Band of Skulls

Band of Skulls
Background information
Origin	Southampton, England
Genres	Alternative rock, blues rock, garage rock, indie rock
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Electric Blues Recordings/PIAS UK (UK) Vagrant Records (US)
Website	bandofskulls.com
Members	Matt Hayward Russell Marsden Emma Richardson

Band of Skulls are an English alternative rock band from Southampton, consisting of Russell Marsden (guitar, vocals), Emma Richardson (bass, vocals), and Matt Hayward (drums). The group formed after meeting in college, although Marsden and Hayward have been friends since school.

History

Initially, the group played at night clubs in the Greater London area and recorded some demos under the name of Fleeing New York before changing their name to Band of Skulls in November 2008. The band's original demos were recorded in their father's shed-studio.

Band of Skulls debut album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, distributed by Shangri-La Music, was released exclusively on the iTunes Store on 6 March 2009, followed by a general release on 20 March. The track "I Know What I Am" was chosen as iTunes' free Single of the Week to coincide with the digital release. The song was also featured in the soundtrack for TV series Friday Night Lights, Volume 2, which was released on 4 May 2010.^[1] The song also appeared in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Another track that was not actually on the album, "Friends", was included on The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack in November 2009.^[2]

On 23 March 2010, Band of Skulls released Friends EP, which includes the studio-recorded version of "Friends", a live version, and a music video of the song.^[3]

Band of Skulls played at the SXSW Festival in early 2010 and toured the Midwest in March in support of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The band appeared on the French TV show Taratata broadcast in March 2010, where they covered the song "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones with the band John & Jehn.^[4] In April 2010, they toured the U.S. and Canada followed by England in May 2010, including a sold-out show at the London Electric Ballroom. On 28 June 2010, Band of Skulls supported The Dead Weather at The Roundhouse in London.^[5] In July 2010, the band covered Goldfrapp's "Strict Machine" for Australian radio.^[6] They were also one of three bands who opened for Muse on 4 September 2010 at Lancashire County Cricket Ground.^[7] In October 2010 they also toured to South Africa to play at the annual Rocking The Daisies festival.

On 26 October 2010, Band of Skulls released a live album called Live on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic.

On 5 October 2011, the band released "The Devil Takes Care of His Own"—the first single to be taken from the new album—with an accompanying music video.^[8] The second studio album Sweet Sour was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales. It is produced by Ian Davenport (Supergrass, Badly Drawn Boy), who also produced their debut album, and was released on 21 February 2012 in the US, and 20 February 2012 in the UK and Europe.

On 12 April 2012, Channel 4 broadcast a short documentary starring the band. They discuss the formation of Band Of Skulls through to going from working the bars of their hometown to playing music in front of expansive crowds of adoring fans across the globe. It is a rare and intimate insight into the world of Band Of Skulls, focusing of their success and achievements over the years.^[9]

On 13 October 2012, Band of Skulls played the 11th Annual Austin City Limits Music Festival. The show was briefly interrupted by a rainstorm that soaked the front of the stage, including Russell's pedal board, prompting the band to leave the stage while crews dried and moved the affected equipment. The band was able to return and complete their set after about a 10-minute delay.

Discography

• Baby Darling Doll Face Honey (2009)
• Sweet Sour (2012)
• Himalayan (2014)

Studio albums

EP

• Friends EP (23 March 2010)

Live Albums

• KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic (26 October 2010)
• "Live at Brixton" (7 December 2012)

Singles

Media usage

• "Light of the Morning" was featured in a commercial for the 2011 Ford Mustang V6,^[12] and a trailer for The Hangover Part II.^[13]
• "I Know What I Am" was included on the soundtrack of Gossip Girl's 4th season first episode, for the PlayStation 3 video game MLB 10: The Show, in Degrassi: The Next Generation, in a Swatch TV ad aired worldwide titled "Swatch Colour Codes", in Season 4 of the television series Friday Night Lights, soundtrack, an SBS advert for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and epidode 3 of season 1 of Terriers, "Lost Girl", and episode 1 of season 1 of Fairly Legal. It is also playable in the music video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. In January 2011, it was used in a Nissan Micra commercial on Australian TV.
• "Death By Diamonds and Pearls" was used in a commercial for Britain's Next Top Model, Cycle 6.
• "Death By Diamonds and Pearls" is used during the end credits for the Channel 4 programme, Pete Versus Life.
• "Patterns" was used in the second season, episode 16, of Castle, a TV show starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic.
• "Patterns" was used in a spot for Swatch advertising a watch collection called "New Gents".
• "Patterns" appears on soundtrack for the video games Gran Turismo 5 and Tony Hawk: Ride.
• "Cold Fame" is featured on the soundtrack for the 2010 movie Going the Distance.
• "Honest" was used in episode 5 of season 4 of Skins as backing music to the "Next Time" segment and end credits.
• "Blood" was featured in episode 1 of season 3 of United States of Tara, a television series created by Diablo Cody.
• "Impossible" was used in the end credits of My Soul to Take.
• "Impossible" was used in MatchStick Productions ski movie The Way I See It, Eric Hjorleifson skiing the Catcher's Mitt at Bralorne B.C.
• "Impossible" was used in the movie Detention of the Dead .
• "Friends" is featured in the soundtrack for the movie the The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
• "Blood" was featured in episode 10 of season 2 of True Blood, a television series created by Alan Ball broadcast on HBO.
• "You're Not Pretty But You Got It Going On" was featured in episode 7 of series 18 of Top Gear, on BBC.
• "The Devil Takes Care Of His Own" was featured in Season 1, Episode: 13 of "The Secret Circle"
• "The Devil Takes Care Of His Own" appears on the soundtrack for the video game "NHL 13"
• "You’re Not Pretty But You Got It Going On" appears on the soundtrack for the 2012 video game Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
• "Navigate" is used to play out Episode 2 of HBO's 2013 drama about Mary Queen of Scots, "Reign" ^[14]
• "Close To Nowhere" was featured on the television show, The Following season one, episode 2

Awards

Independent Music Awards 2013: "Sweet Sour" - Best Rock/Hard Rock Song^[15]

References

External links

• Official website
• Band of Skulls on Myspace
• Band of Skulls's channel on YouTube
• Band of Skulls on Facebook
• Band of Skulls on Twitter