Delirious?

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This article is about the Christian rock band. For other uses, see Delirious (disambiguation).
Delirious?

From left to right: (foreground) Stewart Smith and Jon Thatcher and (background) Stuart Garrard, Martin Smith, and Tim Jupp.
Origin Littlehampton, England
Country United Kingdom
Years active 1993–present
Genres Rock, Christian Rock
Labels Furious?
Members Jonathan Thatcher
Stewart Smith
Martin Smith
Stuart Garrard
Timothy Jupp
Website(s) http://www.delirious.co.uk/

Delirious? are an English Christian rock and worship band, featuring Martin Smith on vocals and guitar, Stuart Garrard (also known as Stu G) on guitar and backing vocals, Jon Thatcher on bass guitar, Tim Jupp on keys and piano, and Stew Smith on drums and percussion. Stu G is the only member not related to the others by blood or marriage. Martin, Stewart, and Tim are each married to one of Jon's three sisters.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Cutting Edge (1993-1995)

Delirious? began life as a worship band for a youth outreach event called "Cutting Edge", instigated by the Arun Community Church in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England. Popularity of these events increased, and the band also played at other "Cutting Edge" events along the South Coast reaching as far as Southampton.

The music became well known in Christian circles, and demand grew for recordings. Four EPs were released under the "Cutting Edge" name before the group made the decision to turn professional and change their name to "Delirious?". By that time, they had already sold over seventy thousand EPs by mail order.

Many of the band's most famous songs were written during this era, including "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever", "The Happy Song", and "Lord, You Have My Heart". A composite edition of "Cutting Edge" was released to retail and sold Gold in Canada according to the CRIA and the band's Canadian distributor CMC Distribution.

[edit] King Of Fools (1997)

On 30 August 1995, Martin, his wife, and Jon were involved in a near-fatal car accident. Jon and Martin's wife were unhurt but Martin was in hospital for several weeks. While in the hospital, Martin made the decision to become a full-time musician, and Delirious? was born. They gained success in 1997 following the release of King Of Fools, the first album released under their new name. King Of Fools eventually went silver in the United Kingdom, and Delirious? became one of the most popular and well-known Christian rock groups both in the UK and the United States. Songs such as "Deeper", "History Maker", and "White Ribbon Day" gained anthemic status and still surface regularly at Christian youth events. Delirious? also released three singles to the mainstream UK Charts - the aforementioned "White Ribbon Day" and "Deeper", as well as "Promise". The last two both reached number twenty with very little radio airplay; Deeper remains the band's best-selling single with over thirty thousand copies sold.

The song "August 30th" on this album is a song of thanks for Martin's recovery and his decision to commit his life to God through the band.

[edit] Mezzamorphis (1999)

The 1999 album Mezzamorphis attained number twenty-five in the album charts (number two in the independent section), and soon became certified silver in the UK. The band found resistance in the mainstream due to their "Christian" label despite generally positive reviews in the music press; at the same time, many former fans shunned the "secular" album claiming that Delirious? had "sold out". Singles from Mezzamorphis gained some British chart success. For example, the first single, "See The Star", peaked at number sixteen on the charts, and its successor, "It's OK", reached number eighteen, but a refusal by UK pop station Radio One to playlist the band arguably hindered their attempts to break the mainstream.

[edit] Glo (2000)

In 2000, the band released a worship-oriented album, Glo (short for glorious). This album was the number one Christian seller for eight months. Several songs from the album, while not being released as actual singles, gained immense popularity in the Christian-music world, most notably the guitar-driven "My Glorious" and the more introspective "Jesus' Blood". The track "Investigate" eventually became a favourite concert closer for Delirious?.

[edit] Audio Lessonover? (2001)

The second attempted mainstream album, Audio Lessonover? (an anagram of 'Radio One Loves Us'), released in 2001, faced the same opposition that Mezzamorphis had; however, the single "Waiting For The Summer" did manage to reach number twenty-six on the charts. The album was later released as Touch in North America with some significant edits.

[edit] World Service and "Inside Outside" (2003)

In 2003, Delirious? released World Service. Although this was more of a worship-oriented album as was Glo, Delirious? released two singles to the German market: "Inside Outside" and "Every Little Thing". The former sold over twelve thousand copies, was number one in German radio station SWR3's chart, and spent seven weeks in the German singles charts peaking at number seventy-two. Delirious? also released two free MP3 downloads on mp3.com, both topping the Guitar Rock charts (the first for a full month). The first MP3, "Majesty (Here I Am)", hit number fifteen on the worldwide charts; the second, "Rain Down", reached number twenty-eight. The two together had amassed over 500,000 listens/downloads after fifty days. Delirious?’s World Service is finding success in the United Kingdom and America as well. The band’s American single "Rain Down" has become its biggest multi-format hit since "Deeper".

[edit] The Mission Bell (2005)

The latest Delirious? studio album, The Mission Bell was released in the UK in 2005. The album received very positive reviews, with christianitytoday.com[1], jesusfreakhideout.com[2], and crossrhythms.co.uk[3] all praising The Mission Bell for "Effectively stretching the boundaries of worship music"[4]."Paint The Town Red" was released as a CD and iTunes single in the UK, entering the charts at number fifty-six. Several singles were released to CrossRhythms radio in the UK, all charting at number one for several weeks.

[edit] Live Concert DVD

In June 2006, Delirious? attended Willow Creek Community Church to record a live concert DVD. [5] The DVD, titled 'Now Is The Time - Live At Willow Creek', is accompanied with a CD, and it was released in the UK on 9th October and in the USA on 17th October. [6]

[edit] Naming Confusion

The question mark is part of the official name. On the band's early albums, the final s before the question mark was rendered as a 5. In some circles, therefore, the band's name often appears as Deliriou5?. This was purely an artist's concept and wasn't reflective on the band's true name. The band's logo changed in 1999, and the glyph was replaced with a character that could be an s or a 5. It should be noted that the name has always been spelled as Delirious? in official, non-graphical literature. This is consistent with the names of the band's record company (Furious?) and publisher (Curious?).

[edit] Delirious? Live

Delirious? regularly play at Christian events such as the Greenbelt festival in the UK as well as mainstream festivals such as at the Glastonbury Festival. In the USA, they have played at such events as Acquire the Fire (an event hosted by Teen Mania) and Spirit West Coast. They have also been the support act for several notable secular bands/artists, such as Bon Jovi in 2001 and Bryan Adams in 2002. In 2003, they joined with the Hillsong worship team at the Hillsong Conference to record the live album UP: Unified Praise and at the Singapore Festival of Praise in 2005. In 2005, they helped lead worship at Soul Survivor and also took part in the Youth Day organised by the Pope in Germany. They recently performed at Hillsong Conference 2006.

The band will begin their new UK tour shortly to promote their latest live and studio albums. They will be supported by Tim Hughes.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] UK Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
UK Singles Chart
1997 "White Ribbon Day" #41 King Of Fools
1997 "Deeper" #20 King Of Fools
1997 "Promise" #20 King Of Fools
1997 "DeEPer EP" #36 King Of Fools
1999 "See The Star" #16 Mezzamorphis
2000 "It's OK" #18 Mezzamorphis
2001 "Waiting For The Summer" #26 Audio Lessonover?
2001 "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever" #40 Deeper
2005 "Paint The Town Red" #56 The Mission Bell

[edit] German Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
German Singles Chart German SWR3 Chart
2004 "Inside Outside" #72 #1 World Service
2004 "Every Little Thing" - #2 World Service
2005 "Paint The Town Red" - (iTunes only) The Mission Bell
Delirious?
Martin Smith - Stu G - Jon Thatcher - Tim Jupp - Stew Smith
Discography
Studio Albums: Cutting Edge - King Of Fools - Mezzamorphis - Glo - Audio Lessonover? - Touch - World Service - The Mission Bell
Live Albums: Live & In The Can - d:tour 1997 Live At Southampton - Access:d - Unified Praise
Compilations: Deeper - Libertad
UK Singles: "White Ribbon Day" - "Deeper" - "Promise" - "See The Star" - "It's OK" - "Waiting For The Summer" - "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever" - "Paint The Town Red"
German Singles: "Inside Outside" - "Every Little Thing" - "Paint The Town Red"
Songs
""Deeper" - "History Maker" - "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever" - "Inside Outside" - "It's OK" - "Paint The Town Red"

[edit] External links

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