Kubb (band)
Encyclopedia
Kubb are a British
indie rock
band from London, who had two UK top 40 hits in 2005/6 and a top 30 album. Original member Ben Langmaid went on to become half of the duo La Roux
.
(of Faithless
fame) to record in the latter's studio after Armstrong heard him sing "Happy Birthday
" in the organic café where he was working as a waiter in 2001. At the studio he met Armstrong's old schoolfriend Ben Langmaid, who had a studio in the same complex, and Jeff Patterson. Collier grew up in Tobago
, returning to England aged 17, and had been in several bands, most notably Rootjoose
, playing over a thousand gigs before finding success with Kubb. The trio began writing songs together that would become Kubb's debut album, Mother. Langmaid and Patterson were only interested in studio and songwriting work, so Collier recruited former Reef
member Dom Greensmith (drums), John Tilley (keyboards), and Adj Buffone (guitar).
The band were signed by Mercury Records
, and narrowly missed out on a top 40 hit with the second single "Remain" although it was named "Single of the Week" by The Sun
, The follow-up "Wicked Soul" gave them a top 30 hit and was used in a Rimmel
cosmetics advert on television, and Youth-produced debut album Mother also reached the top 30 of the UK Albums Chart
, going on to be certified gold
. Collier explained the album's title: "The earth is our mother; we're all made of dirt. It's given birth to us. Most people's emotional make-up stems from their relationship with their mother. So it's a very pertinent word and a very beautiful word." The band had their biggest hit with "Grow", which reached #18 in the UK Singles Chart
. The band have headlined several tours in the UK. They have also played two gigs at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, and have made guest appearances on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
(on December 16, 2005, and on the Jonathan Ross Radio Show on February 4, 2006). They also appeared on Jools Holland
's show Later..., Popworld
, CDUK, the Des and Mel Show, The Friday Night Project
, and have appeared three times on Top of the Pops
. They performed an iTunes Live from London gig at the London Apple Store. They have also recorded a 'secret session' for Tiscali. They have appeared at the V Festival
, and the Isle of Wight Festival
.
Kubb announced on their MySpace page that they were busy writing for their second album. Guitarist Adj Buffone also announced that he had left the band and formed the band Raygun in November 2006. Lead singer Harry Collier features on the 2006 Faithless
single "Bombs".
Kubb's official website was last updated in 2006 and news on the band has being lacking since Buffone left. Harry Collier is currently working on new material for Kubb with a new line up that features John Hogg (guitar) and Alex Evans (keyboards) from Moke, and Martin Wright (drums). The band played the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in December 2009 under the name The Daddy. More Kubb shows are planned for 2010. Original member Ben Langmaid is currently half of the duo La Roux
.
, Muse
, Keane, Jeff Buckley
, Coldplay
, and David Bowie
. Caroline Sullivan in The Guardian
commented "Kubb specialise in the kind of arena-sized balladry that has Coldplay racking up the frequent-flyer miles", and compared Collier's voice to Buckley and Antony Hegarty
. Dave Simpson, writing in The Guardian
described the band's sound as "Abbey Road-era Beatles fronted by Jeff Buckley with a suggestion of epic, melancholy 1980s heroic failures such as Comsat Angels."
: Video: 'Grow', 'Remain', Making Of 'Remain', Kubb Interview, Vidéo Live au Barfly and photos.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band from London, who had two UK top 40 hits in 2005/6 and a top 30 album. Original member Ben Langmaid went on to become half of the duo La Roux
La Roux
La Roux are an English electropop duo made up of singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson, and co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Jackson describes their relationship as "very much a half and half sharing situation... not like a singer producer outfit", but also...
.
Biography
The band started to form when singer Harry Collier was invited by Rollo ArmstrongRollo Armstrong
Rollo Armstrong is one half of the music producers/remixers team Rollo and Sister Bliss and is a founding member of the electronic music group Faithless.-Early life:...
(of Faithless
Faithless
Faithless were a British electronica band consisting of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo. The group is best known for their dance songs . Faithless recorded six albums. During their career they sold over 15 million records worldwide...
fame) to record in the latter's studio after Armstrong heard him sing "Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth...
" in the organic café where he was working as a waiter in 2001. At the studio he met Armstrong's old schoolfriend Ben Langmaid, who had a studio in the same complex, and Jeff Patterson. Collier grew up in Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
, returning to England aged 17, and had been in several bands, most notably Rootjoose
Rootjoose
Rootjoose were a funk rock band from Cornwall. They purveyed a lively style of music reminiscent of surf rock bands such as contemporaries Reef, their live performances gained them some popularity in the South West of Britain during the late 1990s...
