| The King Blues | |
|---|---|
The King Blues, Newcastle, April 2010 |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Punk rock, ska punk, folk punk, reggae, alternative rock |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Transmission Recordings,[1] Field Recordings, Island |
| Associated acts | Suicide Bid, Ramraid The Offy, The Skints, Slow Science |
| Website | www.kingblues.net |
| Members | |
| Jonny 'Itch' Fox Jamie Jazz Jack Usher Dean Ashton Kat Marsh Josie Dobson |
|
| Past members | |
| Robin Guy Chris Goodman Mike 'Fruitbag' Payne Perkie Ade Preston Charles Wilson |
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The King Blues are a punk band from London, England, credited for fusing ska and folk together with influences from punk rock and hardcore punk. Tariq Ali described the band's sounds as 'rough, radical music that should unsettle the rulers of this country. A new generation of musicians are challenging war-monger politicians and their courtiers'. Influences include Public Enemy, The Clash, The Specials, Black Flag and Minor Threat. Their third full length album, Punk and Poetry, was released on 17 April 2011. Lead singer Jonny 'Itch' Fox describes the music as 'a mixture of reggae, hip hop, folk, doo wop, punk rock.'
Contents |
The King Blues started off as a two man ska outfit, consisting of Jonny 'Itch' Fox playing ukulele and as vocalist and Jamie Jazz playing acoustic guitar and contributing vocals. Current member Jamie Jazz used to work in a music/guitar shop called Rock Around the Clock in north London's Crouch End/Muswell Hill district; however Jazz realised that in order to put The King Blues at the top, he had to leave his job. Whilst this was going on they then expanded to include a second acoustic guitar and a bassist, before again expanding to include two full-time percussion members. Their sound was initially described as "soulful ska with raw folk and a punk rock attitude".[2] or "conscious rude boy ska"[3]
In 2004 they self released a demo EP titled "All Fall Down" featuring 5 tracks recorded by Itch on guitar and vocals. The cover and CD body art was a stencil of a fuse bomb and the band's logo, each one was hand sprayed.
In June 2006 their debut album, Under the Fog, was released on Household Name Records which coincided with increased touring and gigs. In November of the same year, "Mr Music Man" was released as a CD single, also on Household Name. The single was enhanced with a video chronicling the band's attempt to play more gigs in a 24-hour period than Status Quo's record-breaking four gigs in one day. The King Blues managed seven.[4] Their single "Mr Music Man" was voted Best Punk Song of 2006 by BBC Radio 1.
In 2007 the band was signed to Field Recordings, a label co-owned by Rollo Armstrong and backed by Island Records. Under the Fog was partly rerecorded and re-issued in March 2008, and was preceded by two singles, "Come Fi Di Youth" and a new version of "Mr. Music Man".[5]
In May 2008 the band released a single from their forthcoming second album Save the World. Get the Girl called "Let's Hang the Landlord" to all those signed up to their email list.[6] The song took them in a slightly different direction, opening with a violin. The lyric is both autobiographical and true, detailing Itch's life as a teenage punk.[7] The track was also released on a split 7" single, alongside "Mayday", the debut UK single by Flobots.
Their second album Save the World, Get the Girl was released on October 20, 2008 in the UK. The album was produced by Peter Miles, who produced Under the Fog, and Clive Langer (producer of Elvis Costello, Madness, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Morrissey, Teardrop Explodes, Bush and The Holloways). The album received positive reviews.
"My Boulder" was released as a single on October 13, 2008 in the UK. Zane Lowe has played this track several times on BBC Radio 1 and recommended it on air to Noel Gallagher.[8] "My Boulder" includes an excerpt from a reading of the poem The Pied Piper of Hamlyn by Robert Browning.
Another track from Save the World, Get the Girl to receive Radio 1 airplay is What If Punk Never Happened, which has been played by Rob da Bank,[9] Mike Davies,[10][11] and Zane Lowe.[12] Songs from the album, including "What if Punk Never Happened?" and "Let's Hang The Landlord" also received air play from the Xfm punk show (X Punk) hosted by Pete Donaldson and Phil Clifton.[1] The band have also received considerable airplay in Australia courtesy of Triple R's punk program Bullying the Jukebox.
The band's single "I Got Love" from their 2008 album Save the World. Get the Girl was released on 4 May 2009. It was played at many gigs and tours before being announced as a single. Its first air time was on BBC Radio 1.
They also did a cover of Dizzee Rascal's "Bonkers" in Radio 1's Live Lounge in June 2009.
Over late 2009 and early 2010 The King Blues continued to tour their second album Save the World, Get the Girl, adding new songs to their setlist over time, such as "Headbutt", "Sore Throat" and "Five Bottles of Shampoo".
In mid 2010, The King Blues were dropped from Field Recordings. This coincided with the departure of band members Fruitbag, Johnny Rich, Al Gunby and Jim Parmley. A controversial message explaining the departures was posted on the Punktastic forum by Fruitbag. The message proceeded to raise questions marks over the bands credibility amongst many fans. However, the band quickly found a new record label, Transmission Recordings, and new members. Only a few weeks later, the new King Blues lineup went on tour supporting Enter Shikari.
