine Metal Hammer giving the album the similar accolade of Album of the Month while stating that it was "an album they should rightfully be proud of...". The band were invited to the Reading and Leeds festivals that year, headlining the second stage at Reading on the first day which took place on 23 August, before heading off to Leeds the next. Grant Nicholas told Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
during a broadcast of The Evening Session, that there were originally no plans to play any shows for the duration of the year, but thought "why not?" when the invite to that year's festival came about. The band also thought it was the best way to get themselves "back on the road playing gigs again", as they felt their main stage debut at the 1997 festival was where their career took off and had "happy memories of that day". Grant also mentioned that at the time their fourth album already had a series of backing tracks recorded, with a total of 15 when recording is completed with then 10 chosen for the final album, when the final tracklisting was revealed, this was increased to 12. The album is currently Feeder's best-seller, with an estimated 436,000 units sold as of February 2005. The album charted at #98 in Japan and #28 in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, beating the peak position of #57 that Echo Park managed during the previous year. In Japan, it would be the first time Feeder ever charted there. The album charted at number six in the UK.
It’s one of the best songs I’ve done, but we nearly didn’t do it. I wrote it right at the end of making Comfort in SoundComfort in SoundComfort in Sound is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Feeder, released on October 21, 2002 and also the first to be released by the band after the suicide of drummer Jon Lee earlier in the year...
, and our producer Gil Norton said he wasn’t sure we really needed another mid-tempo song. But when we played it, we all thought that it definitely did have something. Lyrically it’s quite dark but it’s still an uplifting song. This was the single that really made the album a success. It’s the kind of song I’d like us to be remembered for.— Grant Nicholas on the second Comfort in Sound single, "Just the Way I'm Feeling
Just the Way I'm Feeling"Just the Way I'm Feeling" is the second single to be released from Feeder's fourth album Comfort In Sound. The single was due to be released on 6 January 2003, almost a year to the day the band's drummer Jon Lee committed suicide in his Miami home. Technical glitches on many on the CDs were found...
".
Musically, the album was much more mellow, with the use of a string orchestra
String orchestra
A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...
on "Forget About Tomorrow
Forget About Tomorrow
"Forget about Tomorrow" was the third single to be taken from Feeder's 2002 album Comfort in Sound.The single charted at number 12 in the UK...
", while other tracks on the album also used an accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, and a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
played by their manager Matt Page, with "Godzilla" being one of two tracks on the album to use loud guitars. The album was their first release to be certified platinum, (with Echo Park going platinum later on). It also spawned their second top 10 single, with "Just the Way I'm Feeling
Just the Way I'm Feeling
"Just the Way I'm Feeling" is the second single to be released from Feeder's fourth album Comfort In Sound. The single was due to be released on 6 January 2003, almost a year to the day the band's drummer Jon Lee committed suicide in his Miami home. Technical glitches on many on the CDs were found...
" in January 2003. In December of the same year they took on their only arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
tour, after the album's first nationwide tour was a sell out with 50,000 tickets sold, and visited 21 different towns and cities in the United Kingdom over 23 different dates. In reaction to this, the band were invited to the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
being placed third on the last day, playing the "Pyramid Stage". Shortly after the release of the single, the band were invited to support Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
on their UK and European tour
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, due to their frontman Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
often saying how much he liked the Comfort in Sound album and their live shows. Their show at the Birmingham National Indoor Arena
National Indoor Arena
The National Indoor Arena is a large indoor arena and is owned by the NEC Group. It is situated in central Birmingham, England and was opened in 1991, as the largest indoor arena at the time in the UK...
was reviewed by Kerrang!, which seen Steve Beebee give the band 4/5 (KKKK) for their performance, while claiming "Feeder may be a long way short of being the perfect arena band, but to see them here marks a satisfying conclusion to one of British rock's more involving stories. Unlike the industry-groomed startlets thrown at us every week, Feeder have actually done it the hard way, working their way up from pubs and clubs, each album bettering the last, and acceptance not coming through PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
campaigns but through the quality of Feeder's songwriting and performance. This is Feeder's season in the sun, and they richly deserve it".
The album's final single, being the title track, was only available to buy as a limited edition of 3,000 CDs on their 2003 arena tour. Four singles were released commercially, with those being "Come Back Around
Come Back Around
"Come Back Around" was the first single released from British rock band Feeder's 2002 album Comfort in Sound. It was their first release after drummer Jon Lee's death earlier in the year...
