Bell X1 (band)

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Bell X1
Origin	Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland
Genre(s)	Rock
Years active	1999 – present
Label(s)	BellyUp Records
Associated acts	Juniper, Damien Rice, Neosupervital
Website	Bell X1 Official Website
Members
Paul Noonan Brian Crosby Dominic Philips David Geraghty

Bell X1 are an Irish rock band from North County Kildare in Ireland. They have thus far released three critically-acclaimed albums in Ireland, and are rapidly gaining success in the United States, where their music has been used on popular television shows such as The O.C. and Grey's Anatomy. Their third album, Flock, which was previously only released in Ireland and later in the UK, has recently received a North American release in February 2008.

The band's name has in the past been mispronounced by well-established chat show hosts (even in Ireland where Eamonn Dunphy called them "Bell Life" and Late Late Show host Pat Kenny famously introduced them as "Bell Eleven"). ^[1]

Contents 1 Members 2 Career 2.1 Origins 2.2 Universal Island Records 2.3 After Island 2.4 BellyUp Records 2.5 2008 US tour and fire 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 3.2 Other 3.3 Singles 3.4 Other Releases 4 Trivia 5 References 6 Articles 7 External links

[edit] Members

Vocalist Paul Noonan also plays guitar, percussion and kazoo. Paul plays drums on all of Bell X1's studio recordings. He has also been known to occasionally play drums live if a session drummer is not available.

David Geraghty plays lead guitar, banjo, (electric) piano and does backing vocals and sometimes lead vocals.

Dominic Philips plays bass guitar and does backing vocals.

Brian Crosby plays guitar, keyboards and also does backing vocals.

Tim O'Donovan plays drums.

[edit] Career

[edit] Origins

Originally known as Juniper, the band became a quartet with the departure of lead vocalist Damien Rice and after a short break reformed themselves as Bell X1. Drummer Paul Noonan became the band's new frontman. The move heralded a significant shift in the band's style as Noonan and guitarist Dave Geraghty's writing styles came to the fore. Also amongst the band's members are guitarist and keyboard player Brian Crosby and bassist Dominic Philips. Tim O' Donovan, who also fronts Neosupervital, drums for the band when they are on tour.

[edit] Universal Island Records

Juniper's original contract with Polygram Ireland was moved to the Universal Music Group with the buyout of Polygram in 1998 by Seagram. In the process pf, Seagram also acquired Island Records which had been purchased by Polygram in 1989. Bell X1's published music has been inconsistently labelled as published variously by Universal Ireland and Island records, with the latest two albums being marketed under the Island label. Bell X1 have released three albums to date; Neither Am I in 2000, Music in Mouth in 2003 and Flock which was released in 2005.

Neither Am I was released only in Ireland and although it did not have a dramatic impact commercially the band did build up an incredibly devoted fanbase on the gig circuit, due in part perhaps to the popularity of Juniper. Their second album fared better, garnering greater fan acceptance and critical acclaim. The wider appeal of the band was also helped by the use of their song "Eve, the Apple of My Eye" in a contentious episode of The O.C., during a scene in which two of the female characters shared a lesbian kiss.

Flock is the band's latest studio album, it was released in Ireland in 2005 and the UK in 2006. "Bigger Than Me" was the first single to be released from this album, though the single was only released in Ireland. It reached #16 in the Irish Singles Chart and the album went to #1 in Ireland a fortnight later. The response to the album in the UK has been more modest, though a dedicated fanbase is rapidly building there. The band played at The Point in Dublin in December 2006, their largest headline show at that time.

[edit] After Island

In February 2007, the band issued a statement to Phantom FM that Island had offered them a renewal of their contract to record a fourth album. The band declined and left the label ^[2] stating that they intend to record a new album with an as yet unspecified party. This was later confirmed on Bell X1's official website [1]. The band embarked on a European tour with The Frames in mid-February and with former Juniper singer Damien Rice in late-March 2007.

[edit] BellyUp Records

A live CD and DVD set called Tour De Flock was released on June 15, 2007. The set was the band's first post-Island release. ^[3] It was released on the band's own record label, BellyUp Records [2]. Two weeks later, the band played an outdoor gig at Malahide Castle in Dublin. ^[4] Support was provided by Duke Special, Jape and Herman Düne. In July, Bell X1 played The Marquee in Cork, supported again by Duke Special.

Separately, Paul Noonan's song "Some Surprise", from The Cake Sale, featured in the US TV show Grey's Anatomy in December 2007. It was a specially re-recorded version with Noonan himself singing the male lead alongside Lisa Hannigan.

