Editors

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Editors
Editors performing "All Sparks" at the Mercury Prize Award Show in September 2006.
Editors performing "All Sparks" at the Mercury Prize Award Show in September 2006.
Background information
Origin Stafford, England
Genre(s) Indie rock, Post-punk revival
Years active 2002–present
Label(s) Kitchenware, Epic, Play It Again Sam
Website http://www.editorsofficial.com
Members
Tom Smith
Chris Urbanowicz
Russell Leetch
Edward Lay

Editors are a British indie rock band from Birmingham, England who formed in 2002. The band consists of Tom Smith (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano), Chris Urbanowicz (lead guitar and synth), Russell Leetch (bass guitar and live backing vocals) and Ed Lay (drums, percussion and live backing vocals). Their brand of sweeping indie rock is compared to the sound of bands such as Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division, Interpol, Coldplay and U2.

Editors have released two albums; selling 2 million copies between them worldwide.[1][2] Their debut album The Back Room was released in 2005 and it included hits such as "Munich" and "Blood". In 2006 the album received a Mercury Prize nomination. Their follow up album An End Has A Start, went to number 1 in the UK Album Chart in June 2007 and earned the band a Brit Awards nomination for best British Band. It also spawned another Top 10 hit single with the release of "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors".

After their continued success in the charts, sold out tours and numerous headlining festival slots, Editors are currently being lauded as the second biggest British band of the decade after Arctic Monkeys.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Formation Years (2002-2004)

Poster from Snowfield's debut gig in 2003.
Poster from Snowfield's debut gig in 2003.

The band met studying Music Technology at Staffordshire University. They realised it wasn't the career for them and decided to form a band, playing in the towns Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Stafford. After graduation, they relocated to Birmingham.[4]

The band were initially known as Pilot. They played their first show under this name in 2002.[5] While in university, the band had a marketing strategy which involved placing hundreds of promotional stickers across the walls of Stafford asking, "Who's the Pilot?".[5] They then realised the name was already taken by a 1970's Scottish pop group, so they then became known as The Pride.[6]

Under this name, they sent out a one track demo of "Bullets" and uploaded the tracks "Come Share The View" and "Forest Fire" to the internet, making the songs available to listen to on BBC Radio 1's Onemusic Unsigned.[7] After this, they learned that thirty "Artist and Repertoire" representatives were coming to see them at Birmingham. The band then suddenly took all their music offline, in order to create mystery and anxiousness, all the while trying to ensure that more A&R reps came to see them perform.[5]

They then changed the line-up with Ed Lay replacing Geraint Owen on drums as he began to focus on his Welsh band The Heights. Under this lineup they became known as Snowfield. They played their debut gig under this name at the request of Fused Magazine in March 2003. The following summer the band self released a 6 track EP, all of which went on to become future Editors songs. It wasn't long until word of mouth helped them become a popular unsigned band[5] and gain them multiple support slots with The Boxer Rebellion. All of this earned the band the interest of several British labels and at the end of 2004, the group signed to indie label Kitchenware Records.[8] Upon signing to Kitchenware they decided to change their band name to Editors.

[edit] The Back Room (2005–2006)

Lead singer Tom Smith onstage at The Point Theatre in November 2005
Lead singer Tom Smith onstage at The Point Theatre in November 2005

After supporting bands such as Puressence and Oceansize, Editors released debut single "Bullets" as a limited edition of 500 copies on Kitchenware Records on 24 January 2005.[9] It sold out on the day of its release[10] and quickly gained support from radio stations such as Xfm and 6music.[11]

The release of "Munich" followed in April of that year and gave the band their first Top 25 hit, another sold out UK tour and a place on MTV’s Spanking New Music show in Manchester. At this point, due to the band's ever increasing popularity, Editors and Kichenware signed an exclusive distribution deal with Sony BMG. "Blood" was released two months later, reaching number 18 in the UK Singles Chart.[12] With these releases their fanbase continued to grow and on 25 July 2005 their debut album The Back Room was released to critical acclaim and commercial success.[13] In its first week, the album entered the charts at number 13, selling 17,627 copies.[7] After re-issuing "Bullets" and achieving another Top 30 hit, Editors gained a high profile support slot, supporting Franz Ferdinand in Arenas across the UK and Europe.[14]

Editors then re-issued their single "Munich" in January 2006, selling one and half thousand more copies than the last time it was released.[7] "Munich" gave Editors their first Top 10 single and an appearance on Top Of The Pops. With the single release, The Back Room also rose back up the album charts, peaking at number 2. It sold an additional 40,000 copies in the week of Munich's release and went platinum in the process.[7] A joint North American tour with Stellastarr* coincided with the stateside release of The Back Room in March 2006. It was released by Fader Label and sold 35,000 albums after 20 weeks.[15] The band went on to play influential American festivals in 2006 such as Coachella and Lollapalooza.[16] Editors proceeded to perform "Munich" on the famous American television show Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

At the end of March, Editors released "All Sparks" as a single in the United Kingdom, achieving a position of 21 in the singles chart.[17] After a European tour which included three successive nights at Brixton Academy, Editors re-issued a limited edition of "Blood". It managed to get into the Top 40 and also push the album up the chart 45 places.[7] Shortly after this, The Back Room was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Prize. After a string of high profile festival shows across Europe, including slots on T In The Park, V 2006 and the Isle of Wight Festival, Editors began work on their second album.