" (#14), "Just the Way I'm Feeling
Just the Way I'm Feeling
"Just the Way I'm Feeling" is the second single to be released from Feeder's fourth album Comfort In Sound. The single was due to be released on 6 January 2003, almost a year to the day the band's drummer Jon Lee committed suicide in his Miami home. Technical glitches on many on the CDs were found...
" (#10), "Forget About Tomorrow
Forget About Tomorrow
"Forget about Tomorrow" was the third single to be taken from Feeder's 2002 album Comfort in Sound.The single charted at number 12 in the UK...
" (#12), and "Find the Colour
Find the Colour
"Find the Colour", is a single from UK rock band Feeder, and was fourth to be taken from their album Comfort In Sound during 2003.The single made #24 in the UK charts. The version on the single was an edit of the album version, with the song easing up to end and the guitar rifts being loudened and...
" (#24), which was released following their V2003 appearance and Kerrang! award win for "Best British Band", beating competition from Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
and the Stereophonics
Stereophonics
The Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band now living in turners x that formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in Cynon Valley, Wales. The band currently comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist and backing vocalist Richard Jones, drummer Javier Weyler, guitarist and backing...
, which Grant dedicated to Jon saying it was the award he had always wanted the band to win. The band later went on to win an Internet Music Award for their "Just The Way I'm Feeling" video, while the album became their first to appear on the end of year top 75 album charts, appearing at #66. The albums commercial reception, helped Echo experience their most successful financial year. Feeder then received their only nomination to date at The BRIT Awards, in which they appeared in the "Best British Rock" category at the 2004
2004 in British music
This article gives details on 2004 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. The year was special for many successful artists, including Eminem, Britney Spears, Scissor Sisters, Usher, Natasha Bedingfield, Jamelia, Franz Ferdinand and The Streets.-Summary of UK...
event, before making their only appearance in the charts that year as part of Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
's Band Aid 20
Band Aid 20
Band Aid 20 was the 2004 incarnation of the charity group Band Aid. The group, which included Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bono of U2, and Paul McCartney, re-recorded the 1984 song "Do They Know It's Christmas?", written by Band Aid organizers Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.-Recording:The song was recorded...
charity ensemble. The single was the Christmas number one, and became the year's biggest-selling UK single. Alongside only making one chart appearance in 2004, Feeder also only made one live appearance during the year as part of the Carling Live 24 event, playing their show at the Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo is a major entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, being re-named the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962...
on 1 May.
Pushing the Senses (2004–2005)
That ["Shatter"] was on the album and it got taken off at the last minute, I really don’t know why. If that had been the first single off that record people would have seen it as much more of a rock record. So we released "Tumble and Fall" first. Why?, Whose idiot idea was that?, I mean it could be a third single or something, a bit of a crossover, you know some people like the song, it’s not a bad tune but it’s not a lead single from a Feeder album to be honest with you. I’ll tell you what I think a lot of it was. We had a European label and they were getting quite involved, in fact they had a lot of input on that and because we’d just been out on tour with Coldplay and stuff they thought "this song’s a bit of a crossover" and they were trying to push us in to that market and we were like "well, if it gets us bigger in Europe it’s only a single, I don’t give a fuck". It’s on the album, I’m not ashamed of it but it was not the right song. What we should have done was had a different single for the UK. I mean even "Feeling a Moment" would have been a better first single.— Grant Nicholas reflecting in 2010 on the release of Pushing the Senses lead single "Tumble and Fall".
Feeder returned to the studio to record their fifth album Pushing the Senses
Pushing the Senses
Pushing the Senses is the fifth album by the British rock band Feeder. It was released on Echo, Liberation Music and PIAS on 31 January 2005 in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, while being released on Pony Canyon in Japan on 10 February 2005...
. The album was seen by Grant as more of an extension to Comfort in Sound, as it focused on the same lyrical themes and musical styles, and also said that it had more of an organic sound, with more upbeat tracks added into the mix. It also seen a number of piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
driven tracks, with "Frequency" being an example. "Frequency" was produced by Coldplay producer Ken Nelson, while for the rest of the album, Gil Norton was on production duties. Grant told Kerrang! in May 2004, "I've done some recording on my own in a little studio up by where I live in North London. I demo the album in its full form before the rest of the band play on it. Its difficult to know at this stage what it will turn out like, but so far its slightly more mature sounding". Grant later added "Each album is a journey and a reflection of the past, there is some stuff that touches on what has happened, but there are songs about love, songs of loss and songs about the future. I don't want to give too much away but there's one track called "Bitter Glass". Its quite dark but uplifting too. Its about pulling yourself out of a big hole".
