Good Shoes
Encyclopedia
Good Shoes are a four-piece English indie pop
band, hailing from Morden
, London.
called The Peel in early January 2004. Eventually, they decided to formalise their hobby into a fully-fledged band
, bringing in Rhys's brother Tom and then later Joel Cox (who was friends with Jones and Leach from secondary school - Raynes Park High School
).
The band started looking for gigs in January 2005, their first gig was put on by a friend at Fitzwilliam College Cambridge University on 1 February. Their second was at a secret party on Eel Pie Island
with Mystery Jets
and from then on they played as many gigs as possible in and around London. This led to them playing the Artrocker
clubnight in August put on by Artrocker
Magazine. At this gig, the band were recommended to their current label
, Brille Records
, by a member of the band FC Kahuna
, and after playing In The City
music festival in Manchester
they signed with Brille in November 2005. John Kennedy
(a DJ at London-based radio station Xfm
) started to give the band airtime based on a demo which was recorded in the band's shed, and a new demo, recorded at Southern Studios
started to get the band recognition from stations like Radio 1
, 6 Music and other mainstream radio stations, with both Steve Lamacq
and Zane Lowe
playing the demo.
The band travelled to Malmö
, Sweden to record their first album, called Think Before You Speak, with Per Sunding at Tambourine Studios
. It was released 26 March 2007.
On 28 May 2007, the band performed a secret free gig at Morden Park bandstand. The bandstand and other landmarks from the local area are featured in the video for their single "Morden", which was released on 11 June 2007.On October 23, 2011 this band has performed at BITS Pilani campus.
The band toured during 2007 with Kaiser Chiefs
and The Rakes
(other support bands included The Pigeon Detectives
, Little Ones and We Are Scientists
). In November 2007, they headlined a tour with support from Lightspeed Champion
, also the band supported Maxïmo Park
at their homecoming arena show on 15 December 2007.
The band stayed relatively low during 2008. They appeared for a small number of live shows, including a secret supporting slot to friends The Maccabees
. Their main debut of new material was at their only UK festival appearance, Boring by the Sea Festival, which took place in Weymouth. They ended the year with two gigs at The Watershed in Wimbledon on 13 December, followed by an appearance at New Slang in Kingston upon Thames
on 18 December 2008.
Cox left the band as the band started writing their second album, and for the recording of the album their friend, Bob Matthews, recorded the bass parts on the album.
Matthews is another South West Londoner. Born in Kingston, he played in various bands (Evil Twin, Iris) in local venues including the Peel, before becoming a founder of Right Turn Left while at Exeter University. After the recording sessions finished he went back to playing for Right Turn Left.
The band released a free download of "The Way My Heart Beats" on 18 August 2009, as a first taste of the second album due for release in January 2010. On the same weekend they played Dockville Festival in Germany which saw the second appearance of their new bass player Will Church. He will tour with the band for the whole second album and work on all new material from now on. Church originally played in Vincent Vincent and the Villains
until they split in 2009, and has been a friend of the band for a number of years.
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band, hailing from Morden
Morden
Morden is a district in the London Borough of Merton. It is located approximately South-southwest of central London between Merton Park , Mitcham , Sutton and Worcester Park .- Origin of name :...
, London.
Biography
Good Shoes was formed by lead singer Rhys Jones and guitarist Steve Leach who often wrote and played music together as a hobby. Rhys and Steve appeared as a two piece under the Good Shoes name for a friend's charity gig (Tom-Fest) at a venue in KingstonKingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
called The Peel in early January 2004. Eventually, they decided to formalise their hobby into a fully-fledged band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
, bringing in Rhys's brother Tom and then later Joel Cox (who was friends with Jones and Leach from secondary school - Raynes Park High School
Raynes Park High School
Raynes Park High School is a co-educational comprehensive school that educates around 1150 students aged 11 to 19. It is located in Raynes Park, England.-Admissions:...
).