[edit] An End Has a Start (2007–2008)

Editors recorded their second album, An End Has a Start, with producer Jacknife Lee in Grouse Lodge, Ireland over a 2 month period beginning in late November 2006.[18] It was released on 25 June 2007 and went straight to number 1 in the UK album charts, selling 59,405 copies in its first week.[19] The album was preceded by the Top 10 single "Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors" on the 18th. With this single Editors got their best ever single placement at number 7 and their very own Making the Video episode on MTV.[20][21]

Audio samples of Editors

Just after its release, Editors played at the Glastonbury Festival with a second from top slot on The Other Stage. [22] They also played many other festivals such as Oxegen, Lowlands and Pukkelpop over the following weeks, as well as playing their first ever tour dates in Australia and New Zealand. They then released the album's title track "An End Has A Start" in September to coincide with their North American tour. Editors went on to play the song live on American television shows such as 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' and 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'. Upon returning to the U.K., the band contributed a cover of The Cure's "Lullaby" to the Radio 1 Established 1967 compilation, which was released on 1 October 2007. Shortly after this, Editors played a 75 minute set for the BBC Electric Proms at KOKO in London with backing from a classical string quartet. In November they released "The Racing Rats" as the third single off the album. Editors played it live on 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross' and it helped the song reach number 26 in the UK Charts. It also reached number 12 in the Dutch Top 40, the band's highest ever single charting outside of the UK.[23]

For the first two months of 2008, Editors engaged on a comprehensive 30 date American tour. During the tour Editors were nominated for one Brit Award, in the Best British Group Category.[24] One of the dates then had to be cancelled as the band returned to London for one day in order to attend the prize ceremony. A month later, Editors announced "Push Your Head Towards The Air" to be the fourth single from An End Has A Start. This release was a limited special edition which was ineligible to chart.[25] Along with this release Editors engaged in their biggest and most extensive British tour to date. They played arenas such as the 12,000 capacity National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and two sold out dates in London's Alexandra Palace.[26]

Editors then confirmed their second major support slot of the band's history when they announced they would be supporting R.E.M. on a 16 date summer tour across Europe and Great Britain. Smith announced that the band would be releasing "Bones" as a download only single in Continental Europe to coincide with the support slot.[27] The video to the single was directed by the band's bassist Russell Leetch.

[edit] Musical style

Editors' own variation of dark indie guitar rock draws on influences such as Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division, The Strokes, REM and Elbow. The band draw their musical style particularly from the latter two band's debut albums Murmur and Asleep in the Back.[28] While often compared to Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen by the media, the band have indicated that those bands are too old to have any sway on their musical style.[29] Upon Editors' first appearances in the British music scene, they were also heavily compared to American indie band Interpol; however both bands have described the associations as misguided.[30]

Editors' first album The Back Room was described as having a wiry and raw sound, which led it to being famously dubbed 'dark disco' by the NME.[31] This sound was created by the use of synthesizers, catchy guitar riffs and simple, ambiguous lyrics. An End Has A Start showed progression to a new bigger sound. This new sound was created by adding more textured layers to the songs as well as incorporating new forms of music into them. These include the adding of a choir in "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" and the inclusion of the sounds of the band playing Hide and seek in the song "Spiders". Lead singer Smith has revealed that the band will explore a new direction on their next album, pursuing a new, rawer sound. As of June 2008, Editors were in the early stages of writing five new songs. The songs have been described as some of the most synthetic, raw, dark and anthemic songs they have written to date.[32]

Smith writes the lyrics for the songs, but the overall song writing is a collaborative effort. The song writing starts with Smith on the piano or acoustic guitar where he records them and sends them to the other band members where the song is turned into a full 'Editors song'. The lead singer has said that he makes the lyrics purposely ambiguous in order for people to draw their own conclusions.[28]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Year Album details
2005 The Back Room
2007 An End Has a Start