The album was Feeder's highest charting release, at number two on the UK album chart selling 42,951 units in its first week, while receiving a gold certification, and becoming a top 100 album in six other countries. Press response to the album was mixed, with Paul Brannigan of Q describing it as "An album that could finally establish Feeder as major league players", while Chris Heath of Dotmusic
Dotmusic
Dotmusic was a music website that existed as a standalone website from June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine Music Week, the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a website for music fans.In addition to music news, reviews,...
dismissed the album, saying "Pushing the Senses is by no means soppy, but Feeder's young fanbase might need some convincing". Kerrang! were brutal towards the band for all of their review, with Ben Meyers referring to them as a "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
In Utero
In Utero is the third and final studio album by the American grunge band Nirvana, released on September 13, 1993, on DGC Records. Nirvana intended the record to diverge significantly from the polished production of its previous album, Nevermind...
", including comparisons to a "Pastel box". A year later the album was marked as "Avoid" in a round-up of the bands material, which included the usual Coldplay and Keane comparisons the album suffered on release. Grant later said in a documentary with Kerrang! Radio that he was "Pissed off
Anger
Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....
" with the review their magazine counterpart gave them, while citing "It was a very unfair review and reviewed by the wrong person", alongside stating that if another journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
did it they would have had a much better result. It was the only review Grant was annoyed with, due to the magazine previously supporting the band since their early days. In a 2008 interview with Kerrang! on a selection of the bands singles, Grant expressed his annoyance with the Coldplay comparisons, in which he said they were only made because he played a piano on many of the tracks that were on the album. In a 2011 interview with Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
based webzine The Tab, Grant elaborated on these criticisms by saying "Feeder have a much broader music dynamic musically, and we are a much heavier band, both live and on record. I have a lot of respect for Coldplay and we have toured with them, but we are two totally different bands, both dynamically and musically. I just think its lazy journalism".
The album helped them win a headline slot at the Download Festival, shortly before supporting U2 for a brief period on their Vertigo Tour
Vertigo Tour
The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the band visited arenas and stadiums from 2005 through 2006. The Vertigo Tour consisted of five legs that alternated between indoor arena shows in...
, which was followed by an appearance at the Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concert in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
(the second charity event the band played that year after Tsunami Relief Cardiff
Tsunami Relief Cardiff
Tsunami Relief Cardiff was a charity music concert held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 22 January 2005, in aid of the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which had occurred the month before...
). The campaign in total spawned four UK top 40 singles, which included "Shatter", a reworked version of the "Tumble and Fall" b-side that became a double A-side with "Tender" (#11). Other singles included "Tumble and Fall
Tumble And Fall
"Tumble and Fall" was the first single released from British rock band Feeder's 2005 album Pushing the Senses. It reached #5 in the UK charts, the group's highest placed single along with "Buck Rogers"....
" (top five), "Feeling A Moment" (#13), and "Pushing The Senses" (#30). A fan-petition had been launched to see "Shatter" released as a single in its own right. The album was after ten weeks on sales of 111,214 units, 22 percent ahead of Comfort in Sound at that stage. However, the album did not keep up this momentum while also not going platinum. The last reported sales were that of 160,183 in October of the same year, which fell below Echo's expectations. It is however the bands most successful record based on peak chart positions in each country of release, while also being their only album so far to spawn a charting single outside of the UK and Ireland when "Feeling a Moment" peaked at #32 in Australia. Feeder already at the time charted four top 50 singles in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, with "Tumble and Fall" being their first and only top 40 to date reaching a peak position of #26. The album itself made the Irish top 20 artist album chart at #16, one week before its UK release.
In September 2005, Grant Nicholas was misquoted in an interview saying that the band were set to split, which caused the rumour to be reported on music television
Music television
Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from bands, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite or cable. Music TVs may host their own shows charts, award prizes. Examples are VIVA, Scuzz, MTV, JBTV, MuchMusic,...
and radio. The band's website soon made an official statement that read "Contrary to inaccurate reports in the press and on the radio, Feeder are not recording their last album, nor set to split. An over-enthusiastic reporter seems to have put 2 and 2 together and come up with 43. Indeed the group are looking forward to the release of new single "Shatter"/"Tender" in October and a Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
and UK tour in November. They have already started writing new material for a Singles Album to be released in the New Year and a further studio album to follow the current album Pushing the Senses". Soon afterwards in a Kerrang! interview, Grant said that the interviewer misquoted him. He said the next album would be Feeder's last album on their current deal with Echo, before deciding to either re-sign or look for a new label.
