Little Man Tate (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Little Man Tate


Background = group_or_band
Origin = Sheffield, England
Genre = Indie rock
Years_active = 2005–present
Label = Yellow Van Records, V2 Records, Skint
URL = http://www.littlemantate.co.uk
Current_members = Jon Windle Edward 'Maz' Marriot Ben Surtees Dan Fields

Little Man Tate are a four-piece indie band from Sheffield, England and formed in 2005. The band quickly began attracting interest from several record labels and in March 2006 signed to V2 Records, later parting ways in November 2007. Their fifth single, "Sexy In Latin" was released on January 22 and became their highest charting single yet, entering the official UK singles chart at number 20.

The band made extensive use of the Internet to gather a fanbase, which may be in part responsible for their relatively rapid rise, with only twelve months having passed from formation to their signing with the V2 record label. Like many other up and coming bands they made extensive use of MySpace as well as their own forum to communicate with and co-ordinate fans.

In recognition of their online community's role in their success, the band gave forum members priority booking tickets for their 2006 Christmas show at the Sheffield Boardwalk.

History

In an interview, Jon Windle revealed the name Little Man Tate came when he was on the phone to bass player Ben Surtees and was thinking of a band name. He saw the film Little Man Tate advertised in the television listing, and they settle on that name from there on.

Their first single, "The Agent", was released on 7" with "Just Can't Take It" as the B-side. All 1,800 copies sold out as pre-orders. The song got rated 9/10 by Teletext's Planet Sound.

Both "The Agent" and "What? What You Got?" were released under the band's own label, Yellow Van Records, a tribute to their old yellow van which was stolen along with all their equipment at an early gig at Fibbers (Barfly) in York.

In April 2006 the band played a hometown, sellout gig at the Plug venue in Sheffield. Following this, they completed sell out gigs at London, Leeds and York amongst others. In June 2006, Little Man Tate played their first festival at the Middlesbrough Music Live in Middlesbrough, UK. The band have also featured in such magazines as Rolling Stone, NME, Sandman, Q, Radio Coma amongst other leading magazines. As well as being featured heavily on radio stations such as Revolution in Manchester and Manx Radio in Isle of Man. Also in August 2006, Little Man Tate played the Reading and Leeds festivals on the Carling Stage to great acclaim.

"The Agent" was shown to be No 6. in Planet Sound's top 50 singles of 2006. They also signed autographs and played acoustic sets at several HMV stores around the UK.

On August 4 2007, they played to a packed crowd at Sheffield's The Plug, where all profits during the night went towards the "South Yorkshire Flood Support Appeal" helping families who lost their homes during the 2007 Yorkshire floods.

The band played the Main Stage of the Reading and Leeds festivals in 2007. Jon and Maz told in an interview at the Festival that they want to be "the best band in the world." [http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Interviews/carling_leeds_festival_2007_little_man_tate_main_stage.aspx Little Man Tate on DailyMusicGuide.com]

Again for the fans for a Christmas treat Little Man Tate played a gig at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool on Saturday 15th December 2007. This was seen to be a pilgrimage for the cult fan base to attend. Another Christmas treat was them giving out their new song to the fans at the Blackpool gig, and it was available to download on Christmas Day for everyone else.

Tha band was due to play at the Oxygen and T in the Park festivals on the 12th and 13th of July respectfully, however lead singer Jon windle was attacked outside a nightclub in Brighton and had his jaw fractured. As a result the band could not play. [ [http://www.nme.com/news/little-man-tate/38006 Little Man Tate pull festivals after attack | News | NME.COM ] ]

Discography

Albums

References

External links

* [http://www.littlemantate.co.uk Little Man Tate Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/littlemantatemusic Official myspace page]
* [http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Interviews/carling_leeds_festival_2007_little_man_tate_main_stage.aspx Interview with Little Man Tate at Leeds Festival 2007]
* [http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/little_man_tate_islington_carling_academy_240908_28092008_2335.aspx Review of Little Man Tate at Islington Carling Academy, London (24/9/08)]