The Wombats
| The Wombats | |
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 The Wombats performing live | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Liverpool, United Kingdom |
| Genres |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | thewombats.co.uk |
| Members |
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The Wombats are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 2003. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Murphy, drummer Dan Haggis and bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen and has been since its inception. The band is signed to 14th Floor Records in the United Kingdom and Bright Antenna in the United States. The Wombats' albums have sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
The group met while they were in university and released several EPs before their 2006 album Girls, Boys and Marsupials, which was only released in Japan. Their debut studio album A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation was released the following year, featuring some tracks first released on Girls, Boys and Marsupials. After releasing another EP in 2008 touring for three years, the band released their second album This Modern Glitch in 2011. Two years later, in 2013, the single "Your Body Is a Weapon" was released ahead of their third album Glitterbug, which was not released until mid-2015. The band released their fourth album, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life,[2] on 9 February 2018.
Contents
1 History
1.1 Early years and A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation (2003–2008)
1.2 The Wombats EP (2008–2010)
1.3 This Modern Glitch (2010–2013)
1.4 Glitterbug (2013–2017)
1.5 Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life (2017–present)
2 Band members
3 Discography
4 Awards and nominations
5 References
6 External links
History
Early years and A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation (2003–2008)
The three band members met in 2003 at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts; soon becoming friends, they formed as "The Wombats". Over the course of 2004 to 2005 the band released many EPs such as "The Hangover Sessions", "No.3" and "The Daring Adventures of Sgt. Wimbo and His Pet Otter". In 2006, the band released their debut album Girls, Boys and Marsupials which was only available as a release in Japan.
In January 2007 the band released a second limited edition vinyl called Moving to New York, then in May that year they released a third single entitled "Backfire at the Disco", which reached number 35 in the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by then band's first full single "Kill the Director" in late July. Their debut album, entitled A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, coincided with the release of "Let's Dance to Joy Division" in October 2007 and peaked at number 11 in the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by a European tour ending with a thanksgiving party at Liverpool Academy.[citation needed]
The band started 2008 as the opening act at the opening ceremony of Liverpool, European Capital of Culture at Liverpool Arena. "Moving to New York" was re-released on 14 January 2008 and reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming their highest charting release to date. On 28 February 2008 the band was awarded "Best Dancefloor Filler" for their single "Let's Dance to Joy Division" at the NME Awards.[3]
The Wombats EP (2008–2010)
The Wombats performing in 2007
In April 2008 the band put out their first US release on Bright Antenna, The Wombats EP. Following this release the band went on a full UK tour, as well as playing dates in Europe and Japan. The band also played for Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1 where they covered the Take That song "Patience", as well as the Postman Pat theme tune, which Tord sang in his native Norwegian language.
The summer of 2008 saw the band perform live at a number of major festivals including Glastonbury Festival in June and T in the Park in July, opening the BBC Radio 1 / NME Stage set on the Friday. They also played Reading and Leeds Festival on the Saturday and Friday respectively on the Radio 1/NME Stage supporting Babyshambles. In September 2008 the band were filmed for a cameo appearance on Australian soap Neighbours.[4]
The band also announced via their MySpace blog that they would be releasing two singles, a seasonal 'Anti-Christmas' themed "Is This Christmas?" on 15 December 2008, followed by a track titled "My Circuitboard City" on 3 March 2009.
This Modern Glitch (2010–2013)
In September 2010, the band announced they were near to completing their second studio album, This Modern Glitch in the MRG Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California. The band worked with producers Eric Valentine and Jacknife Lee.
The first single to be released from the album, "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)" was released in the UK on 27 September 2010[5] and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 23; marking the band's fifth Top 40 hit and third most successful single to date. The accompanying music video was shot in Los Angeles, CA during August 2010 and was directed by The General Assembly. Following the rumoured release of "Techno Fan" as the second single from the album, the track "Jump into the Fog" was confirmed for a release on 24 January 2011.[6] "Anti-D" was the next single, with the album following two weeks later. The album, entitled This Modern Glitch, was released in April 2011 as a CD, digital download and also on 7" and 12" vinyl.[7] The Wombats also played at the 2011 Southside and Hurricane music festivals in Germany.
