Editors

Editors

Editors performing "All Sparks" at the Mercury Prize Award Show in September 2006.
Background information
Origin Stafford, Staffordshire, England
Genres Indie rock
Post-punk revival
Years active 2002–present
Labels Kitchenware, Epic, PIAS Recordings
Website http://www.editorsofficial.com
Members
Tom Smith
Chris Urbanowicz
Russell Leetch
Edward Lay

Editors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano), Chris Urbanowicz (lead guitar, synthesizer), Russell Leetch (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Ed Lay (drums, percussion).

Editors have so far released two platinum studio albums, selling over two million copies between them worldwide. Their debut album The Back Room was released in 2005. It contained hits such as "Munich" and "Blood" and the following year 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 received critical acclaim. Their brand of dark indie rock is habitually compared to the sound of bands such as Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, Interpol and U2. The band's third album, In This Light and on This Evening, was released in October 2009.

Contents

History

Formation (2002–2004)

The band met while studying Music Technology at Staffordshire University, but they realised it wasn't really the career for them and decided to form a band, playing in Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Stafford.

The band was initially known as Pilot and played its first show under this name in 2002.[1] 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?".[1] However, they realised the name was already taken by a 1970s Scottish pop group, so they changed their name to The Pride.[2]

They made a promo under this name with the tracks "Come Share the View" and "Forest Fire" and then uploaded them onto the internet, making the songs available to listen to on BBC Radio 1's Onemusic Unsigned.[3] A review of the songs reads "The Pride keep things subliminally lo-fi. Refreshingly simple and restrained, "Come Share The View" is a lesson in welding hypnotic soundscapes with white noise while showing allegiance to the school of slo-mo on "Forest Fire"".[3] The band then took its music offline to create mystery and anxiousness and ensure that more "Artist and Repertoire" representatives came to see them perform.[1]

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 demo six track EP, all of which went on to become future Editors songs. Then, as it was the home of their management and the nearest big city, the band relocated to Birmingham after graduation in the Autumn of 2003.[4]

For the next year, the different band members then worked part-time jobs along with the rest of their work with the band. After continuous gigging around the Midlands, it wasn't long until word of mouth helped them become a popular unsigned band.[1] The band then sent out a one track demo cd of Bullets, earning them the interest of several British labels, with thirty A&R reps coming to see them play at Birmingham.[5] In October 2004, the group signed to Newcastle based indie label Kitchenware Records.[6] Upon signing to the record label they changed their band name to Editors.

The Back Room (2005–2006)

After supporting bands such as Puressence and Oceansize, Editors released debut single "Bullets" recorded with producer Gavin Monaghan as a limited edition of 1000 copies on Kitchenware Records on 24 January 2005.[7] The song had previously been played by BBC Radio 1 disc jockey Zane Lowe, where it earned the honour of 'Single of the Week'.[8] The limited run then sold out on the day of its release, with copies famously then sold later in the week for more than £30 on eBay.[9]

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 increasing popularity, Editors and Kitchenware signed an exclusive distribution deal with Sony BMG.[10] "Blood" was released two months later, reaching number 18 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week, selling 5,286 copies.[11] 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.[12] In its first week, the album entered the charts at number 13, selling 17,627 copies.[3] 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.[13]

Editors then re-issued "Munich" in January 2006, selling one and half thousand more copies than the last time it was released.[3] The song 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.[3] A joint North American tour with Stellastarr* coincided with the American release of The Back Room in March 2006. It was released by Fader Label and sold 35,000 albums after 20 weeks.[14] The band went on to play influential American festivals in 2006 such as Coachella and Lollapalooza.[15] 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.[16] After a European tour which included three successive nights at Brixton Academy,[17] Editors re-issued a limited edition of "Blood". It entered the Top 40, pushing the album up the chart 45 places.[3] Shortly after this, The Back Room hit the million mark in sales worldwide[18] and was also nominated for the 2006 Mercury Prize.[19] 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.