The band started looking for gigs in January 2005, their first gig was put on by a friend at Fitzwilliam College Cambridge University on 1 February. Their second was at a secret party on Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island
Eel Pie Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Twickenham, in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London. It is situated on the Tideway and can be reached only by footbridge or boat...
with Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets are an English five-piece indie band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band was formed by Henry Harrison , Blaine Harrison and William Rees when the boys were still at school and would send each other songs on cassettes...
and from then on they played as many gigs as possible in and around London. This led to them playing the Artrocker
ArtRocker
Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Factory...
clubnight in August put on by Artrocker
ArtRocker
Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Factory...
Magazine. At this gig, the band were recommended to their current label
Label
A label is a piece of paper, polymer, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or article, on which is printed a legend, information concerning the product, addresses, etc. A label may also be printed directly on the container or article....
, Brille Records
Brille Records
Brille Records is an independent record label based in the UK, which has released work from bands including Whirlwind Heat, Good Shoes, Envelopes, Operator Please, The Bridge Gang and The Knife. It was in partnership with EMI Records UK from August 2005 until February 2008. It was started in 2004...
, by a member of the band FC Kahuna
FC Kahuna
FC Kahuna are a British DJ and electronic music production duo, consisting of Jon Nowell and Daniel Ormondroyd. FC Kahuna released Machine Says Yes in the spring of 2002, which had a number of singles released from it, most notably "Machine Says Yes" and "Hayling", which both featured Icelandic...
, and after playing In The City
In The City (festival)
In The City is an annual music industry conference and festival founded by the late Tony Wilson, formerly of Factory Records and Granada Television, and his partner Yvette Livesey....
music festival in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
they signed with Brille in November 2005. John Kennedy
John Kennedy (DJ)
John Kennedy, is a DJ who presents Xposure on XFM, between 10pm and 2am Monday-Thursdays. He is the only DJ to have been with XFM constantly since its inception and the show is the longest running of all of the specialist shows John Kennedy, is a DJ who presents Xposure on XFM, between 10pm and 2am...
(a DJ at London-based radio station Xfm
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
) started to give the band airtime based on a demo which was recorded in the band's shed, and a new demo, recorded at Southern Studios
Southern Studios
Southern Studios is a recording studio in the Wood Green area of London. It was founded in 1974 by John Loder, and came to be the recording studio of choice for Crass and their record label Crass Records. Southern Studios Ltd. continues to grow its label and provide label management and...
started to get the band recognition from stations like Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, 6 Music and other mainstream radio stations, with both 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...
and Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...
playing the demo.
The band travelled to Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Sweden to record their first album, called Think Before You Speak, with Per Sunding at Tambourine Studios
Tambourine Studios
Tambourine Studios is a recording studio in the centre of Malmö, Sweden. It was set up by members of the Swedish band Eggstone and has been running for 10 years. The studio is best known for The Cardigans albums, which were almost all recorded there. Other bands to have recorded there are Bob Hund,...
. It was released 26 March 2007.
On 28 May 2007, the band performed a secret free gig at Morden Park bandstand. The bandstand and other landmarks from the local area are featured in the video for their single "Morden", which was released on 11 June 2007.On October 23, 2011 this band has performed at BITS Pilani campus.
The band toured during 2007 with Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1996. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs....
and The Rakes
The Rakes
The Rakes were an English indie rock band from London. They split up in October 2009.-History:The Rakes formed in 2004. Since coming to fame in 2005, they were associated with the British post-punk/art rock scene, a genre shared by bands such as Bloc Party, Maxïmo Park, and The Futureheads...
(other support bands included The Pigeon Detectives
The Pigeon Detectives
The Pigeon Detectives are an English indie rock band from Rothwell, West Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. They have been championed by such well known DJs as Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley, and performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2006, where they were tagged "the band most likely to leap to...
, Little Ones and We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists is a New York-based indie rock band that formed in Berkeley, California in 2000. Originally formed of Keith Murray on drums, Chris Cain playing bass guitar and Scott Lamb providing vocals and guitar, before Michael Tapper became drummer and Keith became vocalist and guitarist...
). In November 2007, they headlined a tour with support from Lightspeed Champion
Lightspeed Champion
Devonté Hynes , better known as Lightspeed Champion or Blood Orange, is a British composer, songwriter, producer and author, who has written for artists such as Florence and the Machine, Diana Vickers and The Chemical Brothers on their 2007 Grammy award winning album We Are The Night...
, also the band supported Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park are a British alternative rock band, formed in 2000. They are signed to Warp Records. The band consists of Paul Smith , Duncan Lloyd , Archis Tiku , Lukas Wooller and Tom English...
at their homecoming arena show on 15 December 2007.
The band stayed relatively low during 2008. They appeared for a small number of live shows, including a secret supporting slot to friends The Maccabees
The Maccabees
The Maccabees are a indie rock band from Brighton, England. They have released two albums so far, Colour It In in 2007, with a follow-up, Wall of Arms, released on 4 May 2009...
. Their main debut of new material was at their only UK festival appearance, Boring by the Sea Festival, which took place in Weymouth. They ended the year with two gigs at The Watershed in Wimbledon on 13 December, followed by an appearance at New Slang in Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
on 18 December 2008.
Cox left the band as the band started writing their second album, and for the recording of the album their friend, Bob Matthews, recorded the bass parts on the album.
Matthews is another South West Londoner. Born in Kingston, he played in various bands (Evil Twin, Iris) in local venues including the Peel, before becoming a founder of Right Turn Left while at Exeter University. After the recording sessions finished he went back to playing for Right Turn Left.
The band released a free download of "The Way My Heart Beats" on 18 August 2009, as a first taste of the second album due for release in January 2010. On the same weekend they played Dockville Festival in Germany which saw the second appearance of their new bass player Will Church. He will tour with the band for the whole second album and work on all new material from now on. Church originally played in Vincent Vincent and the Villains
Vincent Vincent and the Villains
Vincent Vincent and the Villains were an English rock 'n' roll group. They were signed to EMI.-History:Vincent Vincent grew up in Hatch End, an area in the London Borough of Harrow. He later moved to East London's Bethnal Green and after leaving Art College decided to start a band...
until they split in 2009, and has been a friend of the band for a number of years.
Albums
- 2007 Think Before You SpeakThink Before You SpeakThink Before You Speak is the debut album from Good Shoes, which was released on 26 March 2007 on Brille Records. The album was recorded in nineteen days in Malmö in Sweden by Per Sunding at Tambourine Studios.-Track listing:# "Nazanin" – 1:55...
, UKUK Albums ChartThe 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...
#55 - 2007 Live at the Astoria (Limited Release of 1000, recorded at the Astoria, London 21 November 2007)
- 2010 No Hope, No FutureNo Hope, No FutureNo Hope, No Future is the second album from Good Shoes. It was released in January 2010.-Track listing:# "The Way My Heart Beats"# "Everything You Do"# "I Know"# "Under Control"# "Do You Remember"# "Our Loving Mother in a Pink Diamond"...
Singles
- "All in My HeadAll in My Head"All In My Head" is a single by Good Shoes. It is considered to be the breakthrough single by the band. Their first full single "All In My Head" released to critical acclaim, along with mentions in NME Magazine and an appearance on the Carling Stage at the Reading and Leeds Festivals which led to...
" - 14 August 2006, UKUK Singles ChartThe 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 ...
#77 - "The Photos on My WallThe Photos on My Wall"The Photos On My Wall" is a single by Good Shoes. It was released as a CD Single, and 2 vinyl singles. It is taken from the debut album Think Before You Speak as their 3rd single...
" - 2 January 2007, UK #48, UK Indie #1 - "Never Meant to Hurt YouNever Meant to Hurt You"Never Meant to Hurt You" is a single by Good Shoes. It was released as a CD Single, and 2 vinyl singles. It managed to reach #34 on the UK Singles Chart. It is taken from the debut album Think Before You Speak....
" - 12 March 2007, UK #34, UK Indie #1 - "MordenMorden (Good Shoes song)"Morden" is a single by Good Shoes.It was only released on 7" vinyl perhaps to cater the growing number of indie fans choosing vinyl over digital sound, and the...
" - 11 June 2007 - "Small Town Girl" - 26 November 2007
- "Under Control" - 11 January 2010
Members
- Rhys Jones – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Steve Leach – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Will Church – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Tom Jones – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
External links
- Official website
- Good Shoes biography and videos
- BBC Collective Good Shoes video session and interview
- Good Shoes Interview 2007 on ilikemusic.com
- Interview French only
- Good Shoes Interview on Music Towers