[edit] 2008 US tour and fire

Bell X1 now have representation in the US where they are signed to Yep Roc Records and managed by the Intrigue Group who also cared for James Brown. Flock was released in the US on February 19, 2008. ^[5]

The band spent much of January 2008 in the US on promotional duties including a showcase gig in Joe's Pub in New York and an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien where they performed "Rocky Took a Lover". They also played London's King's College for their first UK date of the year. ^[6] They have returned to the US in March 2008 for a series of gigs, with shows confirmed so far in New York (Bowery Ballroom), Cambridge, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Toronto and more expected. ^[7] On March 15 their tour bus caught fire outside the hotel where they were staying in Medford, Massachusetts. Paul Noonan and Dave Geraghty were on board the vehicle at the time and raised the alarm after smelling smoke. ^[8] Fire fighters were called to the scene shortly after 3.30 a.m. and took 90 minutes to put out the blaze, which started in the bus’ ventilation/air-conditioning unit and caused an estimated $50,000 worth of damage. Talking to local newspaper, the Boston Herald, the band’s tour manager, Foyce Johnson said:

“The guys were basically around the bus, which was a good thing because we were able to get all the equipment and instruments out. We’re in the middle of the band’s first tour of America and to lose your gear would be a real problem.”

After a few hours of sleep, off they went in a replacement vehicle to New York City where the band played a sell-out show in the Bowery Ballroom. On Saint Patrick's Day they appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. ^[9]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Year	Album	Label	Other Information	Irish Chart Position
2000	Neither Am I	Universal Music Ireland	Produced by Nick Seymour, former bassist of Crowded House	30
2003	Music in Mouth	Universal Island Records	Produced by Jamie Cullum, of the British musical duo Elcho.	15
2005	Flock1 2	Universal Island Records	Produced by Roger Bechirian	1

₁ Flock was released in the UK on March 20, 2006.

₂ Flock was released in North America on February 16, 2008.

[edit] Other

Year	Album	Label	Other Information	Irish Chart Position
2007	Tour De Flock	BellyUp Records	Recorded Live at The Point Depot in 2006	6

[edit] Singles

• "Pinball Machine" (Irish release)
• "Man on Mir" (Irish release) IRL #30
• "White Water Song"
• "Tongue"
• "Snakes and Snakes"
• "Alphabet Soup" (Aborted after the promo release)
• "Eve, the Apple of My Eye" IRL #18
• "Next to You" (Radio-only release)
• "Bigger Than Me" (Irish-only release) IRL #16
• "Flame" (March 13, 2006) UK #65, IRL #12
• "Rocky Took a Lover" (August 28, 2006) IRL #18
• "Bad Skin Day" (2007)

[edit] Other Releases

• "The Perfect Height For Kicking" (EP). This four-track EP was released prior to the Irish release of Neither Am I, despite sharing its title with a lyric from the song "Rocky Took a Lover", found on their third album.
• A promo EP, also titled "The Perfect Height For Kicking" was released during the promotional campaign for the Flock album. This EP has a different track list, and features songs from the Flock album.
• The band performed a medley cover version of Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You" and Kylie Minogue's "Slow" on the charity album Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2

[edit] Trivia

• Bell X1's most recent single "Rocky Took a Lover", was released in Ireland on August 28, 2006. Many Irish radio stations, including Today FM, had been playing the track since before the release of the previous single "Flame".

• Their cover of "Another Girl, Another Planet" was heard on the 2006 Vodafone Christmas TV commercial in the UK. ^[10] It was later made available as a free download by the band for one day only.

• BellX1 performed live on MTV Canada's version of TRL, MTV Live in March 2008.

[edit] References

[edit] Articles

• "Starin' into the ditch" - The Irish Times
• "Bell X1 overvcome {sic} a host of teething problems and start to sell out venues Stateside" Irish Independent

[edit] External links

• Bell X1 Official Website
• Bell X1 on MySpace
• Bell X1 Official forum
• Music in Mouth website
• David Geraghty's Official Website
• David Geraghty's MySpace page
• Recorded interview of Bell X1 at NPR

v • d • e Bell X1 Paul Noonan • David Geraghty • Dominic Philips • Brian Crosby • Tim O'Donovan EPs The Perfect Height For Kicking Studio Albums Neither Am I • Music in Mouth • Flock Live Albums Tour De Flock Singles "Pinball Machine" • "Man on Mir" • "White Water Song" • "Tongue" • "Snakes and Snakes • "Alphabet Soup" (aborted) • "Eve, the Apple of My Eye" • "Bigger Than Me" • "Flame" • "Rocky Took a Lover" Associated Acts Damien Rice • Juniper • Neosupervital