| Fyfe Dangerfield | |
|---|---|
Dangerfield performing in Amsterdam, on 8 June 2008. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Fyfe Antony Dangerfield Hutchins |
| Born | 7 July 1980 Moseley, Birmingham, England, U.K. |
| Origin | Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England, U.K. |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Piano, guitar, organ, vocals, bass guitar |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Polydor, Fantastic Plastic |
| Associated acts | Guillemots/Senseless Prayer |
Fyfe Antony Dangerfield Hutchins (born 7 July 1980) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the founding member of the indie rock band Guillemots.[1]
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Born in Moseley, Birmingham, in 1980, he moved to Bromsgrove at the age of eight. He studied at Bromsgrove School where he was also the singer in a band. He was also music teacher at Cranbrook College for a brief period.
Dangerfield composed a choral piece performed at The Lichfield Festival in 2000 - a setting of Christina Rosetti's "A Better Resurrection". This led to a commission from Ex Cathedra Chamber Choir to write a choral setting of one of the 'O Antiphons' for Ex Cathedra's Christmas Music by Candlelight concert in 2000. This has been performed many times since, was included on Ex Cathedra's Christmas Music by Candlelight CD which received some glowing reviews, and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM.
In 2002, Dangerfield was commissioned to write "A Stray Dog for Congratulations" – for three children’s choirs, four percussionists, two pianists and keyboard – for The Lichfield Festival (the only commission that year). The performers included the Backbeat percussion ensemble, as well as the Sydney Children’s choir.
In 2007, Dangerfield was commissioned by the John Feeney Charitable Trust to write a piece for the CBSO for one of the concerts that took place in October 2007 to celebrate the re-opening of Birmingham Town Hall. This was In Wait, a 30-minute orchestral composition, performed by cellist Eduardo Vassallo and the CBSO conducted by Nick Ingman. The second half of the concert was given by Guillemots accompanied by the CBSO.
In 2009, cellist Natalie Clein performed the world première of a new work by Dangerfield called "Eggshell Walker" at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Dangerfield has since written two further works for Natalie Clein - "Pogo and the Cage" in 2010, and "Turquoise Black", which she premièred at the 2011 Bath Festival - a performance also broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in June 2011.
He composed music for the play, Howl's Moving Castle, based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones, which is to be performed in London at Southwark Playhouse in the winter 2011 - 2012.
Prior to Guillemots, Dangerfield played in Senseless Prayer (who played a radio session on the late John Peel's show), Fyfe Dangerfield and The Accident, and The Courtesy Group (the band of his brother, Al Hutchins) who have supported Guillemots several times on tour, usually in Birmingham, but, most recently, in London. Dangerfield contributes to the band's upcoming debut album, Tradesman's Entrance. Dangerfield recently contributed a cover of Larrikin Love's "Well, Love Does Furnish a Life" to their EP A Day in the Life. In late 2006, Fyfe released a very limited split vinyl single with his friends The Kittens, on which he contributed a demo of a solo song, "Delusia". This took place shortly before he played two solo shows (albeit, mostly consisting of solo renditions of Guillemots songs) in Birmingham and London, with support from Richard Burke, Emmy the Great, and Fyfe's older brother, Al.
In 2007 he sang "Lovers' Dream" with Anna Ternheim on her EP, Lovers Dream and More Music For Psychotic Lovers.
Dangerfield released the album Fly Yellow Moon under his own name on January 18, 2010. The album's first track "When You Walk in the Room" was the single of the week on iTunes in the week starting March 15, 2010.
A TV commercial for the British chain store John Lewis, first broadcast in April 2010, features Dangerfield singing the Billy Joel song She's Always a Woman.
On 14 February 2007, he made an appearance on episode 20x03 of Never Mind the Buzzcocks (when Preston of The Ordinary Boys walked off the show), on Bill Bailey's team.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK | ||
| 2010 | Fly Yellow Moon
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| Year | Song | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | EU | |||
| 2010 | "She Needs Me" | 152 | — | Fly Yellow Moon |
| "When You Walk in the Room" | — | — | ||
| "Faster Than the Setting Sun" | — | — | ||
| "She's Always a Woman" | 7 | 47 | ||
| "Barricades" | — | — | ||
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