- The Enemy (UK band)
Infobox musical artist
Name = The Enemy
Img_capt = The Enemy playing at Elland Road Stadium,Leeds . in May 2008
Background = group_or_band
Origin =Coventry ,England
Genre =Indie rock
Years_active = 2006–present
Label =Warner Music Group Stiff Records (UK)
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.theenemy.com/ http://www.theenemy.com]
Current_members = Tom Clarke
Laim Watts
Andy HopkinsThe Enemy are an English rock band formed in
Coventry in 2006, signed toWarner Music Group (UK). In June 2007, The Enemy played twice atGlastonbury Festival , played the 'Guardian lounge' on Saturday and the much larger 'Other Stage' on Sunday. They also headlined on the Saturday night ofT In The Park in the 'Futures' tent on7 July 2007 . The band's debut album "We'll Live and Die in These Towns " (2007) went straight to Number 1 in the UK Albums chart on release.History
Formation
The Enemy met their original manager John Dawkins under the
Coventry City crest of theRicoh Arena after a game between Coventry and Celtic for theRichard Shaw Testimonial. On May 15 2006Xfm Scotland DJJim Gellatly gave them their fist airplay, downloading "40 Days and 40 Nights" direct from Myspace.In 2006 the band were the opening act at Coventry's
Godiva Festival , and again played the event in July 2007 as second headliners beneath theSuper Furry Animals .Mainstream Popularity
They first gained acclaim when they were mentioned in "
NME " as the act most likely to "break your windows" for 2007. They supportedThe Fratellis ,Kasabian ,The Paddingtons , AshManic Street Preachers andThe Stereophonics on their UK tours.cite news |first=Jordan |last=Dowling |title="Reviews - Live - The Fratellis, The Enemy" .|url=http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/1652946 |publisher=Drowned in Sound |date=17 February 2007 |accessdate=2007-04-22 ]Their single, "Away From Here" entered the charts at number 8 and its follow-up "
Had Enough " entered the charts at number 4, their highest placing to date.Building on their rapid exposure, The Enemy appeared on the
NME 2007 Rock 'N' Roll Riot Tour during September and October 2007 along withLethal Bizzle andThe Wombats as well as theJersey Live Festival. They also supportedThe Rolling Stones on the last night of their European tour at theO2 Arena .March 2008 saw the band start production on their second album and playing six nights in a row at the London Astoria.
In April 2008 the band played at Coventry's Ricoh Arena, selling out two nights. The next month they supported
Kaiser Chiefs at Elland Road Stadium. They then headlined theGodiva Festival onJuly 5 2008 , a 30,000 capacity free gig in Coventry's War Memorial Park.Their song "Aggro" is featured on the upcoming video game
Music Industry Awards
Q Awards - Best New Act (awarded October 2007)XFM Awards - Best British Debut Album of 2007 (awarded January 2008)
NME Awards - Best New Band (awarded February 2008)XFM Controversy
In September 2007,
Alex Zane , presenter of the XFM Breakfast show broadcasted a statement declaring that the band would not be played on his show again. After playing their single "You're Not Alone" for seven seconds, he reasoned that altercations between himself and the band over a television interview meant that they would no longer be played by him.Members
As of 2007, The Enemy is composed of:
* Tom Clarke (lead vocals,
Guitar ,Piano ,Strings on Album)
* Liam Watts (drums)
* Andy Hopkins (Bass Guitar , backing vocals)Discography
Albums
* "
We'll Live and Die in These Towns " —July 9 ,2007 #1 UK
* "B-Sides" —April 4 ,2008 - iTunes ExclusiveSingles
* 2006 "40 Days and 40 Nights" — limited to 1000 vinyl
* 2007 "It's Not OK " - limited vinyl and CD UK
* 2007 "Away from Here" #8 UK
* 2007 "Had Enough " #4 UK
* 2007 "You're Not Alone" #18 UK
* 2007 "We'll Live and Die in These Towns" - #21 UK
* 2008 "This Song" #41 UKReferences
External links
* [http://www.theenemy.com Official band website]
*
* [http://www.technodanceaphobic.com/forums Technodanceaphobic - The Enemy Forum]
* [http://www.theenemy.eu Enemy fansite with latest updates]
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