Friendly Fires
are an English band from St Albans, Hertfordshire. They are currently signed to XL Recordings. Their self-titled debut album was released on 1 September 2008 [1] and was announced as one of the shortlisted twelve for the 2009 Mercury Prize on July 21, 2009. [2]
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FRIENDLY FIRES TICKETS
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History
Friendly Fires met at
St Albans School. At age 14, the members formed their first band, a post-hardcore outfit called First Day Back
[3] [4] which existed until they began university. During this time lead singer Ed Macfarlane released his own music (under his own name) through the electronica label
Skam, and Precinct Recordings. Upon leaving university they formed a new band inspired by dance music, "lush shoegaze melodies"
[5], and classic pop songwriting
. The name Friendly Fires originates from the opening track of the
Section 25 LP
Always Now
. The band consider German techno label
Kompakt,
Carl Craig and
Prince to be their greatest influences.
In late 2007, they became the first unsigned band to appear on Channel 4's
Transmission programme
[6]. Their single Paris achieved 'Single of The Week' in
The Guardian newspaper,
NME magazine, and also on
Zane Lowe's
BBC Radio 1 show. They have toured extensively, with past performances taking place throughout the UK, Europe, Japan, Canada, Mexico and the USA. In May 2008 their song "On Board" was featured in North American television commercials for
Nintendo's
Wii Fit
. "On Board" is also featured in the trailer for the upcoming
PlayStation 3 game
Gran Turismo 5
. "White Diamonds" is featured in one of the episodes in the second season of the American television series
Gossip Girl
.
The album was certified silver in the UK; the band was nominated for a Best Breakthrough Award at
The South Bank Show
Awards and for ‘Best Dancefloor Filler’ at the NME Awards. They were also second on the bill on the NME Awards Tour 2009.
On 21 July 2009, the band was nominated for the
Mercury Music Prize
.
Discography
Studio Albums
Year
| Album
| Cover Art
|
2008
| Friendly Fires
- Released: September 1, 2008
- Re-Release: August 31, 2009
- Formats: CD, LP, digital download
- #36 UK [7]
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|
2009
| TBA
- Released: —, 2009
- Formats: CD, digital download
| —
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EPs
Year
| Album
| Cover Art
|
2006
| Photobooth
[8]
- Released: —, 2006
- Formats: digital download
| —
|
2007
| Cross The Line EP
[9]
- Released: —, 2007
- Formats: digital download
|
|
The Remix EP
[10]
- Released: —, 2007
- Formats: digital download
|
|
Singles
Year
| Title
| Cover art
| Album
|
2007
| On Board
| —
| Friendly Fires
|
Paris
- Released: —, 2007
- Re-Release: November 1, 2008
|
|
2008
| Jump in the Pool
- Released: September 1, 2008
- UK #57
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2009
| Skeleton Boy
- Released: March 2, 2009
- UK #48
|
|
Kiss of Life
- Released: August 11, 2009 (US)
- Released: August 31, 2009 (Worldwide)
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| Friendly Fires (Re-Release Edition)
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References
- Drowned In Sound Friendly Fires announce debut album details
- http://www.clashmusic.com/news/mercury-music-prize-nominations
- http://www.stalbansblog.co.uk/2008/10/st-albans-band.html
- El Naaqib, Sofi. Disorder Magazine (2007) Friendly Fires
- Hampson, Simon. Fact Magazine (2006) Friendly Fires (Google cache result)
- T-Mobile Transmission: Friendly Fires - Paris
- The Official Album Chart for the week ending 13 September 2008
- Discogs.com: Friendly Fires - Photobooth EP
- Discogs.com: Friendly Fires - Cross The Line EP
- Discogs.com: Friendly Fires - The Remix EP