The Wombats' song "Techno Fan" was previously used in European airline easyJet's television and Facebook campaigns.
Glitterbug (2013–2017)
The Wombats at Lollapalooza 2015
On 11 September 2013, a mysterious hashtag message appeared on the band's Facebook page which read "#yourbodyisaweapon". A second message on 16 September stated: "Seismic activity is going on! Excited to announce that our new track "Your Body Is a Weapon" will be out on October 2nd." The single premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 1 October as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record and was officially released the next day. Lead singer Matthew Murphy claimed that their next album would be released at some point in 2014, however this did not come to pass.[8]
On 17 December 2014, the Wombats announced that their new album, Glitterbug, would be released in April 2015 as well as revealing the official album cover. The album's second single titled 'Greek Tragedy' was premiered as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1. A third track 'Emoticons' was published 16 February, with the third single from Glitterbug 'Give Me A Try' being released in March. To celebrate the album's release the Glitterbug B Sides EP was released on the same day. The album achieved similar chart success to its predecessor This Modern Glitch, charting at number 5 in the UK and 2 in Australia. Glitterbug also became The Wombats' first album to chart in the US, reaching 81 on the Billboard 200.
To support the album the band toured extensively across the world, including dates in Europe, the United States and Australia. They also performed Greek Tragedy on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life (2017–present)
After being revealed as headliners of Australian festival Groovin' the Moo for 2017, Murphy announced that work was underway for a fourth Wombats album, with a release scheduled for the end of that Summer. However, the album was not released before this deadline. [9] Subsequently, the band announced they would tour to celebrate the anniversary of their album A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, with a show in London and 3 in Australia confirmed so far.[10]
On 4 September 2017, a teaser trailer was published on the bands Facebook, accompanied by an emoji of a knife and a lemon. On 30 October 2017, it was revealed via the group's Instagram that the fourth album would be titled Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life. The album was released on 9 February 2018.[11].
Band members
Lead vocalist Matthew Murphy performing with The Wombats in 2009
Matthew Murphy – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards (2003–present)
- Dan Haggis – drums, percussion, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (2003–present)
Tord Øverland Knudsen – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2003–present)
Discography
Studio albums
A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation (2007)
This Modern Glitch (2011)
Glitterbug (2015)
Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life (2018)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | NME Awards[12] | Best New Band | The Wombats | Nominated |
| Best Dancefloor Filler | "Let's Dance to Joy Division" | Won | ||
| Best Track | "Let's Dance to Joy Division" | Nominated | ||
| XFM New Music Awards | Best Album | A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation | Nominated | |
2008 MTV Europe Music Awards[13] | Best UK and Ireland New Act | The Wombats | Nominated |
References
^ ab "The Wombats - Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 January 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life by The Wombats". Retrieved 9 February 2018.
^ "Shockwaves NME Awards 2008: The Wombats win Best Dancefloor Filler". Nme.com. 28 February 2008. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
^ "The Wombats to appear on 'Neighbours'". NME. IPC Media. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
^ "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
^ "The Wombats Jump Into The Fog (Single)". Thewombats.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
^ "This Modern Glitch UK Boxset". Brightantenna.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012.
^ "Hear The Wombats' new single, new album details revealed". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
^ "The Wombats give update on new album". Nme.com. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
^ "The Wombats - Google Search". Google.co.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
^ "Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life by The Wombats". Genius.com. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
^ "NME News Shockwaves NME Awards 2008: Winners' list - NME.COM". NME.COM. 29 February 2008. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014.
^ Jade Wright (16 January 2015). "The Wombats are back in Liverpool tonight - here's 16 facts about their remarkable rise". Liverpoolecho.co.uk.
External links
Official website
- Official USA Website
The Wombats at The Indie Music Database
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