Temples (band)

Not to be confused with Temple (band).
Temples

Temples in 2014
Background information
Origin Kettering, England
Genres Psychedelic rock, psychedelic pop, glam rock, indie rock
Years active 2012–present
Labels Heavenly, Fat Possum
Associated acts Sukie, Lightning Seeds, Koolaid Electric Company, Secret Fix, Pilots Of The Sun
Website templestheband.com
Members James Bagshaw
Thomas Walmsley
Samuel Toms
Adam Smith

Temples are an English rock band formed in Kettering in 2012 by singer-guitarist James Bagshaw (born 11 July 1986 in Kettering[1]) bassist Thomas Walmsley (born 3 August 1988 in Kettering), keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Adam Smith (born 3 April 1986 in Kettering), and drummer Samuel Toms (born 25 March 1989 in Kettering). They have received considerable press attention during their short existence and have been praised by the likes of Johnny Marr, Robert Wyatt, Donovan and Noel Gallagher as one of the best new bands in Britain.[2]

History

The band was initially formed as a home studio project[3] in mid 2012. Walmsley and Bagshaw had known each other for years before these projects. It was at this point that Bagshaw and Walmsley were in rival bands based in their hometown of Kettering. The duo had later worked together in The Moons,[4] with Bagshaw also having sessioned with the Lightning Seeds and co-fronted another earlier Kettering band Sukie who formed in 2006 and charted at No 1 in the UK Indie Chart with their debut single "Pink-A-Pade".[5] Sukie were featured in the fanzine "Siren", edited and created by Walmsley to document Kettering's music scene.[6]

The duo uploaded four self-produced tracks to YouTube which caught the attention of Heavenly Recordings founder Jeff Barrett who agreed to release the band's debut single in the form of "Shelter Song" in November 2012.[7][8] They then enlisted fellow Kettering resident drummer, Samuel Lloyd Toms[9] (Secret Fix, ex-Koolaid Electric Company[10]) and keyboard player Adam Smith and started rehearsing as a band, so they could play their songs live, having never played live as a band before.[2] The band released their second single "Colours To Life" in June 2013.

Temples performing at Coachella in 2014

Having played major UK and European festival and supported the likes of Suede, Mystery Jets, Kasabian and The Vaccines[11] alongside select headline dates, the band announced their first headline UK tour to take place in October 2013.[12] In November 2013, Temples announced their self-produced debut album, Sun Structures, which was released on 5 February 2014.[13] The band embarked on a headlining tour around Europe, North America and Australia.[14] On the 30th July 2014, the band performed for the first time on US television performing "Shelter Song" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Temples have also performed "Shelter Song" on The Ellen Degeneres Show on the 29th September 2014.

Their relative lack of airplay on major radio stations in the UK, especially BBC Radio 1, has been criticised by fellow musician and fan Noel Gallagher.[15]

Recording

In an interview with Sound of Boston, lead vocalist James Bagshaw noted that signing on to Heavenly Records did not change their recording process.[16] "Nothing changed, everything stayed exactly the same... At no point did they say, you know, go into the studio. If they did, we probably wouldn’t have signed to them because we liked the idea of what we were doing," Bagshaw stated.[16]

Bagshaw also commented on the difficulty in selecting which tracks to release as singles.[16] The melodic nature of “Mesmerise,” was a main reason why Temples chose to release it as a single; "I guess melody is something that assigns a single because that’s the thing that people listen to. But for us, we always found it very hard to choose singles… it might not be commercially viable, but that one sounds more catchy," said Bagshaw.[16]

Band members

Former band members

Discography

Studio albums

Remix album

EPs

Singles

References

  1. ↑ "Results for England & Wales Births 1837-2006". Find My Past. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gourlay, Dom (2013-04-05). "DiS meets Temples". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  3. ↑ "Ascending The Golden Throne: Temples Interviewed". The Quietus. 2013-07-16. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  4. ↑ Martin. "The Moons - bassist: Tom Walmsley". Orange Amplification. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  5. ↑ "Discography of Sukie". Sukie.musikear.com. 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  6. ↑ "Northamptonshire - Entertainment - Siren Magazine". BBC. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
  7. ↑ "Temples: 'You Never Know Where A Song Is Destined To Go'". Thisisfakediy.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  8. ↑ "Temples announce debut single 'Shelter Song' with Heavenly" (Press release). Heavenly Recordings. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  9. ↑ Parker, Jack (2011-09-07). "Secret Admirer: CROWS Interview". Hellosecretadmirer.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
  10. ↑ "Gimme Your Answers: An Interview w/ SECRET FIX | A Music Blog, Yea?". Amusicblogyea.com. 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
  11. ↑ "Temples announce UK dates including support for Suede, Kasabian and The Vaccines" (Press release). Heavenly Recordings. 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  12. ↑ "TEMPLES announce UK headline tour, Autumn 2013". Pressparty. 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  13. ↑ "Temples announce details of debut album 'Sun Structures'". NME. 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  14. ↑ "AU Review" Gemma Bastiani, The AU Interview: James Bagshaw of Temples (UK), The AU Review, February 10, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Noel Gallagher criticises BBC Radio 1 for ignoring Temples and Jagwar Ma". NME. 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Buckle, Jenna. "Interview: Temples". Sound of Boston.
  17. ↑ http://www.getintothis.co.uk/2012/10/temples_-_the_new_band_bringin/
  18. ↑ Heavenly Records

External links