, playing over a thousand gigs before finding success with Kubb. The trio began writing songs together that would become Kubb's debut album, Mother. Langmaid and Patterson were only interested in studio and songwriting work, so Collier recruited former Reef
Reef (band)
Reef are an English band from Glastonbury. The band members includes Gary Stringer on vocals, Kenwyn House on guitar, Jack Bessant on bass and Dominic Greensmith on drums.-Early days:...
member Dom Greensmith (drums), John Tilley (keyboards), and Adj Buffone (guitar).
The band were signed by Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, and narrowly missed out on a top 40 hit with the second single "Remain" although it was named "Single of the Week" by The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, The follow-up "Wicked Soul" gave them a top 30 hit and was used in a Rimmel
Rimmel
Rimmel is a cosmetics brand, now owned by Coty, Inc.. The House of Rimmel was originally founded by Eugene Rimmel in 1834 in Regent Street, London, UK....
cosmetics advert on television, and Youth-produced debut album Mother also reached the top 30 of 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...
, going on to be certified gold
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,...
. Collier explained the album's title: "The earth is our mother; we're all made of dirt. It's given birth to us. Most people's emotional make-up stems from their relationship with their mother. So it's a very pertinent word and a very beautiful word." The band had their biggest hit with "Grow", which reached #18 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 ...
. The band have headlined several tours in the UK. They have also played two gigs at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, and have made guest appearances on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
(on December 16, 2005, and on the Jonathan Ross Radio Show on February 4, 2006). They also appeared on Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
's show Later..., Popworld
Popworld
Popworld was a British television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4, offering pop news, trivia, gossip, interviews and music videos, as well as musical performances from the most recent top artists....
, CDUK, the Des and Mel Show, The Friday Night Project
The Friday Night Project
The Sunday Night Project was a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title The Friday Night Project...
, and have appeared three times 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...
. They performed an iTunes Live from London gig at the London Apple Store. They have also recorded a 'secret session' for Tiscali. They have appeared at the V Festival
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...
, and 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...
.
Kubb announced on their MySpace page that they were busy writing for their second album. Guitarist Adj Buffone also announced that he had left the band and formed the band Raygun in November 2006. Lead singer Harry Collier features on the 2006 Faithless
Faithless
Faithless were a British electronica band consisting of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo. The group is best known for their dance songs . Faithless recorded six albums. During their career they sold over 15 million records worldwide...
single "Bombs".
Kubb's official website was last updated in 2006 and news on the band has being lacking since Buffone left. Harry Collier is currently working on new material for Kubb with a new line up that features John Hogg (guitar) and Alex Evans (keyboards) from Moke, and Martin Wright (drums). The band played the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in December 2009 under the name The Daddy. More Kubb shows are planned for 2010. Original member Ben Langmaid is currently half of the duo La Roux
La Roux
La Roux are an English electropop duo made up of singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson, and co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Jackson describes their relationship as "very much a half and half sharing situation... not like a singer producer outfit", but also...
.
Musical style
The band have drawn comparisons with others such as RadioheadRadiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, 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...
, Keane, Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
, 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...
, and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
. Caroline Sullivan in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
commented "Kubb specialise in the kind of arena-sized balladry that has Coldplay racking up the frequent-flyer miles", and compared Collier's voice to Buckley and Antony Hegarty
Antony Hegarty
Antony Hegarty is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons.-Early life:...
. Dave Simpson, writing in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described the band's sound as "Abbey Road-era Beatles fronted by Jeff Buckley with a suggestion of epic, melancholy 1980s heroic failures such as Comsat Angels."
Albums
- Mother (14 November 2005), MercuryMercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
- UK # 26 - Live from London (iTunes) (7 March 2006)
Singles
From Mother:- "Somebody Else" (30 May 2005)
- "Remain" (22 August 2005), UK # 45
- "Wicked Soul" (7 November 2005), UK # 25
- "GrowGrow (Kubb song)"Grow" is the third single from alternative rock band Kubb's debut album, Mother. The album was released in late 2005 and the single was released on February 6, 2006. It became the group's first Top 20 hit, peaking at #18 in the UK Singles Chart...
" (6 February 2006), UK # 18 - "Remain" (1 May 2006), UK # 189
Opendisc
Exclusive content available through OpendiscOpendisc
Opendisc is an Enhanced Music CD application for enabling multimedia content when a compact disc is played on a personal computer. Opendisc asserts that its technology conforms to the Blue Book specification and does not contain copy-protection functions...
: Video: 'Grow', 'Remain', Making Of 'Remain', Kubb Interview, Vidéo Live au Barfly and photos.