Feeder would end the year seeing their then latest album appear at #39 on Qs end of year list, with "Feeling a Moment" voted the 98th best song of the year by its readers. However, on 3 December 2005, they were forced to postpone a winter tour, after Grant picked up bleeds on his vocal cords the night before during a gig in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, causing the show to be abandoned and later rescheduled along with the rest of the outstanding dates. During the year, Feeder's domestic studio album sales passed the one million units mark.
The Singles (2006)
I’ve had people coming up to me saying that they liked the earlier singles but didn’t realise it was us that did them. It’s introduced a lot of our earlier singles to people. We’d had success early on but we weren’t huge. I thought the record had good tracks and the three new tracks made it completely new for our older fans. It took me a long time to sequence the album to make sure it flowed together properly. It wasn’t just a matter of shoving a load of singles on there.— Grant Nicholas talking in 2006 about The Singles.
Stephen Street
Stephen Street is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s, as well as Blur and The Cranberries in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs...
working as the band's producer to record three new tracks to appear on their then forthcoming singles collection. "Lost and Found" (which Grant described as "an urban love song") became the first single to promote the collection, and would reach #12 in the UK singles chart in May 2006
2006 in British music
This is a summary of 2006 in music in the United Kingdom including the official single and album charts.-Summary:*At both ends of the year, the chart was dominated by acts from series 2 and series 3 of the television show The X Factor...
, after completing their delayed winter tour, which ended at the LG Arena in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in front of 8,000 fans. The Singles, released in the same month as "Lost and Found", was the first Feeder album to have involvement from a major label, with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
taking part in a one-off collaboration with Echo as the album's distributor. The album reached number two on the UK albums chart with first week sales of 50,003 entering at number three, and was certified platinum in under three months, with a total of 500,000 units sold overall, including a gold certification in Ireland after charting at #13. The album also made the top ten in Europe with a debut top 40 peak in Japan at #37, while "Save Us
Save Us
"Save Us", is a single from UK rock band Feeder. Taken from their compilation The Singles, it is one of the three new songs on the album....
" was its second and final single in the UK, charting at #34 in late July. A version of the album included a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of all their videos filmed up to that point, along with extensive sleevenotes by Ben Johncock. The album became only their second to appear on the end of year top 75 this time at #48, while becoming their first album to spend more than one week on the top 10. Sales of The Singles, alongside a series of changes at Echo making them into an "Incubator label", enabled the company to report a "modest profit" for 2006.
Feeder returned to the Reading and Leeds festivals after a four year break, having a late slot on the main stage, before ending the year with a small tour of London, playing The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England, which has been converted into a performing arts and concert venue. It was originally built in 1847 as a roundhouse , a circular building containing a railway turntable, but was only used for railway...
, and The Coronet
The Coronet
The Coronet Theatre is a large live music and night-club venue with a 2,600 capacity located at 28 New Kent Road in Elephant and Castle, south central London, England...
. These were in aid of War Child
War Child (charity)
War Child is a non-governmental organisation founded in the UK 1993, which focuses on providing assistance to children in areas of conflict and post-conflict. They use their film and entertainment background to raise money for aid agencies operating in former Yugoslavia...
who the band are patrons of, having earlier in the year visited The Congo as part of their work for the charity.
Silent Cry (2007-2008)
Silent Cry
Silent Cry is the sixth full studio album by rock band Feeder. It was released by Echo, on 16 June 2008, on CD, deluxe CD, vinyl, and digital download. It was the follow-up to 2005's Pushing the Senses and in terms of all albums, the highly successful singles album in 2006...
was released on 16 June 2008.
