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Alfie (band)
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Alfie (band)
Alfie were an English indie rock band, formed in 1998 in Manchester. The band were composed of singer Lee Gorton, guitarist-vocalist Ian Smith, drummer Sean Kelly, bassist Sam Morris and cellist-guitarist Matt McGeever.
Gorton admitted that the name Alfie "was just plucked out of the air", but with it being one of the first bands alphabetically had helped them as, for example, when the band "played All Tomorrow's Parties, it looked like we were headlining".
The band released four studio albums before disbanding in 2005.
The band was formed by Lee Gorton and Ian Smith, with Gorton commenting on the band's formation that "I knew a couple of the lads from Eccles in Salford where I’m from. They were friends of mine and had already been in bands and I knew they were f****** great already so I got them in. Then we got some music students". The band were close to local bands Doves, I Am Kloot and Elbow, with whom they shared a rehearsal studio. The band signed to Twisted Nerve Records in 1999 following an appearance on the In The City Key 103 Stevenson Square stage in 1998, and were simultaneously recruited by label co-owner Damon Gough (aka Badly Drawn Boy) to work on his debut album and perform as his live backing band. Gorton would later reveal that EMI had previously tried to sign the band, but that they were "stubborn little buggers because we wanted to keep it indie and on the coolest label around".
The band released 3 vinyl-only EP's on the label through 2000, the self-titled debut in February, second "Bookends" in August and third "Montevideo" in November. They released debut album, If You Happy with You Need Do Nothing in March 2001. Explaining the origin of album title, Gorton revealed that "It actually comes from when I was in my old flat and my dentist had changed hands, and I had this Asian dentist who wrote a letter in pidgin English saying 'oh I'm gonna be your new dentist now, if you wanna use your old dentist you have to do this, but if you happy with you need do nothing' and it was in brackets and it was like 'Wow.' So we kept that because it suits what we do". Although the album is technically a compilation of the previous EPs plus new songs Umlaut and 2 Up 2 Down, it is largely considered to be the band's debut and was promoted as such. The band had wanted to record the album afresh, but as Twisted Nerve were unwilling to finance studio time the band were forced to use the existing recordings. In September 2001, the band released a newly recorded version of You Make No Bones as a single. In December 2001, the band were forced to pull out of a gig in Glasgow after guitarist Ian Smith received an electric shock during the soundcheck when touching a microphone whilst some equipment had reportedly short circuited. He was treated as a local hospital for shock and burns to his hands.
Following a falling out with the owners of Twisted Nerve and simply outgrowing the label, the band signed to EMI in October 2001. Commenting on leaving the label, Gorton revealed that "it costs money to go to America and we just couldn't do what we wanted to do with Twisted Nerve. We didn't get ads, video's or big tours" and that "They don’t treat us with respect, they aren’t prepared to put up any money for anything. They always threatened to cancel the tour support just before we went away, leaving us in a shambles. They refuse to speak to us, yet when they do we are treated like kids". Label co-owner Damon Gough responded by attacking the band during an appearance in Manchester.
The first release on EMI was a free 7" release featuring a cover of the Fat Larry's Band song Zoom which was given away at the Regal Recordings Christmas party. However, the band had already recorded the A Word in Your Ear (originally set to be called Get Alfie) album for Twisted Nerve who owned the rights to the recording, and wouldn't be released until March 2002. The band were fine with promoting the album for a label they had already left, but complained that again they would have preferred to have played more gigs but that the label were unable or unwilling to finance it. Commenting further on the restrictions of the band's former label, Gorton revealed that they never had enough time in the studio to record material, that the band's first two albums "definitely felt unfinished really" and that previous EP releases were vinyl only due to production costs. To make ends meet whilst signed to Twisted Nerve, Gorton ran a market stall in Manchester which members of the band also worked on.
Following the final release on Twisted Nerve, the band recorded third album, Do You Imagine Things? with Coldplay producer Ken Nelson. The album was released in September 2003 and praised as being "a great leap forward" and "a warm record [that is] above the indie quagmire". Despite the favourable reviews, the album failed to break the UK Top 40.[failed verification] Gorton admitted that "the label didn't really know what to do with the record because it was so schizophrenic" and radio refused to play anything off it". In February 2004, the band were forced to play a shortened set in Birmingham after guitarist Ian Smith failed to show up for the band's soundcheck or show. Although the police were contacted as the behaviour was out of character for Smith, he was found the following day safe and well and the band continued on their tour. In June 2004, the band were forced to cancel a string of festival appearances and warm up gigs after Gorton broken his arm whilst playing football.
