- Athlete (band)
Infobox musical artist
Name = Athlete
Img_capt = Athlete performing in 2008
Background = group_or_band
Origin =Deptford ,London ,England
Genre =Indie rock Alternative rock
Years_active = 1999–present
Label =Parlophone (UK)Astralwerks (USA)
URL = http://www.athlete.mu/
Current_members =Joel Pott Carey Willets Steve Roberts Tim Wanstall
Past_members =Athlete are an English
indie rock band formed inDeptford ,London , comprisingJoel Pott (lead vocals and guitar), Carey Willetts (bass and backing vocals), Stephen Roberts (drums and backing vocals) and Tim Wanstall (keyboards and backing vocals). Recently, the quartet have recruited Jonny Pilcher of Weevil as a live guitarist.History
Early beginings and "Vehicles & Animals" (1999-2003)
Friends since the age of fourteen, Athlete took their wide ranging influences such as
Grandaddy andThe Flaming Lips and started jamming and practicing in the basement of The Bear, a pub which was converted into a church and sandwich bar, on Deptford High Street in 1999. They began recording there, before sending demos out. Signing with Regal Recordings, they released their first single in February 2002. The band came to prominence in 2003 with their debut album, "Vehicles and Animals ", producing popular singles such as "You Got the Style " and "El Salvador". The album earned aMercury Music Prize nomination and went on to sell over 250,000 copies. They played their first live session on UK radio on the Dermot O'Leary Show, BBC Radio 2.Mainstream success and "Tourist" (2004-2006)
Their second album, "Tourist", reached Number One in the UK Album Charts in its first week, following the huge success of single "Wires". The song was brought around when the lead singer's newborn baby was rushed to intensive care after a premature birth, and in 2006 it won them the Ivor Novello Award for "Best Contemporary Song". In the UK charts, the band has frequently been frustrated by singles just missing out on top 40 placings, due to inconsistent support by music television channels and radio stations. For instance, certain songs, such as "Wires" and "Half Light", were played up to 10 times a day on larger UK radio stations, yet other singles such as "Westside" and "Tourist" received little to no radio play whatsoever, fueling talk of radio stations deciding who becomes a major player in the pop music franchise.
Development with "Beyond the Neighbourhood" (2007-present)
On
10 June 2007 , it was announced that the title of their third album would be "Beyond the Neighbourhood ". [ [http://www.athlete.mu Athlete.mu] ] . The album was mixed by Ben Allen and Michael Brauer, who also worked on "Tourist". Released on3 September 2007 , "Beyond the Neighbourhood" was a self-produced collection of low-key songs, viewed as a disappointment by some [ [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2159002,00.html Beyond The Neighbourhood album review] from Guardian Unlimited] , and an interesting sidestep by others [ [http://www.stv.tv/content/out/music/album_reviews/display.html?id=opencms:/content/out/music/album_reviews/AthletexbrxBeyond_The_Neighbourho_200709 Beyond The Neighbourhood album review] from stv.tv/music] . It entered at #5 on the UK album chart.They embarked on tours of the UK in late 2007 and early 2008 in support of the album. It has also been announced that they will play during the 2008 TT
motorcycle racing festival on theIsle of Man . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/isle_of_man/7336024.stm BBC News Online] - Rock band Athlete announce TT gig]Discography
Albums
# "
Vehicles and Animals " – (April 7 ,2003 ) #19 UK
# "Tourist" – (January 31 ,2005 ) #1 UK
# "Beyond the Neighbourhood " – (September 3 ,2007 ) #5 UKingles
Compilations
Athlete tracks have appeared on the following compilation CDs:
In popular culture
*"Chances" from "Tourist" was used in the 2006
Russell Crowe film "A Good Year "
*"Wires" is the theme song forThe Learning Channel 's show "Diagnosis X "
*"El Salvador" is in the movie "The Last Kiss" with Zach Braff
*"El Salvador appears on the 2 CD set "Top Gear: Seriously Cool Driving Music"; inspired from the BBC 2 TV show.
*"Tourist" is used in theAdidas commercial "Impossible is 0" featuringWashington Wizards starGilbert Arenas . [ [http://www.gilbertology.net/2007/03/06/gilberts-story-impossible-is-0 Gilbert’s Story - Impossible is 0 | Gilbertology.net ] ]
*"Street Map" is heard in the first episode of the third season of CW's "One Tree Hill"
*"Flying Over Bus Stops" is heard in the second episode of the second series ofDirty Sexy Money ee also
*
Joel Pott
* "Live from London" (iTunes)References
External links
* [http://www.athlete.mu/ Official website]
* [http://www.themusiczine.com/live.php?id=14 TheMusicZine live review]
* [http://www.themusiczine.com/feature.php?id=13 TheMusicZine interview]
* [http://www.myspace.com/athlete Myspace site]
* [http://comfortcomes.com/?page=reviews&id=1894 Hurricane Review]
* [http://www.ccmpatrol.com/index.php?id=80 Athlete, "Beyond the Neighbourhood" Review]
* [http://comfortcomes.com/?page=reviews&id=1942 Beyond The Neighbourhood Review]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/image_galleries/events_athlete_20071018_gallery.shtml Athlete gig gallery on BBC Norfolk]
* [http://comfortcomes.com/?page=reviews&id=1989 Tokyo Review]
* [http://www.caughtinthecrossfire.com/music/interviews/5061 Interview with Caught In The Crossfire]
* [http://www.soundfires.com/reviews/139 Soundfires.com review of Tokyo]
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