Badly Drawn Boy

Badly Drawn Boy
Background information
Birth name	Damon Gough
Born	(1969-10-02) 2 October 1969
Origin	Bolton, Lancashire, England
Genres	Indie rock, indie folk, lo-fi
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, bass guitar, drums, banjo, piano, clavinet, keyboards, mellotron, organ, synthesizer, flute, harmonica, harp, celesta
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Twisted Nerve Records XL Recordings (1998–2004) EMI (2006–2008) BDB Records/One Last Fruit (2009-present)
Associated acts	Beck
Website	badlydrawnboy.muronia.com

Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English^[1] indie singer-songwriter.

Gough chose his stage name from the title character in the show Sam and his Magic Ball, which he saw on TV at a party in Trafford, Manchester, in 1995. Before he thought of using this name he made some business cards, each one unique, with a printed picture of a drawing by his nephew and a small collage by Gough. This was then laminated and given out to friends and people at clubs in Blackburn and Manchester.^{[citation needed]}

A chance meeting with Andy Votel at the Generation X bar in Manchester, where Gough's friends Scott Abraham and Damon Hayhurst were contributing to an exhibition by the Space Monkey Clothing Company and Votel was DJing, led to the foundation of Twisted Nerve Records. Badly Drawn Boy's first 7-inch single, "EP1", was pressed the following year to critical acclaim, although only 500 copies were made.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, Q magazine named Badly Drawn Boy in their list of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die", although this was as part of a sub-list of "5 Bands That Could Go Either Way" on account of Gough's tendency to talk and tell stories for extended periods in concert rather than play songs.

History

Early years: 1995–1998

Gough grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England. His recording career began in September 1997 with the five track vinyl release "EP1". This was distributed among friends and family members.

In April 1998, Gough released his second EP, "EP2". This had one track less than its predecessor but twice as many copies were pressed. The highlight track, "I Love You All", was later transferred to a music box which was released alongside the EP. The box plays eleven seconds of the song and is considered much rarer than the record itself due to its limited production.

Gough's third EP, "EP3", was released in November 1998 on both CD and vinyl formats, and was the first release in what became a long-term partnership with XL Recordings. In the same year he collaborated with Unkle for their first album Psyence Fiction. "Road Movie" was released as a live recording with Gough's fellow Mancunians Doves. The B-side to the single was another track from the EP, My Friend Cubilas. Music videos were recorded for both tracks.

Mainstream success: 1999–2002

It Came from the Ground was the next EP, released in March 1999 on CD and vinyl. The style of this recording focused on woodland environments, an aspect displayed in both the cover art and the title track's video. Also released during this period was the single "Whirlpool". An instrumental was released on vinyl in April 1999.

Gough's last EP, Once Around the Block, was released in August 1999 in two vinyl formats and one CD edition. The release is almost short enough to be considered a single.

Gough playing a show in the Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, Utah. (March 2007)

Following the success of his early EPs, Gough's first album, The Hour of Bewilderbeast, was released in June 2000, accompanied by four singles (including a re-release of Once Around the Block).

The album was critically acclaimed and Badly Drawn Boy was successful in winning the 2000 Mercury Music Prize, beating his contemporaries Doves to the £20,000 prize. The album sold well (300,000 copies) and is widely considered to be his defining work.

The Badly Drawn Boy band throughout this successful period consisted of Matt Wardle (keyboards/vocals), Robin File (guitar), Sean Mcann (bass guitar) latterly replaced by the ex-Smiths bass guitarist Andy Rourke, Dave Verner (drums).

After a short break, Gough returned to score the film adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel About a Boy. Impressed by his past work, the Weitz brothers asked Gough to score the film, a task which he undertook alone. Three singles from the album were released during 2002.

His third album, Have You Fed the Fish?, introduced more guitars and an increasingly mainstream pop sound which was not welcomed by all critics. The album is a play on Gough's minor celebrity status and namechecks music icons such as Madonna and John Lennon. Another three singles and a long American tour accompanied the album.

Later years: 2003–present

After his long spell in America, Gough suffered from homesickness and decided to record his next album closer to home. Recorded at Moulin Rouge studios in Stockport, Cheshire, One Plus One Is One was a portrait of his personal life. Documenting a death of a close friend and the loss of a grandfather in the Battle of Normandy, the album was released in 2004. It was not a great commercial success, and Gough decided to leave his contract with XL Recordings after only one single was released. He then signed to EMI.

Two years went by before Born in the U.K., which aimed to explain Gough's experience of growing up in the United Kingdom. The album was promoted with a small UK tour, profits from which were donated to Oxfam, a charity which "offers the chance for thousands of people to use music to achieve something together, which is an idea that gets me excited", said Gough.^[2] Gough also toured the US behind the album.

The album Is There Nothing We Could Do?, with music taken from and inspired by the film, The Fattest Man in Britain, was released on his own BDB Records label in 2009.

His seventh album, It's What I'm Thinking Pt.1 – Photographing Snowflakes, the first of a planned trilogy of albums all to be released under the title It's What I'm Thinking, was released in October 2010.^[3]

In 2011, a portrait of Gough was painted by British artist Joe Simpson (artist), the painting was exhibited around the UK including a solo exhibition at The Royal Albert Hall. ^[4]

In March 2012 he released another soundtrack, Being Flynn, directed by Paul Weitz who had worked with Gough previously on the soundtrack album About a Boy.

Controversy

Gough has at different times been surrounded by controversy for his on-stage behaviour, first in 2010 at his Los Angeles Troubadour show where he abused the crowd and in August 2012^[5] where he threw a tambourine into the crowd at a Northampton music festival. Gough repeatedly swore and abused his audience with insults, even stopping mid-way through his set to mention that he was "bored". Gough later apologized for his outbursts and behaviour at the show and is now taking an extended leave of absence.^[6][7] In April 2013, however, he collaborated with Mancunian band Olympian on their song "Kill The Lights Suzanne".^[8]

Discography

Badly Drawn Boy performing at the Tsunami Relief Cardiff concert in January 2005

• The Hour of Bewilderbeast (2000)
• About a Boy (2002)
• Have You Fed the Fish? (2002)
• One Plus One Is One (2004)
• Born in the U.K. (2006)
• Is There Nothing We Could Do? (2009)
• It's What I'm Thinking Pt.1 – Photographing Snowflakes (2010)
• Being Flynn (2012)

Documentary

There have been two documentaries made about Badly Drawn Boy. Open Map in 2007 ^[9] and Ipso Facto in 2010.^[10] Both remain unreleased.

References

External links

• Official website
• Badly Drawn Boy on Myspace
• Open Map
• Ipso Facto