Razorlight

Razorlight
Razorlight at SXSW, 2009
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Indie rock Post-punk revival Garage rock revival
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Mercury Music/Vertigo Records (UK) (Universal Music Group) Label type: Major
Website	razorlight.co.uk
Members
Johnny Borrell David 'Skully' Sullivan Kaplan Freddie Stitz Gus Robertson
Past members
Christian Smith-Pancorvo Andy Burrows Björn Ågren Carl Dalemo

Razorlight at Guilfest in July 2011

Razorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second. The band consists of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Johnny Borrell, drummer David 'Skully' Sullivan Kaplan, bass player Freddie Stitz and lead guitarist Gus Robertson.

History

Formation and early years (2002–2003)

At the beginning of their career Johnny Borrell's new outfit spent six months rehearsing in a decaying factory space in east London. After his earlier incarnation as a solo acoustic singer/songwriter supporting bands like The Libertines, Johnny Borrell fashioned Razorlight as an intense electric rock band with hooky songs and took the band out on the road. On 17 September 2002 they played their first show with all four founder member, Johnny Borrell (vocals, guitar) Carl Dalemo (bass), Christian Smith-Pancorvo (drums) and Bjorn Agren (guitar), at Dingwalls, supporting The Von Bondies. Ex NME journalist Roger Morton, who had been managing the band from the beginning, began looking to get the band into a recording studio and a session was booked by A&R man Justin Cross at Liam Watson's Toe Rag Studios to record early versions of tracks "Rip It Up", "Rock 'n' Roll Lies" and "In the City". Collaborating alongside Watson and Cross on production was John Fortis. Off the back of these tracks they began getting serious A&R heat due to the songs' success on radio stations such as John Kennedy Show on XFM.

Following a singing race the band finally settled with Mercury Records and then were steered by A&R Richard O'Donovan. The band started to become very popular on the London music scene.

Up All Night(2004–2005)

Razorlight debut album, Up All Night, was released on 28 June 2004, reaching number 3 in the UK album charts.^[1] The critical reception was generally good, receiving good reviews from NME, Q magazine and Billboard, although they were also accused of lack of imagination and unoriginality for allegedly borrowing ideas from other influential bands such as The Strokes. Following the successful release of their debut album, drummer Christian Smith-Pancorvo left the group and was replaced by Andy Burrows. Up All Night was re-issued in April 2005, including the previously unreleased single "Somewhere Else", which peaked at Number 2.

In July 2005, the band performed at Hyde Park, London as part of the Live 8 series of concerts. However, the band came under fire for being the only band that did not donate their extra revenue to charity. The band subsequently claimed that due to their "fledgling status", they were unable to make such a commitment.^[2]

Razorlight contributed the song "Kirby's House" to the War Child charity album Help!: A Day in the Life. The song, which was originally over 4 minutes long, was later cut down almost in half and re-mastered, appearing as the eighth track on the band's second album, Razorlight.

In the midst of their first American headlining tour in support of Up All Night, Razorlight created a stir in Denver, Colorado, when they stormed off the stage five songs into their set during a show at the Larimer Lounge.^[3] After stumbling around stage, frontman Borrell shouted into the microphone "I'm going to kill myself now," and ran off the stage. Though the band's official statement was that he was suffering from stagefright, fans in attendance attest to his odd behavior and many claimed he was high on cocaine.

A later laryngitis infection led to the cancellation of the subsequent Los Angeles date of the tour.^[4]

Razorlight (2006–2007)

Continuing their association with The Who which started at the Live 8 gig, Razorlight debuted some of new songs from their forthcoming second album live on 30 March 2006, in one of a chain of Teenage Cancer Trust concerts, organised by Roger Daltrey. Later that year, on 2 July, they played to a sellout Hyde Park Calling, where they were preceded by The Zutons, and opened for The Who. The band went on to play on the beach opposite Brighton's West Pier on 12 July in a free concert as part of a Vodafone TBA event broadcast on Channel 4.

Razorlight released their second album Razorlight on 17 July 2006, in the United Kingdom and it debuted at #1 in the UK Albums Chart a week later. It received mixed reviews, Q magazine giving it a rare 5/5 rating, whilst Pitchfork Media gave it 2.8/10. Razorlight is the album by which many of the original Razorlight fans lost interest in the band, and some accused them of 'selling-out' by diluting their raw, edgy rock sound to cater for a new, radio-friendly mainstream audience. The lead single from the album, "In the Morning" was released as a single on 3 July 2006, which peaked at #3 in the UK Singles Chart. To date, it is their third biggest single after "Somewhere Else", which peaked at #2, and "America", which peaked at #1. It also reached #2 on iTunes. In 2007, Razorlight were nominated for two BRIT Awards – one for 'Best British Band' and the other for 'Best Song', "America". They were also nominated for two NME Brit Awards for 'Best Band' and 'Best Album'.

Razorlight supported Queen + Paul Rodgers on 15 July, in front of 60,000 people. This gig had been rescheduled following the July 2005 London bombings. In December of the same year, they supported Oasis, at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. They also supported The Rolling Stones at their gigs in Cologne and Paris. During the Christmas season the band played an intimate show at the Railway Inn in Winchester. They were supported by up and coming London band Captain Phoenix, who are fronted by drummer Andy Burrows' younger brother Ben. The band played their biggest tour to date in October–November 2006 and also supported Richard Ashcroft in his homecoming gig at the Lancashire County Cricket Club on 17 June. They headlined Reading on 24 August, and Leeds on 25 August 2007. They also played the Main Stage on 19 May in Preston for Radio 1's Big Weekend alongside bands such as Kasabian and the Kaiser Chiefs. On 7 July 2007, Razorlight performed at both the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London, and T in the Park in Balado, Scotland. In November 2006 the band had to be hospitalised after traces of radioactive poisoning was detected on their plane. Their British Airways return flight from Moscow was a scheduled route used by Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko.^[5] The same month they supported the Mando Diao "Ode to Ochrasy Tour" in Germany.

Slipway Fires (2008–2009)

Razorlight was intended to perform for BBC Children in Need 2008, but cancelled due to Borrell reporting vocal problems. The band still made a donation to the charity.

After many months of producing new material, some of which was written on the Isle of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides, Razorlight released their third studio album, Slipway Fires, on 3 November 2008 with the lead single, "Wire To Wire", being released on 20 October 2008. The second single taken from Slipway Fires was "Hostage of Love"; however, having received little critical or commercial attention, it failed to enter the charts. As a result, a planned release of 'Burberry Blue Eyes', as the album's third single, was dropped.

Andy Burrows quits to set up I Am Arrows

On 5 March 2009, NME.com confirmed that Andy Burrows had quit the band to 'pursue other musical ventures'. Johnny Borrell was adamant that the band would continue, although he would miss the drummer.^[6] Eleven days after Burrows quit the band, it was revealed that he had signed to Universal Records – the same record label as his ex-band under the name I Am Arrows; and later joined American indie band We Are Scientists as well.^[7] New Yorker David 'Skully' Sullivan Kaplan took over the drums, initially it was reported he would be in the band as a touring member until the end of 2009, although since then he has become an official member. With a top 5 album and single in Germany, the band toured America, Australia and Europe before returning to the UK for shows in May at The O2 and Manchester Evening News Arena followed by UK festivals.

Fourth album (2009–present)

At the end of their "Slipway Fires" tour Razorlight previewed a new song called "Dr. Boushitan" in several German cities.^[8]

In a recent interview with Teletext, Borrell announced that the band was working with Steve Lillywhite and Dave McCracken on a new record and that they were eager to get the new songs out "soon".^[9]

It was revealed on 26 January 2011 that following unproductive recording sessions in late 2010, Dalemo and Ågren were no longer in the band,^[10] leaving Borrell as the only original member of the band. They have been replaced by Freddie Stitz and Gus Robertson.^[11] Borrell previewed the line-up as a new band during a solo UK and Europe tour throughout September and October 2010^[12][13] before announcing it as the new Razorlight line-up in January 2011. A press photo of the new unannounced line-up was also posted to the band's We Are Razorlight website in December.^[14]

Razorlight recently announced a London festival exclusive with their new line-up. They played at Get Loaded In The Park 2011 on Clapham Common on Sunday 12 June.^[15] Following that, they headlined Guilfest on Saturday 16 July 2011 on the main stage. Razorlight will also be headlining at Shakedown in Brighton (Stanmer Park) in September.

Discography

Main article: Razorlight discography

• Up All Night (2004)
• Razorlight (2006)
• Slipway Fires (2008)

References

1. ^ "UK Top 20 Albums @ Top40-Charts.com – 40 Top 20 & Top 40 Music Charts from 25 Countries". Top40-charts.com. 4 July 2004. http://top40-charts.com/chart.php?cid=26&date=2004-07-04. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
2. ^ "Festivals Guide 2011". NME. http://www.nmefestivals.com/t_in_the_park/news/112932. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
3. ^ "End Of Razorlight's Tour Marred By Onstage Freak-Out, Illness". VH1. http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1496362/20050128/razorlight.jhtml?headlines=true. Retrieved 2 October 2011. 
4. ^ "End Of Razorlight's Tour Marred By Onstage Freak-Out, Illness". VH1. http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1496362/20050128/razorlight.jhtml?headlines=true. Retrieved 2 October 2011. 
5. ^ "Bands caught up in spy poison scandal". NME. UK. 6 December 2006. http://www.nme.com/news/the-automatic/25343. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
6. ^ "Andy Burrows quits razorlight". NME. UK. 5 March 2009. http://www.nme.com/news/Razorlight/43251. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
7. ^ "Andy Burrows quits razorlight – exclusive | News". NME. UK. 5 March 2009. http://www.nme.com/news/razorlight/43251. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
8. ^ razorlight (14 September 2009). "Twitter / razorlight: Last night in Offenbach we". Twitter. http://twitter.com/razorlight/status/3980021681. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
9. ^ razorlight city energy
10. ^ Hot right now:     (26 January 2011). "razorlight Unveil New Line-Up As They Join Guilfest 2011 Bill". Gigwise. http://www.gigwise.com/news/60914/razorlight-Unveil-New-Line-Up-As-They-Join-Guilfest-2011-Bill. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
11. ^ "razorlight reveal new line-up | The Sun |Showbiz|Music". The Sun. 26 January 2011. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/music/3372979/razorlight-reveal-new-line-up.html. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
12. ^ "Rotten Hill Bar & Grill II". thesourcemag.net. http://www.thesourcemag.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=50:blog-by-piers-thomson&id=268:rotten-hill-bar-a-grill-ii-&Itemid=76. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
13. ^ Hot right now:    . "razorlight Johnny Borrell Plays Surprise First Gig With New Band". Gigwise. http://www.gigwise.com/news/58355/razorlight-Johnny-Borrell-Plays-Surprise-First-Gig-With-New-Band. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
14. ^ "razorlight.com". razorlight.com. http://www.razorlight.com/. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
15. ^ "Get Loaded in the Park 2011. Sunday 12 June. Clapham Common – razorlight HEADLINE GET LOADED IN THE PARK!". Getloadedinthepark.com. http://www.getloadedinthepark.com/ViewNews.aspx?Id=38. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 

External links

• razorlight own website
• Official website