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Alfie (band)
Alfie were an English indie rock band, formed in 1998 in Manchester. The band were composed of singer Lee Gorton, guitarist-vocalist Ian Smith, drummer Sean Kelly, bassist Sam Morris and cellist-guitarist Matt McGeever.
Gorton admitted that the name Alfie "was just plucked out of the air", but with it being one of the first bands alphabetically had helped them as, for example, when the band "played All Tomorrow's Parties, it looked like we were headlining".
The band released four studio albums before disbanding in 2005.
The band was formed by Lee Gorton and Ian Smith, with Gorton commenting on the band's formation that "I knew a couple of the lads from Eccles in Salford where I’m from. They were friends of mine and had already been in bands and I knew they were f****** great already so I got them in. Then we got some music students". The band were close to local bands Doves, I Am Kloot and Elbow, with whom they shared a rehearsal studio. The band signed to Twisted Nerve Records in 1999 following an appearance on the In The City Key 103 Stevenson Square stage in 1998, and were simultaneously recruited by label co-owner Damon Gough (aka Badly Drawn Boy) to work on his debut album and perform as his live backing band. Gorton would later reveal that EMI had previously tried to sign the band, but that they were "stubborn little buggers because we wanted to keep it indie and on the coolest label around".
The band released 3 vinyl-only EP's on the label through 2000, the self-titled debut in February, second "Bookends" in August and third "Montevideo" in November. They released debut album, If You Happy with You Need Do Nothing in March 2001. Explaining the origin of album title, Gorton revealed that "It actually comes from when I was in my old flat and my dentist had changed hands, and I had this Asian dentist who wrote a letter in pidgin English saying 'oh I'm gonna be your new dentist now, if you wanna use your old dentist you have to do this, but if you happy with you need do nothing' and it was in brackets and it was like 'Wow.' So we kept that because it suits what we do". Although the album is technically a compilation of the previous EPs plus new songs Umlaut and 2 Up 2 Down, it is largely considered to be the band's debut and was promoted as such. The band had wanted to record the album afresh, but as Twisted Nerve were unwilling to finance studio time the band were forced to use the existing recordings. In September 2001, the band released a newly recorded version of You Make No Bones as a single. In December 2001, the band were forced to pull out of a gig in Glasgow after guitarist Ian Smith received an electric shock during the soundcheck when touching a microphone whilst some equipment had reportedly short circuited. He was treated as a local hospital for shock and burns to his hands.
Following a falling out with the owners of Twisted Nerve and simply outgrowing the label, the band signed to EMI in October 2001. Commenting on leaving the label, Gorton revealed that "it costs money to go to America and we just couldn't do what we wanted to do with Twisted Nerve. We didn't get ads, video's or big tours" and that "They don’t treat us with respect, they aren’t prepared to put up any money for anything. They always threatened to cancel the tour support just before we went away, leaving us in a shambles. They refuse to speak to us, yet when they do we are treated like kids". Label co-owner Damon Gough responded by attacking the band during an appearance in Manchester.
The first release on EMI was a free 7" release featuring a cover of the Fat Larry's Band song Zoom which was given away at the Regal Recordings Christmas party. However, the band had already recorded the A Word in Your Ear (originally set to be called Get Alfie) album for Twisted Nerve who owned the rights to the recording, and wouldn't be released until March 2002. The band were fine with promoting the album for a label they had already left, but complained that again they would have preferred to have played more gigs but that the label were unable or unwilling to finance it. Commenting further on the restrictions of the band's former label, Gorton revealed that they never had enough time in the studio to record material, that the band's first two albums "definitely felt unfinished really" and that previous EP releases were vinyl only due to production costs. To make ends meet whilst signed to Twisted Nerve, Gorton ran a market stall in Manchester which members of the band also worked on.
Following the final release on Twisted Nerve, the band recorded third album, Do You Imagine Things? with Coldplay producer Ken Nelson. The album was released in September 2003 and praised as being "a great leap forward" and "a warm record [that is] above the indie quagmire". Despite the favourable reviews, the album failed to break the UK Top 40.[failed verification] Gorton admitted that "the label didn't really know what to do with the record because it was so schizophrenic" and radio refused to play anything off it". In February 2004, the band were forced to play a shortened set in Birmingham after guitarist Ian Smith failed to show up for the band's soundcheck or show. Although the police were contacted as the behaviour was out of character for Smith, he was found the following day safe and well and the band continued on their tour. In June 2004, the band were forced to cancel a string of festival appearances and warm up gigs after Gorton broken his arm whilst playing football.