The Music are an alternative rock band from Kippax, Leeds, comprising Robert Harvey (vocals, guitar), Adam Nutter (lead guitar), Stuart Coleman (bass) and Phil Jordan (drums). To date, the band have released three studio albums.

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Career

The Music all met at Brigshaw High School and began playing in 1999. In 2001 the song "Take the Long Road and Walk It" circulated as a demo before being released by Fierce Panda as a 1000-copies-only single, a rarity from its day of release. Around this time the NME and Steve Lamacq were describing them as the best unsigned band in Britain. The band were quickly signed by Hut, who released their first EP You Might as Well Try to Fuck Me.

In 2002, following another EP (The People) they released their eponymous debut album which reached #4 in the UK album charts. Their debut single was re-issued as part of a two-disc set to promote the album, and reached #14 in the singles chart. Two further singles from the album, Getaway and The Truth is No Words reached #26 and #18 respectively. June 2003 saw them filling in for an absent Zwan on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival. ^[1]

In autumn 2004, they released their second album Welcome to the North and the accompanying single Freedom Fighters, before touring with Incubus. August 2005 saw the band play at the dual-venue V Festival. In late 2006 they played a few UK gigs and subsequently posted on their site the video new song entitled, Fire , which would eventually be released on Strength in Numbers two years later. The site also featured a video for unreleased track Kill 100 by X-Press 2 featuring Robert Harvey.

The band signed a new deal with Polydor in 2007 and spent the rest of the year recording their third album with producers Flood and Paul Hartnoll.

During this time Harvey also revealed the reason for the band's extended absence. On The Music's official website, he told of his initial abuse of drugs in his mid-teens: "the addiction began to sit into its groove. At first it was a joy then [sic] later became a habit and a way of escaping". He later quit drugs, but around the time of the band's second album, had replaced the addiction with alcohol: "Drinking became the place to hide. I'd have a bottle of wine before 7pm, then go out and make a fool of myself. The next day was always panic and more questions; it took a close friend to say to me 'Robert, you are depressed'". He sought help at the end of 2005, and undertook a program that included medication. ^[2]

In June 2008, the band released their comeback single "Strength in Numbers", and the album Strength In Numbers the following week.

Band members

• Robert Harvey – vocals, guitar
• Adam Nutter – lead guitar
• Stuart Coleman – bass guitar
• Phil Jordan – drums

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Details	Peak Chart Positions						Certifications (sales thresholds)
		UK [3]	AUS [4]	FRA [5]	IRE [6] [7]	ITA [8]	US [9]
2002	The Music Released: 2 Sep 2002 Label: Hut/Capitol	4	25	36	39	16	128	BPI: Gold [10] ARIA: Gold [11]
2004	Welcome to the North Released: 20 Sep 2004 Label: Virgin	8	23	78	68	-	-	BPI: Gold [12]
2008	Strength In Numbers Released: 16 Jun 2008 Label: Polydor	19	30	-	-	-	-
"-" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles and EPs

Year	Title	Peak Chart Positions				Album
		UK [13]	AUS [14] [15]	NED [16]	US Mod [17]
2001	"Take the Long Road and Walk It"	92	-	-	-
	"You Might as Well Try to Fuck Me"	-	-	-	-
2002	"The People"	-	771	-	-	The Music
	"Take the Long Road and Walk It" (reissue)	14	-	-	-
	"Getaway"	26	-	-	-
2003	"The Truth is No Words"	18	771	-	-
2004	"Welcome to the North"	- 2				Welcome to the North
	"Freedom Fighters"	15	-	100	-
2005	"Breakin'"	20	63	-	20
2008	"Strength in Numbers"	38	-	-	-	Strength in Numbers
	"The Spike"	114	-	-	-
	"Drugs"	-	-	-	-
"-" denotes releases that did not chart.

• ¹ The The Truth Is No Words single was released in Australia a double A-side with The People E.P. ^[18]
• ² Welcome to the North reached #3 on the UK Download Chart.

DVDs

• Live at the Blank Canvas (1 September 2003)
• Welcome to Japan (18 July 2005)

References

1. "Drowned In Sound Review 2003"
2. "Robert Harvey talks about his depression - Gigwise"
3. UK album chart positions
4. Australian album chart positions
5. French album chart positions
6. ''The Music'' Irish position
7. ''Welcome to the North'' Irish position
8. Italian album chart positions
9. Billboard, Allmusic
10. ''The Music'' Gold BPI Certificate
11. ''The Music'' Gold
12. ''Welcome to the North'' Gold BPI Certificate
13. UK chartlog
14. ''The People'' Australian position
15. ''Breakin'' Australian position
16. ''Freedom Fighters'' Dutch position
17. ''Breakin'' US position
18. Australian double A-side info