The Rumble Strips

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The Rumble Strips
Origin Flag of England Tavistock, Devon, England
Genre(s) Soul/Ska/Pop
Years active 2004-present
Label(s) Current
Fallout Records (Universal Island Records)
Previous
Transgressive Records
Associated acts Vincent Vincent and the Villains
Action Heroes
Website http://www.therumblestrips.com
Members
Charlie Waller
Lead Vocals / Guitar
Henry Clark
Trumpet / Vocals / Piano
Tom Gorbutt
Sax / Vocals / Bass
Matthew Wheeler
Drums
Sam Mansbridge
Bass / Vocals / "Rumble Drum"
Notable instrument(s)
Saxophones, Trumpets, 'The Orange Drum'

The Rumble Strips are an English band from Tavistock, Devon. The band take their name from Rumble Strips, which are small, continuous lines of bumps along the edge of a road. Having known each other since childhood, a precise conception date for the band doesn't really exist. The current line-up has been together since 2004 and are now based in London. The band are currently signed to Fallout Records, a subsidiary of Universal Island Records. Their most recent single, a re-release of "Motorcycle", reached #46 in the UK Singles Chart on June 4, 2007. Their debut album, Girls And Weather, was released on the 17th of September, when it reached #70 in the UK album charts, their latest single "Girls and Boys in Love", came out two weeks previously, reaching #64 in the UK.[1][2]


[edit] First Releases

Fortunes for the band would take a turn for the better when out of the blue, independent record label Transgressive Records - who have produced singles for The Young Knives and Regina Spektor - would offer to produce the band's first single. This would reunite Waller with the band, and together they released "Motorcycle" on December 12, 2005. Waller said at this time "It was like, I have nothing to lose - I'm working for my uncle on a building site. What's to lose?".[3] It is believed that Waller reuniting with The Rumble Strips caused some stir amongst Vincent Vincent and The Villains, and that "Johnny Two Bands" was written about Waller's decision.

The band moved further into the public eye with a number of key support dates for Dirty Pretty Things and fellow Transgressive artists The Young Knives in early 2006, and then the release of their second single, "Hate Me (You Do)" on June 5. A further tour supporting The Zutons, and the release of the band's first EP, "Cardboard Coloured Dreams", followed this in November 2006.

[edit] Current Work

The new year brought the Rumble Strips their first move into the charts, with their release of "Alarm Clock" on March 19, 2007 reaching #41 in the UK Singles Chart. The band were asked by NME to play their biggest headline tour to date, as headliners of the 2007 Topman NME New Music Tour throughout May 2007. The tour saw them play a number of venues around the country with other new bands Pull Tiger Tail, Blood Red Shoes and The Little Ones. The band released a live EP recorded whilst on the tour containing the tracks "Oh Creole", "Alarm Clock", "My Oh My" and previously unreleased track, "London".

The band re-released "Motorcycle" on June 4, 2007. The single failed to reach the previous heights of "Alarm Clock", charting slightly lower at #46. Two 7-inch vinyls were also released of the track, containing b-side "My Oh My". A misprint was made on some of these vinyls where 1000 copies were distributed labelling the b-side on the opposite side to the one listed. These are already being considered collector's items, even by the band themselves[4].

Following the release of "Motorcycle", the band stated that they had already decided on their next single, "Girls and Boys in Love"[2], which was released on the 3 September 2007 and was the official song of the film "Run Fat Boy Run", starring Simon Pegg and directed by David Schwimmer, and itself released on 10 September 2007.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

2007: Girls and Weather

[edit] Singles

Date of Release Title B-side(s) Label UK Chart Peak Album
December 12, 2005 "No Soul" N/A Transgressive Records N/A Girls And Weather
June 5, 2006 "Hate Me (You Do)" "Girls & Weather" Transgressive Records N/A Girls And Weather
March 19, 2007 "Alarm Clock" "Sad City" (All formats except 8-inch)
4 Walls (Limited Edition CD only)
Feeling B (8-inch)		 Fallout/Island Records #41 (UK) Girls And Weather
June 11, 2007 "Motorcycle" "Back To Black" (Amy Winehouse cover) (CD)
"My Oh My" (Ltd CD, 7")
"Pennies" (Ltd CD)		 Fallout/Island Records #46 (UK) Girls And Weather
September 3, 2007 "Girls and Boys in Love" "The Boys Are Back in Town" (Thin Lizzy cover) (7-inch / CD)
"Girls and Boys in Love - Hot Chip remix" (CD / 12-inch)
"Girls and Boys in Love - Devil's Gun remix" (12-inch)
"Girls and Boys in Love - David E. Sugar 'Shameless mix'" (12-inch)
"Girls and Boys in Love - MarC Leaf remix" (12-inch)		 Fallout/Island Records #64 (UK) Girls And Weather
November 19, 2007 "Time" "No Soul" (live) (CD)
"Hands" (live) (7-inch)
 Fallout/Island Records Girls And Weather

[edit] EPs

Date of Release Title Tracks Label
November 20, 2006 "Cardboard Coloured Dreams" (CD / Poster 12-inch / 8-inch ) 1. "Oh Creole"
2. "Born Bored"
3. "High Street Heaven"
4. "Running Away"		 Fallout/Island Records

[edit] Contributions

[edit] Media Quotes

"Trumpet, sax and a whole lot of weirdness" - NME - Link to Review
"Off-kilter yet no less sublime, life-affirming music" - Xfm - Link to Review
"Single of the week!" - PlayLouder.com - Link to Review
"If you see The Rumblestrips [sic] live, I defy you not to have a good time" - Drowned In Sound - Link to Review
"Single of the month" - Wide Open Road - Link to Review

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Let's Get Ready to Rumble... Strips". obscuresound.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  2. ^ a b Single News. From the Rumble Strips Website. Retrieved on 2007-06-20.
  3. ^ Band Biography. From the Rumble Strips Website. Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
  4. ^ Details On Single Misprint. From Rumble Strips Website. Retrieved on 2007-06-20.

[edit] External links

Official:

Audio/Video