[edit] EPs

[edit] Singles

Year Song UK Singles Chart UK Download Chart IRL GER Dutch Top 40 Dutch Mega Top 50 BEL Album
2005 "Bullets" 54 - - - - - - The Back Room
2005 "Munich" 22 - - - - - - The Back Room
2005 "Blood" 18 - - - - - - The Back Room
2005 "Bullets (re-issue)" 27 - - - - - - The Back Room
2006 "Munich (re-issue)" 10 3 42 - - - - The Back Room
2006 "All Sparks" 21 35 - 82 - - - The Back Room
2006 "Blood (re-issue)" 39 - - - - - - The Back Room
2007 "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" 7 18 39 - - 25 47 An End Has a Start
2007 "An End Has a Start" 27 - - 88 - 45 - An End Has a Start
2007 "The Racing Rats" 26 - - - 12 13 36 An End Has a Start
2008 "Push Your Head Towards the Air" N/A - - - - - - An End Has a Start
2008 "Bones" - - - - - - - An End Has a Start

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jon Perks, Editors Are Back In Town, Birmingham Post, 18 February 2008, Accessed 31 March 2008
  2. ^ 2007 Sales Estimations, Worldwidealbums.net, 1 January 2008, Accessed 31 March 2008
  3. ^ Nick Durden, Stop the press: Britain's hottest new band, Editors, Mail On Sunday, 15 February 2008 Accessed 31 March 2008
  4. ^ Ankeny, Jason, All Music Guide Editors Full Biography, MTV.com, 12 August 2007, Accessed 28 November 2007
  5. ^ a b c d EDITORS: All Sparks Won’t Burn Out. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
  6. ^ Interview: Editors (Part IV: Band Origins), www.bigtakeover.com, 5 September 2006, Accessed 13 May 2008
  7. ^ a b c d e The Story of Editors. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
  8. ^ Kitchenware Records Artist List, Kitchenwarerecords.com, 23 December 2004, Accessed 31 March 2008
  9. ^ Artist Biography, Surgeradio.co.uk, January 3, 2006, Accessed 31 March 2008
  10. ^ EDITORS 'BULLETS' , Angloplugging.co.uk, 18 August 2005, Accessed 31 March 2008
  11. ^ Reading Festival 2005, BBC.co.uk, 6 April 2005, Accessed 31 March 2008
  12. ^ UK Top 40 Charts, BBC 1 Radio, 17 July 2005, Accessed 17 July 2005
  13. ^ Editors Biography, Contactmusic.com, 4 March 2006, Accessed 31 March 2008
  14. ^ Franz Ferdinand UK tour - the first report, NME.com, 15 November 2005, Accessed 31 March 2008
  15. ^ Jessica Steinhoff, The Importance Of Being Earnest, Expressmilwaukee.com, 24 January 2008, Accessed 31 March 2008
  16. ^ Kyle Gustafson, DCist Interview: Tom Smith of Editors, Dcist.com, 14 January 2008, Accessed 6 April 2008
  17. ^ UK Top 40 Charts, BBC 1 Radio, 27 March 2006, Accessed 27 March 2006
  18. ^ Client List Grouselodge.com, 12 February 2008, Accessed 31 March 2008
  19. ^ Editors hit the headlines in album charts, Reuters UK, 1 July 2007, Accessed 6 April 2008
  20. ^ Chart Round-up, Drowned In Sound, Accessed 6 April 2008
  21. ^ Steve Laycock Editors Night!, Mtv.com, 15 June 2007, Accessed 6 April 2008
  22. ^ Other Stage Glastonbury Festival 2007, efestivals.co.uk, 31 May 2007, Accessed 6 April 2008
  23. ^ "The Racing Rats" chart positions aCharts.us. Retrieved 20 December 2007
  24. ^ Brit Awards nominees: in quotes, bbc.co.uk, 20 February 2008, Accessed 6 April 2008
  25. ^ Editors Limited edition single release, Columbia.co.uk, 25 February 2008, Accessed 31 March 2008
  26. ^ Editors sell out Ally Pally, rahimlive.com, 7 March 2008, Accessed 6 April 2008
  27. ^ Editors - Live at the Conne Island (2008), Youtube.com, 20 March 2008, Accessed 31 March 2008
  28. ^ a b The Story Of Our Success. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  29. ^ Making The Headlines, www.gigwise.com, April 2005, Accessed May 27, 2008
  30. ^ Interpol - We feel sorry for Editors, www.contactmusic.com, 30 July 2007, Accessed May 28, 2008
  31. ^ Cutting-room dancefloor, www.montrealmirror.com, 1 August 2006, Accessed 23 May 2008
  32. ^ Collin meets Editors, bbc.co.uk, 10 May 2008, Accessed 16 May 2008

[edit] External links

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Editors
Tom Smith | Chris Urbanowicz | Russell Leetch | Ed Lay
Albums
EP
Singles