The Victorian English Gentlemens Club
| 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 Heddwyn Davies |
| Past members |
Emma Daman Dan Lazenby Steph Jones |
The Victorian English Gentlemens Club were a four piece experimental art rock band based in London, England.
Name
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]
Debut album
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
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]
Bag of Meat
James Griffiths became the band's drummer in April 2010. The third album, "Bag of Meat" was released on 11th June 2011 on This Is Fake DIY Records.[6] The album was written by Adam Taylor and Louise Mason and James Griffiths, and produced and mixed in Music Box Studios, Cardiff by Charlie Francis. The sound of the band progressed from their early post punk minimalism, to a darker, heavier and rawer sound.[7] The band toured the album widely across Europe, playing shows in Russia and Slovakia.
GYTS
Heddwyn Davies joined the band in 2011 playing viola and electric mandolin. GYTS was recorded in Paris over the summer of 2012, and was due for release in May 2013 and is still a no show as of May 2014.
Discography
Studio albums
- 2006: The Victorian English Gentlemens Club [8]
- 2009: Love on an Oil Rig [9]
- 2011: Bag of Meat
Singles
- "The Tales Of Hermit Mark/My Son Spells Backwards" (Double A-Side 2006) (Fantastic Plastic Records)
- "Amateur Man/Ban The Gin" (Double A-Side 2006) (#170 UK) (Fantastic Plastic Records)
- "Pedestrian" (2006) (7" Split single) (Fantastic Plastic Records)
- "Impossible Sightings Over Shelton" (2006) (#161 UK) (Fantastic Plastic Records)
- "Stupid As Wood/La Mer" (2007) (7" Vinyl in Wooden Sleeve) (Fantastic Plastic Records)
- "La Mer (French Language Version)" (7" Split single) (LSM Records)
- "Parrot" (2009) (7" Yellow Vinyl) (This is Fake DIY Records)
- "Watching The Burglars" (2009) (This is Fake DIY Records)
- "Bored In Belgium" (2010) (7" Vinyl) (This is Fake DIY Records)
- "A Biting Wind Followed by an Occasional Drift of Snow (Was no Way to Cure a Hangover)" (2010) (This is Fake DIY Records)
- "Bag of Meat" (2011) (Flexi Disc) (This is Fake DIY Records)
- "A Conversation" (2011) (This is Fake DIY Records)
Other
- "Blood Pie" (2011) (Yellow Cassette Tape) (This is Fake DIY Records)
References
- ↑ "BBC Wales - Victorian English Gentlemen's album". Retrieved February 4, 2007.
- ↑ Nick Mitchell (2006-09-21). "The Victorian English Gentlemens Club - Slicker Than Your Average". Skinny Magazine. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ↑ "TVEGC | National Museum Wales". Museumwales.ac.uk. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
- ↑ "What's on | National Museum Wales". Museumwales.ac.uk. 2010-01-03. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
- ↑ "TVEGC | National Museum Wales". Museumwales.ac.uk. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
- ↑ "News / The Victorian English Gentlemens Club". Thevictorianenglishgentlemensclub.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
- ↑ "10 Tracks You Have To Hear This Week - Fever Ray, Antony and the Johnsons, The Shins - In The NME Office - NME.COM - The world's fastest music news service, music videos, interviews, photos and free stuff to win". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
- ↑ "Fantastic Plastic Records - The Victorian English Gentlemens Club". Fpmusic.org. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
- ↑ "Love On An Oil Rig | Releases". This Is Fake DIY Records. 2009-09-07. Retrieved 2011-04-04.