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 two month period beginning in late November 2006.[20] 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.[21] The album was preceded by the Top 10 single "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" on the 18th. The song was Editors' highest-charting single at number 7 and it also earned its own Making the Video episode on MTV.[3][22]

Just after its release, Editors played at the Glastonbury Festival with a second from top slot on The Other Stage.[23] 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 UK, 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.[24] It also reached number 12 in the Dutch Top 40, the band's highest ever single charting outside of the UK.[25]

For the first two months of 2008, Editors played 30 shows on a tour across America and Canada. During the tour Editors were nominated for a Brit Award, in the Best British Group Category.[26] The nomination resulted in increased acclaim from the media with The Mail on Sunday newspaper declaring them as the second biggest British band of the decade after Arctic Monkeys.[27] Also as a result of the nomination, one of the North American tour dates had to be cancelled, as the band had to return to London 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.[28] 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.[29]

In June, they released "Bones" as a download only single in Continental Europe to coincide with the summer festival season, the video of which was directed by the band's bassist Russell Leetch.[30] Shortly afterwards, Editors played at the Glastonbury Festival, playing on the pyramid stage for the first time. The set included new song "No Sound But The Wind". The song had only been played for the first time a day previously in a secret warm-up gig in Frome.[31] The band then played their second major support slot of their history supporting R.E.M. on a 16 date summer tour across Europe alongside their festival dates which included the headlining of the Lowlands Festival in August.

In This Light and on This Evening (2009–present)

Lead singer Smith revealed that the band will explore a new direction on their next album, pursuing a new, rawer sound.[32] Before January 2009, Editors had written around eighteen new songs for the new album[33] and they have been described as some of the most synthetic, raw and anthemic songs they have written to date.[34] In October the band went to the studio to record some demos.[33] The band spent the first week of April recording the album and on 8 April, they released a short video with information about the recording process.[35] It announced on that Mark 'Flood' Ellis would be the producer for the album. Earlier on in the year, the sound of the album was said to have a very electric feel the band often using the Terminator theme song as a reference.[36]

On 2 June 2009, the album title was announced as being In This Light and on This Evening. Through producer Flood's heavy usage of synthesisers, the album provided a synthpop/post-punk sound to Editors' production. Flood, who is famous for collaborating with electronic music influenced bands like U2, Depeche Mode, The Killers and Erasure, helped develop synthetic elements on In This Light and on This Evening, which has resulted in a mixed reception from long-term devoted Editors fans as to the group's new direction.

It was also revealed that Editors would be the first band to play at the new O2 Academy Birmingham.[37] Their album In This Light and on This Evening was released on 12 October. The track "Papillon" had its video première on the Sony PlayStation 3's "VidZone".

In 2009 it was announced that their unreleased song "No Sound But The Wind" would appear on the New Moon soundtrack. On the 18th of October 2009 the Band announced onstage whilst at The UEA LCR Norwich they had reached the number 1 slot in the album charts with new album "In This Light and On This Evening."

In June 2010, the group kicked off their European 2010 Summer Tour with a sell-out concert at the Barbie Club in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In September 2010, the band released a live version of "No Sound But the Wind", with the arrangement from the Twilight soundtrack, taken from their festival appearence at Rock Werchter.

On 4 September 2010 were the third support act for Muse at Old Trafford Cricket Ground.

Musical style

Editors' own variation of dark indie guitar rock draws on influences from both older and contemporary bands. Their influences include Echo & the Bunnymen,[38] Joy Division,[38] The Strokes,[39] The Walkmen,[39] R.E.M.[40] and Elbow.[38] The band draw their musical style particularly from the latter two bands' debut albums Murmur and Asleep in the Back.[41] 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 a major impact on their musical style.[38] Upon Editors' first appearances in the British music scene, they were also heavily compared to American indie band Interpol; however both bands have strongly played down the associations.[42]

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.[43] 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 announced that the band would explore a new direction on their next album, pursuing a new, rawer sound.[32] The new sound materialised itself on the third album through the use of traditional synthesizers instead of the band's previous use of guitars. The producer of In This Light and on This Evening, Flood also increased the importance of "vibe" in the music's sound, making it darker than the previous two albums, while also attempting to make the album sound as if it had been recorded live.[44]

While Smith tends to write the lyrics and chords, song writing overall is a collaborative effort.[45] 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 purposely makes the lyrics ambiguous so people can draw their own conclusions.[41]

