The Horrors
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Genres | Garage punk Gothic rock Indie |
| Labels | Loog |
| Members | Faris "Rotter" Badwan Tomethy Furse Joshua von Grimm Coffin Joe Spider Webb |
The Horrors are a five-piece band who formed around the Junk club night in Southend, Essex which was run by organist Spider Webb. Their lead singer is 6 foot 5, Faris "Rotter" Badwan who has postponed his degree at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design to focus on the band. The band's sound relies strongly on the distinctive guitar work of Joshua von Grimm and the unusual inclusion of an organist - the obsessive record and clothes collector Spider Webb.
Formed in the Summer of 2005 the band rehearsed for only two weeks before playing their first gig. A combination of their distinctive image and sound earnt them instant publicity and they have been on the rise ever since. They were featured quickly in the cutting edge media such as Vice, Disorder and Artrocker. They were first mentioned in the NME in October 2005 and were notably put on that magazine's cover before they had sold even 5000 records.
For their debut single Sheena Is A Parasite - the music video was directed by Chris Cunningham. The 1.5-minute clip, stars Samantha Morton as the song's manic, transmogrifying subject who whips around like a banshee and spews her intestines at the viewer. Sharply edited and shot on a low budget, the video burns on the bass' running pulse, and provides more fleshy fodder for Cunningham fans.
The Horrors currently reside in Whitechapel, East London and are writing and recording new material for a debut album.
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[edit] NME Press
In October 2006 The Horrors toured with The Fratellis, The Dykeenies and The Maccabees in the NME Rock 'N' Roll Riot Tour [1]. They will go out on the NME Awards Tour in early 2007 following their own headline tour of December 2006.
[edit] Band members
- Faris "Rotter" Badwan - Vocals
- Tomethy Furse - Danelectro Longhorn
- Joshua Von Grimm - Fender Jaguar guitar
- "Coffin" Joe Black - Bangs the Drums
- Rhys "Spider" Webb - Vox Continental Organ
[edit] Trivia
- The video for "Sheena Is A Parasite" was banned from MTV instantly. Although a lot of people presume it is because of the gory subject matter of the video (chief amongst them being the NME)- it was banned purely on the basis of the use of strobe lights. The video has aired on MTV2 in America.
- Guitarist, Joshua Von Grimm recently gained a BSc in Physics from City University. The distinctive Horrors guitar sound is created by guitar pedals which Josh builds himself.
- Singer Faris Rotter and Bassist Tomethy Furse both attended exclusive public school : Rugby School
- The Horrors themselves compiled a "Fan Zine" for people attending the NME Rock and Roll Riot Tour. It features an A-Z of bands chosen by organist Spider Webb, A "how to disort your effects pedal" by Joshua Von Grimm, How to make your own skinny jeans/ cigarette pants by Coffin Joe, a guide to the bands and songs featured on the CD that comes free with the magazine by Tomethy Furse and illustrations by Faris. The magazine is entitled "Horror Asparagus Stories" (after one of the tracks by The Driving Stupid on the free CD.)
- In the 28 October 2006 issue of NME the lead story detailed a supposed feud between the Horrors and The Fratellis on the NME Rock 'n' Roll Riot Tour. Among other incidents, in response to allegedly being snubbed by the Fratellis, The Horrors - notably Faris - damaged Mince Fratelli's drum kit on two separate occasions and put black paint on their hands prior to shaking hands with Jon and Mince of The Fratellis. Similarly, two weeks previously, The Automatic voiced their dislike of The Horrors in the lead article of the same publication, claiming "they've just got big hair".
- Faris appears in Soulwax's video for E Talking.
- Frontman Faris Rotter was recently voted #2 in the NME's Cool List.
- In many previous gigs Faris has been known to smear black paint on the audience, but has said in a recent edition of the NME that he is giving up this practise and may instead revert to using "tar and feathers", thus "creating an army of birds in the audience".
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- An album is expected in 2007, with production coming from Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist, Nick Zinner. The only confirmed track is Sheena is a Parasite. Others that are likely to feature are She's the New Thing, Horrors Theme, Gloves and Little Victories.
[edit] EPs
The band released a US only EP in October 2006 which was their first release on CD. It contained five songs and the video to 'Sheena.'
[edit] Singles
All the Horrors singles have been chart ineligible because they have been packaged with inserts and stickers which break chart rules. The singles have only been availible on vinyl and download.
Sheena is a Parasite / Jack The Ripper - 10 April 2006 500 copies only
Death At The Chapel / Crawdaddy Simone - 31 July 2006 2000 copies only
Count In Fives - 30 October 2006
2 Vinyls were released, one with the B-Side "Who Says?", the other with "A Knife in the Eye". The vinyls were misprinted so these B-sides appeared the wrong way around.
[edit] Fan Base
The Horrors have a forum devoted to them by fans, calling themselves "Hors". Their online home is The Horum [2]. The forum is an online community to discuss all things related to The Horrors and anything else the Hors wish to discuss.