The album overall received moderate reviews, with Dom Gourlay of Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
being very positive about the album, commenting "A remarkable turnaround then, and although not quite a 360 degree shift, this is a damn fine record that Feeder should be proud of", while The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Caroline Sullivan was very negative towards the album, claiming that the record and the band have always been missing "a distinctiveness from other purveyors of guitar-and-two-veg rock". Phillip May of Rocklouder however, gave the album four stars claiming that "If ever there was an album to win back those that grew tired of Feeder, its Silent Cry". Q Magazine's Nick Duerden was negative towards the album with the suggestion that "Silent Cry replaces genuine poise with serviceable pose" and gave the album a 2/5. Meanwhile, Ben Hogwood of MusicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
noted "The confidence of a band that took over a year to record the album is notable, and theirs is an assured voice". Rob Beatley of Kerrang! suggested "Silent Cry is an infuriating listen" and gave the album 3/5 (KKK) indicating "average".
I actually really like ‘'Silent Cry’', I think it’s one of the best Feeder albums but it didn’t really get a chance, I don’t know why. I think if that had come out after ‘'Comfort In Sound’' that album would have been huge. It was just timing. We were basically on a label that was just dead in the water, which didn’t help. We got a bit shafted on that. I mean it wasn’t their fault, we tried to buy the album off them so we could self-release it and we had a few deals on the table but they just wouldn’t let it go, I don’t know why. We offered a lot of money to buy it back but they wouldn’t have it so…— Grant Nicholas talking in 2010 about the financial issues at The Echo label surrounding the release of Silent Cry.
On its release week the album charted at number eight with sales of 16,029. In its second week the album then fell to number 30, with a third week drop to number 60 before leaving the top 75 albums listing. In Japan it peaked at #53 which is currently higher than all their studio albums, but lower than the peak of The Singles. Before the release of the album, "We Are the People" charted at #25 in the singles chart, making it their lowest chart position for a lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
since 1999's "Day in Day Out". "Miss You
Miss You (Feeder song)
Miss You is a track by UK rock band Feeder, which was released on March 3, 2008, as a precursor to the band's upcoming full-length studio album Silent Cry. The song was made available to download for free from the band's official website and was downloaded 8000 times on its first day...
" from the album was given away by the bands official website as a free download in April, and gained over 8,000 downloads on its first day of release. As of December 2008, sales of Silent Cry stand at less than 50,000 units, less than was what hoped for by their label. Shortly after album release, the band recorded a cover of Public Image Ltd's 1978 self-titled single "Public Image", for a compilation album to celebrate Independents Day which celebrated independently released music. The second single from Silent Cry was Feeder's first download-only single, consisting of "Tracing Lines
Tracing Lines / Silent Cry
Tracing Lines and Silent Cry are the double a-side singles from Feeder, and was released on August 24, 2008. It was meant to be released on the 25th , but it appeared on the UK iTunes store a day early as all downloads in the UK charts as well as physical sales include those on a Sunday.Both songs,...
" and the album's title track which failed to make the charts. In an interview with Rocksound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
.TV, Grant said that he has already been writing for the bands seventh studio album.
In May 2008, the band played a small eight date tour to promote the album to the fanbase, which sold out in six hours. This was followed by a one-off gig on 12 June at the Proud Galleries in Camden
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
, which sold out in six minutes. The band then went on to play at the iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
festival in July, which saw a live six-track EP release of their performance, before playing the 2008 Reading and Leeds festivals in August, on the main stage. In July the band played at T in the Park, with an appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival
Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970. These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited...
the month previous. In 2008, the band also introduced live keyboard player Dean Deavall, of the band Casino.
During the same year, on October 25 at 06:00 GMT after playing the Glasgow Barrowlands as part of their 29 date UK tour, the band's crew bus caught fire on the M62 motorway
M62 motorway
The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
whilst travelling between Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
, destroying it and the crew's personal items. It was also announced by Chrysalis
Chrysalis Group
Chrysalis Group is a UK media company. It was founded by Chris Wright, who remains chairman and was listed the 1,000th richest person in the UK in The Times Rich List 2009...
later on in the year, that Echo have been restructured into a copyright exploitation company, in which its main duty is maintaining the copyright on existing releases while no longer releasing any new records or signing any more artists. As a result, Feeder were until 2010 no longer on a record contract in their own country, while still being signed to their Japanese label Victor and Play it Again Sam (PIAS), their European label. Their 2008 UK tour, seen their first ever gig in Loughbrough, and their last ever show at the London Astoria on 18 November 2008. The venue was later torn down in early 2009 and was also their last ever show as an Echo Label artist.
After ending their tour at the Portsmouth Pyramids Centre
Portsmouth Pyramids Centre
The Portsmouth Pyramids Centre is an indoor leisure complex in Southsea, near Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.It has a swimming pool/water park, a live arena, and function rooms...