Discography

Studio albums

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "EDITORS: All Sparks Won’t Burn Out". http://www.zeromag.com/articles/article_view.php?id=949&pi=1&PHPSESSID=. Retrieved 2008-04-02. 
  2. ↑ Interview: Editors (Part IV: Band Origins), www.bigtakeover.com, 5 September 2006, Accessed 13 May 2008
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "The Story of Editors". http://www.editorsmusic.co.uk/index.php/Band/Band.html. Retrieved 2007-04-02. 
  4. ↑ Ankeny, Jason, Allmusic Editors Full Biography, MTV.com, 12 August 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  5. ↑ Edit Sweet, editorsmusic.co.uk, July 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  6. ↑ Kitchenware Records Artist List, Kitchenwarerecords.com, 23 December 2004. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  7. ↑ Artist Biography, Surgeradio.co.uk, 3 January 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  8. ↑ Meet Editors, editorsmusic.co.uk, 8 February 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  9. ↑ EDITORS 'BULLETS', Angloplugging.co.uk, 18 August 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2008. Archived October 17, 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Editors, Sonybmgmusic.co.uk, 16 September 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  11. ↑ Blood sales figures, editorsmusic.co.uk, 18 July 2005. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  12. ↑ Editors Biography, Contactmusic.com, 4 March 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  13. ↑ Franz Ferdinand UK tour - the first report, NME.com, 15 November 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  14. ↑ Jessica Steinhoff, The Importance Of Being Earnest, Expressmilwaukee.com, 24 January 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  15. ↑ Kyle Gustafson, DCist Interview: Tom Smith of Editors, Dcist.com, 14 January 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  16. ↑ UK Top 40 Charts, BBC Radio 1, 27 March 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2006.
  17. ↑ EDITORS 'LIVE THROUGH SUMMER 2006', Angloplugging.co.uk, 19 April 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008. Archived October 23, 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ↑ Jon Perks, Editors Are Back In Town, Birmingham Post, 18 February 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  19. ↑ Mercury Music Prize: The nominees, bbc.co.uk, 18 July 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  20. ↑ Client List Grouselodge.com, 12 February 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  21. ↑ Editors hit the headlines in album charts, Reuters UK, 1 July 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  22. ↑ Steve Laycock Editors Night!, Mtv.com, 15 June 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  23. ↑ Other Stage Glastonbury Festival 2007, efestivals.co.uk, 31 May 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  24. ↑ The Racing Rats chart position, editorsmusic.co.uk, 20 December 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  25. ↑ "The Racing Rats" chart positions aCharts.us. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
  26. ↑ "Brit Awards nominees: in quotes". BBC News. 20 February 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7251000/7251303.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-20. 
  27. ↑ Nick Durden, Stop the press: Britain's hottest new band, Editors, Mail On Sunday, 15 February 2008 Accessed 31 March 2008
  28. ↑ Editors Limited edition single release, Columbia.co.uk, 25 February 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  29. ↑ Editors sell out Ally Pally, rahimlive.com, 7 March 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  30. ↑ Tom & Ed Interview, youtube.com. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  31. ↑ Frome 26/06/08, editorsofficial.co.uk, 26 June 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 "Editors to explore new 'ferocious' direction". http://www.nme.com/news/editors/35058. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Steve Lamacq, BBC 6 Music, 8 December 2008
  34. ↑ Colin meets Editors, bbc.co.uk, 10 May 2008, Accessed 16 May 2008
  35. ↑ YouTube - Editors - News From The Studio
  36. ↑ "Editors to record 'Terminator' influenced album in October". http://www.nme.com/news/editors/39283. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  37. ↑ Editors announce new album title and Birmingham show | News | NME.COM
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 38.3 "Making The Headlines". http://www.editorsmusic.co.uk/index.php/Interviews/Gigwise.html. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 "Spill Magazine". http://www.editorsmusic.co.uk/index.php/Interviews/Spill-Magazine.html. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
  40. ↑ Editors At Last!, editorsmusic.co.uk, March 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 "The Story Of Our Success". http://www.editorsmusic.co.uk/index.php/Interviews/Page-11.html. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
  42. ↑ Interpol - We feel sorry for Editors, www.contactmusic.com, 30 July 2007, Accessed 28 May 2008
  43. ↑ Cutting-room dancefloor, www.montrealmirror.com, 1 August 2006, Accessed 23 May 2008
  44. ↑ Radio Interview, Couleur 3, 11 June 2009
  45. ↑ Left Lion Talks To Chris, editorsmusic.co.uk, 21 July 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2008.

External links

Editors
Tom Smith • Chris Urbanowicz • Russell Leetch • Ed Lay
Geraint Owen
Studio albums
The Back Room • An End Has a Start • In This Light and on This Evening
Singles
"Bullets" • "Munich" • "Blood" • "All Sparks" • "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" • "An End Has a Start" • "The Racing Rats" • "Push Your Head Towards the Air" • "Bones" • "Papillon" • "You Don't Know Love" • "Last Day" • "Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool"
Related articles
Discography