History
The Rakes formed in 2004.
[1] Since coming to fame in 2005, they have been associated with the
British post-punk/art-rock scene, a genre shared by bands such as
Bloc Party,
Maxïmo Park, and
The Futureheads. However, it could be argued that the Rakes originate from the east London/
Whitechapel punk scene – along with
The Others and
The Libertines.
The Rakes write songs about working life, mundane routines and escapism. Their debut
album,
Capture/Release
, spawned the
singles "22 Grand Job", "Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep)", and "Retreat".
Several of their singles have appeared in the
Top 40 of the
UK Singles Chart and
Capture/Release
reached #32 in the
UK Albums Chart.
The final single release from
Capture/Release
, "All Too Human", was released in the
UK on 27 February 2006 and reached their best
chart position (#22) to date.
The Rakes' second album,
Ten New Messages
was released by V2 Records on 19 March 2007. This album was produced by Jim Abiss (who has also worked with
Arctic Monkeys,
Editors and
Kasabian) and Brendan Lynch (who has worked with
Primal Scream). It was recorded in Mayfair Studios in London during the autumn of 2006.
The band has finished their third album, called
Klang
. It was recorded at
Karl-Marx-Allee in
Berlin in a studio that was the former
East German Government's center for radio broadcasts.
[2]
The Rakes accompanied
Franz Ferdinand on their 'You Could Have It So Much Better. ..'
tour during the winter of 2005. They toured the UK throughout January and February 2006 – supported by
White Rose Movement,
Duels,
Young Knives,
Switches and
Klaxons. They have also completed their first tour of the UK since the release of
Ten New Messages
, including their biggest headline
concert to date, a sold out show at
Brixton Academy.
The Rakes are quite famous for their fashion sense, and the particularly distinctive dress style: stripey tops or smart polo shirts, black
drainpipe jeans and black trainers. They are also associated with the
Fred Perry,
Dior Homme and
Louis Vuitton brands. Fashion designer
Hedi Slimane was said to be so impressed by the band's music and dress sense that he based one of his collections around them. The Rakes also provided the
soundtrack to the Dior Homme fashion show, with the song "The World Was A Mess, But His Hair Was Perfect".
Discography
Albums
- Capture/Release
(15 August 2005) V2 #32 UK
- Ten New Messages
(19 March 2007) V2 #38 UK
- Klang
(20 March 2009) V2
Singles
| Year
| Song
| UK Singles Chart [3] [4]
| Album
|
| 2004
| "Strasbourg"
| #57
| Original single release
|
| 2004
| "22 Grand Job"
| -
| Original single release
|
| 2005
| "Retreat"
| #24
| Capture/Release
|
| 2005
| "Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep)"
| #28
| Capture/Release
|
| 2005
| "22 Grand Job" (re-issue)
| #39
| Capture/Release
|
| 2006
| "All Too Human"
| #21
| Capture/Release
(re-release)
|
| 2007
| "We Danced Together"
| #38
| Ten New Messages
|
| 2007
| "The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect"
| -
| Ten New Messages
|
| 2009
| "1989"
|
| Klang
|
Compilation/Promo
The song
The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect was included on the 2007 CD 'The State Of Independence'.
Trivia
In 2008 The Rakes where asked to front The Burberry fashion campaign for that season but turned down the offer due to Burberry's use of fur in their products.
Donohoe wrote a letter to the fashion house condemning its use of fur and refusing to take part in Burberry’s upcoming ad campaign.
[5]
Alan Donohoe was the face of Fred Perry During their 2007/8 campaign
[6]