, a six track EP titled Seven Sleepers
Seven Sleepers (Feeder EP)
Seven Sleepers is a Japan-only released EP by the British rock band Feeder. It was the first ever release by the band after their label Echo, was downstreamed into a copyrights exploitation company and as a result announced that they would not be releasing any new records, or signing any new artists...
was released in Japan, the same time they toured there in March. It included a collection of B-sides from the Silent Cry album, plus two new songs.
Mark's departure and Renegades side project band (2009-2010)
In May 2009, it was announced that Feeder "ended their partnership" with drummer Mark Richardson, before returning to his original band Skunk Anansie. Mark was replaced by session drummer Karl Brazil who had just come off tour with James BluntJames Blunt
James Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...
, and had also played drums for British band Ben's Brother
Ben's Brother
Ben's Brother is a five-piece band from the UK, headed by founder Jamie Hartman. Their band was named after Jamie's big brother Ben, in whose shadow he lived as a teenager...
. Karl's first live appearances with the band, after a series of university events were at the UK leg of the Sonisphere Festival
Sonisphere Festival
The Sonisphere Festival is a touring music festival which takes place across Europe between June and August. The festival is owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It is jointly-promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live...
, stating that this would be their only UK festival appearance of 2009, as they would be working on their seventh studio album. It was then later announced that they would be appearing at the Hevy Music Festival
Hevy Music Festival
Hevy Music Festival is a rock festival that takes place annually near Folkestone in the UK. It was originally held on 1 August 2009 on Folkestone seafront as a one-day festival with Feeder, Gary Numan and Ash as headliners. In 2010 it moved to Port Lympne Wild Animal Park and grew to a weekend...
in Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
. Here they previewed a new track titled "Sentimental", with the announcement that they have been in a recording studio in South Wales.
At first, Tim Trotter then of Mexicolas was filling in on drum duties in the studio also as a session drummer, before Karl stepped in. With Karl playing drums for Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
, Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
and Ben's Brother, Tim once again took over drum duties in the studio. On 2 December, the band's official webpage was changed to display the word "RENEGADES" and the names of each of the band members by their surname, with "BRAZIL" mentioned amongst these. On 17 December a sample of a new song "Sentimental" was added to their website, which was later replaced with a 20 second clip of another song called "Renegades". Later on that month the website announced a six date tour and the release of a tour-only EP which was released on "Big Teeth Music", also their own record label. After the tour was completed, another six date tour was shortly announced with the band this time playing bigger venues. Another EP was released to coincide with the tour, which included a further four new songs with one of these being titled "Home"; one of the new songs the band performed on their first tour under this alias. In response to fan claims if Feeder would continue as Renegades, it was announced that they will resume as Feeder, alongside citing that "this is the loud, uninhibited and exhilarated sound of Feeder doing what they want without a care in the world". The side-project was used as a method to promote the seventh Feeder studio album titled Renegades at live shows where they would mainly play the new songs, thus avoiding having to play any of their hits if they played as Feeder. The side-project would cease in 2010 after playing their final gig as Renegades at that year's Sonisphere Festival.
In an April 2010 interview with South Yorkshire newspaper The Star, Grant expressed his disappointment with the side-project band's sudden increase in success and awareness, in which he claimed that he wanted the band to continue playing in clubs with a slower ascendency to the bigger venues. The tour promoter however suggested that Renegades should play slightly bigger venues for the second tour than of those seen on their debut.
Looking back on this version of the band, Grant Nicholas explained in an interview with Culture Deluxe, "We were going to do it so underground, just turning up at venues and not even saying who we were, just doing gigs like any other band do and like we did when we first started. But we felt that by just road testing the new album some of the real diehard fans might feel a little bit left out so we kind of hinted that we were doing this thing but we didn’t say exactly what it was. Some of them got it straight away, "I’m sure they’re just doing this…" but some of them thought we’d split up or it was a new name or I’d done a solo record or whatever but it got people talking and excited and that was kind of the point as well. We didn’t sit down and work out this massive, amazing marketing plan, it wasn’t that calculated but it was just a way of us going back to doing some very small shows away from the usual Feeder thing and not having to play all the usual songs we always have to play. Not that we hate them, it’s just nice to do something different sometimes and be able to play a whole album live, which we haven’t done since our first album. The more albums you do and the more singles you have, that steadily becomes your set and it’s very difficult to get away from that because people go "oh I went to see so and so play and they didn’t play any of the fucking singles", you know it happens and people get pissed off about it so that would be the point. It was a bit confusing as there were some gigs where the promoters put Feeder on the bloody tickets so some more mainstream fans turned up and were like "what the fuck’s this?" you know, "where’s "Buck Rogers"?" but that was bound to happen, you can’t keep everyone happy. But we had a great time doing it, it was such good fun".