On 23 March, Zane Lowe aired a new single, "Headbutt", as his "hottest record in the world" on his Radio 1 show. No release date was given, but Itch stated that the band had completely finished recording 5 or 6 new songs. On their recent tour of the United Kingdom, it was announced that their new single "Headbutt" would be released on 16 May 2010 and that Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari had remixed the track which was available to download for free
The King Blues departed on their "London Brawling tour" (10 April until 5 May) along with four different support bands: Mouthwash (all gigs), Moral Dilemma, The Meow Meows and Dirty Revolution. Most nights of the tour the band have invited someone on stage to speak, for example Sophie Lancaster's mum speaking for the foundation. The King Blues have S.O.P.H.I.E. bands available on tour. The King Blues have also been playing "love music hate racism gigs" in between gigs. On August 8, 2010 they played at the Hevy Music Festival near Folkestone, UK. During this time, the band started playing many new songs off the new album Punk & Poetry. A lot of this material, such as "Kissing Frogs" and "We Will Never Grow Old" is no longer on the album, due to the band finding new inspiration from the UK's Anti Cuts protests and riots, and the 2010-2011 Middle East and North Africa Protests which has led to them writing new material such as "I Want You", "We Are Fucking Angry" and "Set The World On Fire"
On 29 August, The King Blues released their new single "Holiday" along with "I Got Hate" and an Acoustic version of the previous single "Headbutt" which acted as B-sides to the single. On the same day, the King Blues played the main stage at Reading Festival.
On 21 January The King Blues posted a 40 second preview of a new song, "We Are Fucking Angry". It received radio play Mike Davies Radio 1 Punk Show, a few days later a free download link to the song was posted on the internet by the band.
The first single off Punk & Poetry debuted on Mike Davies' Punk Show on 7 February, receiving more plays on the same show and Zane Lowe's show over the next few weeks. On 26 February, the official music video for the song was posted online. It was released on the 10 April on digital download with a Dr Meaker remix version of song acting as the b-side.
On 1 March, Itch co-hosted Mike Davies Radio 1 Punk Show, previewing new songs "The Future's Not What It Used To Be" and "Five Bottles of Shampoo", as well as new singles "We Are Fucking Angry" and "Set the World on Fire". On 5 March, the track-listing for Punk & Poetry was announced, due out for 18 April.
The band sent a copy of "Set the World On Fire" to the Daily Mail, they responded by pulling every article, webpage and reference to The King Blues from everything they own, in rebuttal to this the music video for "Set the World On Fire" has vocalist Itch burning a copy of the Daily Mail.
At the 2011 Leeds Festival, during their set on the Lock Up Stage. Itch said that they were already working on a follow up to Punk & Poetry before playing a new song, "Power to the People". They played this song again at the The Roundhouse in November, along with another new song called "Modern Life Is Getting Me Down".
The King Blues have "a commitment to politics and resistance".[13] Itch writes a column for Last Hours magazine which generally focuses on resistance politics and protest. Several songs on Under the Fog are overtly political, including "Chimp in a 3 Piece Suit" and "Duck and Cover". The band's website states that Save the World. Get the Girl will feature "a much more personalized take on social ills" than Under the Fog.[13] Nonetheless, overtly political lyrics do feature in two live favourites[14] that will appear on the new album. The title track includes the lyric "Going to war to prevent war was the most stupid thing I ever heard", while The Streets Are Ours includes references to Indymedia and Tiananmen Square. "Smash EDO Dub", the B side to the re-release of "Mr. Music Man", features an interview with a campaigner from the Smash Edo movement.[15] The links on The King Blues' official website are almost exclusively political. On his formspring, he states that he is probably an anarchist. Judging from other quotes and lyrics, it is likely that the other members of the band are also anarchists.[16]
Present:
Past:
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Under the Fog | Household Name |
| 2008 | Under the Fog (Reissue) | Field Recordings/Island |
| Save the World. Get the Girl | ||
| 2011 | Punk and Poetry | Transmission Recordings |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2004 | All Fall Down EP |
| 2007 | Taking Over EP |
| 2008 | The Engine Room Acoustic Session |
| My Boulder EP | |
| 2009 | I Got Love EP |
| Year | Single | Peak chart position | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [17] |
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| 2006 | "Mr. Music Man" | — | Under the Fog |
| 2007 | "Come Fi Di Youth" | — | |
| 2008 | "Mr. Music Man" (re-issue) | — | |
| "Let's Hang the Landlord" | — | Save the World. Get the Girl | |
| "My Boulder" | 156 | ||
| 2009 | "Save the World, Get the Girl" | 68 | |
| "I Got Love" | 96 | ||
| 2010 | "Headbutt" | 72 | Punk and Poetry |
| "Holiday" | — | ||
| 2011 | "Set The World On Fire" | — | Punk and Poetry |
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart | |||