| The Victorian English Gentlemens Club | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Cardiff, Wales |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Years active | 2004-present |
| Labels | This Is Fake DIY Records, Flowershop Recordings, Fantastic Plastic Records |
| Members | |
| Adam Taylor Louise Mason James Griffiths |
|
| Past members | |
| Emma Daman Dan Lazenby Steph Jones |
|
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club are a three piece experimental indie art rock band based in Cardiff, Wales.
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The name of the band is correctly spelt without an apostrophe. On their website, the band acknowledges they are "aware that there should be"[1] an apostrophe. The name originated from style of the artwork of singer Adam.[2]
The band was formed when Taylor and Mason met at Art College in Cardiff in 2004.[3] Joined by drummer Daman they made their recording debut in early 2006; with the limited-edition "The Tales of Hermit Mark" / "My Son Spell Backwards" released in the spring and double A-side "Amateur Man" / "Ban the Gin" following that summer, both on Fantastic Plastic Records. Their self-titled debut album was released in Autumn 2006; first single "Impossible Sightings Over Shelton" debuted at number ten on the UK Indie Chart. While writing the next album, the band performed at SXSW festival in Austin, Texas in both 2007 and 2008, released a French language version of the previous single "La Mer" (as a split 7" with the Paris based band, This is Pop), and did several support and headline tours in UK and Europe.
Love on an Oil Rig was the band's second full length album. Like the first album, it was recorded with the original lineup of Taylor, Mason and Daman. It was released on 14 September 2009 on CD and 12" Vinyl on This Is Fake DIY Records in the UK, and Flowershop Recordings in Europe. The first single from it was "Parrot", released on Yellow Vinyl. The album was toured across the UK and Europe with Steph Jones and Dan Lazenby joining the band for live performances after drummer Daman's departure. Touring included a performance in the upper galleries of the National Museum of Wales in November 2009 to open SWN festival, after releasing a song written and recorded for an artwork in the current exhibition there.[4] In the same year they also performed in a forest, on a mountain, in a kitchen and a theatre.[5]
James Griffiths became the band's drummer in April 2010. The band are currently writing and recording the third album, due for completion in 2010 and release in early in 2011 on This Is Fake DIY Records.[6] The sound of the band has progressed from their early post punk minimalism, to a darker, heavier and rawer sound.[7]