Renegades (2010)
After completing their second and final tour as Renegades, the band then announced their new single "Call OutCall Out (Feeder song)
"Call Out" is a song by Feeder, released as the group's first single from their seventh album Renegades in 2010. The single was given no airplay attention with the music video only available to see on the bands website for a limited time and on YouTube...
" under the name of Feeder before shortly revealing the name of their seventh album as Renegades
Renegades (Feeder album)
Renegades is the seventh studio album by the British rock band Feeder. It was released on July 5, 2010. It was due to be the first in a series of two albums released in 2010 by the band, before its follow-up was delayed for 2012...
. All of the new songs performed live as Renegades were listed on the album with the free download track "Fallen" being a b-side on "Call Out" and was released as a download and vinyl single, with the album released on 5 July. In an interview with the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
, Grant Nicholas revealed that a second Feeder album would be released in 2010 and will contain mellow Feeder songs as opposed to the heavy side of the band as shown on Renegades, but in an August interview with Highland News, Taka Hirose said that as the band got more busy than they expected, it looks like the album will be released in 2011 instead. Renegades peaked at #16 in the UK album charts, giving them their seventh top 20 album with sales of 8,729, before being followed-up by the single release of the title track, also only on vinyl and download. Dean Deavall then departed from Casino to concentrate more on his time with Feeder, including his own band The High Hurts.
The album received mostly favourable reviews, with Clash Music awarding it 8/10, calling the album "Passionate". Contact Music were also positive in their review, with Andrew Lockwood suggesting "The return to a primal style may theoretically alienate more recent fans, but Grant Nicholas still proves his knack for writing a catchy tune. The lack of variation may drag slightly toward the finale of the record, but at just over 30 minutes the length of the LP is perfect to avoid this becoming detrimental". While Will Dean of BBC Online did not praise the album giving it a mixed response by at first giving "White Lines" high approval before saying keeping each track to 3 minutes "makes it look like the band are making excuses" before giving criticism to the lyrics of "City in a Rut" and duration of "Barking Dogs", before claiming the album is only for "the hardcore". Max Raymond of MusicOMH suggested that "Renegades, quite unexpectedly, is one of the best British rock albums you will hear all year", before awarding the album a 4/5 mark.
After a tour of Japan which saw Luna Sea
Luna Sea
Luna Sea is a rock band from Kanagawa, Japan, formed in 1989. The band was initially founded by bassist J and rhythm guitarist Inoran, when they were in high school. They soon recruited lead guitarist and violinist Sugizo, drummer Shinya and vocalist Ryuichi, a lineup that has remained the same...
guitarist Inoran join them on stage at the Daikanyama Unit for a performance of "Breed
Nevermind
Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...
" (originally recorded by Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
), Feeder returned to the UK for a sell-out tour in late October which started at the Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Met Students' Union
Leeds Metropolitan Students' Union is the university-wide representative body for students at Leeds Metropolitan University, England. It exists to represent Leeds Met students in University decision-making, to act as the voice of students in the national higher education policy debate, and to...
, before ending at Southampton University. This was followed by a small tour of Europe, South Africa and Australia, before a brief return to the UK ended their year. "Down to the River / This Town
Down to the River / This Town
"Down to the River / This Town" are two songs on a double A-sided single by Feeder, released as the group's third and final single from their seventh album Renegades in 2010, while being their 31st single overall and their third double A-sided single after the 2008 release of "Tracing Lines /...
" also became the final single from the album, released only as a download and vinyl on 6 December.
White City Rock (2011)
In 2010, during the Renegades sessions, a number of tracks were left off the album before then being considered for inclusion for the follow-up to that album. As there were not enough to fit on the album, more were recorded during the closing stages of the year, with the band taking a break from recording on 19 December, before resuming recording on 10 January 2011. Between 16 January and 24 January a production session began in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, this included overdubs, guitars and keyboards with Grant also flying over to record vocals, while some of the album was already recorded in London. On 19 January 2011 a photo of song lyrics written on a sheet of paper was posted on their official Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page. One song is already in public knowledge, being so far played live on tour under three different working titles, with those being "Jessie", "White City Rock" and "Borders". In an interview with Heineken
Heineken Pilsener
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
Music, on 27 January 2011 Grant revealed that 19 or 20 songs are so far in the recording stages, while the album is planned to be released after their tour of the United Kingdom and Europe ends in March, and like Renegades, looks likely to be released domestically on their own Big Teeth Music imprint.
In an interview with The University Observer
The University Observer
The University Observer is a fortnightly Berliner-sized newspaper distributed throughout the campus of University College, Dublin . It was launched in 1994 by University College Dublin Students' Union...
, Grant describes the new album: "Its eclectic, much more eclectic than the Renegades album... "Its definitely a more commercial record. I think if you liked Comfort in Sound and you liked Yesterday Went Too Soon, then I think you’ll like this album" ... "There are some real tunes on this and some anthems; there are some rocky moments as well". Grant also revealed in the same interview, that there will be rock songs and melodic songs on the record. There were also plans to release a single or a free track download during their February - March tour which may or may not be on the new album. This later went on to become "Side By Side
Side By Side (Feeder song)
"Side By Side" is a download-only single by the British rock band Feeder. The song was released on 27 March, 2011 to support victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The track was originally written during the sessions for Silent Cry, before being recorded during the Renegades...
", which was a chart-eligible paid download in aid of the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
in Japan. The single charted at #91, marking their first top 100 chart visit since 2008's "We Are the People", while becoming their 25th top 100 single in the process. Grant Nicholas cited on the band's Facebook page, that the single was released purely for the Japanese Tsunami disaster with the chart position not being as important. During their 2011 touring, Feeder introduced drummer Damon Wilson as a live regular and session musician. On 23 September 2011, Grant Nicholas posted on the band's Facebook page that the recording of their yet-untitled eighth studio album is complete with only mixing on the final song to be finalised, before mastering then began on the 30 September in New York. Feeder announced on 10 October that they were currently doing artwork on the new album, before an announcement was made on 14 November, that acoustic versions of some of the new songs are being recorded while Taka is staying in Tokyo. On 29 November 2011, the sequencing process of album began.
Awards
Major awards| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Kerrang! Awards | Best British Live Act |
| 2003 | Kerrang! Awards | Best British Band |
Gold and platinum records
| Recording | Gold | Platinum |
|---|---|---|
| Yesterday Went Too Soon | UK | |
| Echo Park | UK | |
| Comfort in Sound | UK | |
| Pushing the Senses | UK | |
| The Singles | Ireland | UK |
Discography
- PolythenePolythene (album)Polythene was the first full-length album by the Welsh rock band Feeder and was released 18 May 1997 on the Echo Label, and then re-issued on 28 October in the same year in an Enhanced CD version, featuring their UK top 40 breakthrough single "High" and its video...
(1997) - Yesterday Went Too SoonYesterday Went Too SoonYesterday Went Too Soon is the second full-length album by the British rock band Feeder. It was released on August 30, 1999 on The Echo Label....
(1999) - Echo ParkEcho Park (album)-Personnel:*Taka Hirose – bass*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Grant Nicholas – guitar, keyboards, vocals, producer*Jon Lee – drums-Accolade:...
(2001) - Comfort in SoundComfort in SoundComfort in Sound is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Feeder, released on October 21, 2002 and also the first to be released by the band after the suicide of drummer Jon Lee earlier in the year...
(2002) - Pushing the SensesPushing the SensesPushing the Senses is the fifth album by the British rock band Feeder. It was released on Echo, Liberation Music and PIAS on 31 January 2005 in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, while being released on Pony Canyon in Japan on 10 February 2005...
(2005) - Silent CrySilent CrySilent Cry is the sixth full studio album by rock band Feeder. It was released by Echo, on 16 June 2008, on CD, deluxe CD, vinyl, and digital download. It was the follow-up to 2005's Pushing the Senses and in terms of all albums, the highly successful singles album in 2006...
(2008) - RenegadesRenegades (Feeder album)Renegades is the seventh studio album by the British rock band Feeder. It was released on July 5, 2010. It was due to be the first in a series of two albums released in 2010 by the band, before its follow-up was delayed for 2012...
(2010)