Action Plan (band)

Action Plan were a four-piece rock band from Chelmsford, in Essex. They listed their influences as Texan rockers Trail of Dead, Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and Radiohead, and were named after the lyrics to the chorus of Trail of Dead's song A Perfect Teenhood. Action Plan formed in early 2004 - by which time they were based in London - and split in early 2007. They were managed by Razorlight manager Roger Morton.

Members

Niall Doherty, Matt Glass, Ian McCullagh and Chris White

Notable gigs and tours

Action Plan played hundreds of gigs around London and the UK, particularly around the Camden area.

Razorlight

In August 2005, Action Plan played one of their largest shows, in front of 4,000 people at Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange, supporting Razorlight. They were then named as support for Razorlight’s televised Carling 24 show at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire. They then went on to support the band as they previewed their second album, touring venues in Cambridge, Nottingham, Northampton and London.

Juliette and the Licks, and Jet

After numerous support slots with Razorlight, Action Plan were asked to tour Europe and the UK with US rock band Juliette and the Licks, reportedly after Action Plan’s front man sent Juliette a demo CD with the words ‘we’re going to be the next Pixies’ scrawled on the front.Fact|date=September 2007The tour took in venues in Luxembourg, France and Sweden, before the band returned home to join Oz rockers Jet on their UK tour. The tour finished with two sold out dates at London’s Brixton Academy.

Trail of Dead

In late 2006, Action Plan were invited to join their idols Trail of Dead on their UK tour. During their hometown gig at Camden’s KOKO, members of Trail of Dead joined them onstage as percussionists.

Releases

tendhal/Beauty Scars

Stendhal/Beauty Scars was Action Plan’s first double A-side single. Released in November 2005 on London’s trendy Young & Lost Club Records, home to bands including Pull Tiger Tail and Vincent Vincent & The Villains. It was a limited edition release in the UK and Japan only, and was picked up by XFM’s John Kennedy, who made it his record of the week and gave the band the first of two live sessions on the station. BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe also played the single on his show.

He/Blood Brothers

The band’s second single was another double A-side - ‘He’ and Blood Brothers, recorded at Wales’ famous Rockfield Studios.Written about American fertility doctor Dr. Cecil Jacobsen, who illegally impregnated 75 women at his surgery, ‘He’ won the band more time on John Kennedy’s show, and along with Blood Brothers, a song about a failed suicide pact, was released on Modern Art Records.

Man Of The House

Released as part of the 50 Minutes compilation of 50 bands playing songs that were a minute long, released on Exercise 1 Records in 2006. The release also featured Daniel Johnston, Jeremy Warmsley and Ladyfuzz. All proceeds went to the Medical Foundation, the only UK based human rights charity that deals exclusively with victims of torture (www.torturecare.org.uk).

After Action Plan

The band officially split in early 2007, but the original members went on to form a new band, called Rosa Fears, who played their debut gig at Brighton’s Great Escape Festival in May 2007.