Athlete (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Image:Athlete Logo.jpg
<tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:Athletephoto2005.png </td></tr> | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information
<tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">London, England</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">Indie rock</td></tr><tr><td>Years active</td><td colspan="2">1999–present</td></tr><tr><td style="padding-right: 1em;">Label(s)</td><td colspan="2">Parlophone (UK) |
Athlete are an indie rock band hailing from London, England.
Contents |
[edit] Band members
- Joel Pott - lead vocals and guitar,
- Carey Willets - bass and vocals,
- Stephen Roberts - drums and backing vocals,
- Tim Wanstall - keyboards and backing vocals.
[edit] Biography
Friends since the age of fourteen, Athlete took their wide ranging influences such as Grandaddy and Flaming Lips and started jamming and practising in the basement of The Bear, a pub which was converted into a church and sandwich bar, on Deptford High Street in 1999. They began recording there, before sending demos out. Signing with Regal Recordings, they released their first single in February 2002. The band came to prominence in 2003 with their debut album, Vehicles and Animals, producing popular singles such as You Got the Style and El Salvador. The album earned a Mercury Music Prize nomination and went on to sell over 250,000 copies.
Their second album, Tourist, reached Number One in the UK Album Charts in its first week, following the huge success of single Wires, which, in 2006, won them the Ivor Novello Award for "Best Contemporary Song". In the UK charts, the band has frequently been frustrated by singles just missing out on top 40 placings, due to inconsistent support by music television channels and radio stations. For instence, certain songs, such as Wires and Half Light, were played up to 10 times a day on larger UK radio stations, yet other singles such as Westside and Tourist received no radio play whatsoever, fueling talk of radio stations deciding who becomes a major player in the pop music franchise.
According to posting on the band's official site by bassist Carey Willets, the band have begun work on their third album, expected somewhere in 2007: "It's coming along soooooo well...Just can't wait to get in now. It's been a good week all round. Joel, Tim and I got together to play each other our ideas and do a little recording and we've booked into a rehearsal studio for two days next week so we can all start playing over ideas together."
The Song 'Changes' From the Album 'tourist' was used in the 2006 Russell Crowe film 'A Good Year'
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
 <center>(April 7, 2003) <center>Parlophone <center> #19 UK |
 <center>(January 31, 2005) <center>Parlophone <center> #1 UK |
[edit] EPs
 <center>(March 4, 2002) <center>Regal Records |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | UK Singles Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "You Got the Style" | 37 | Vehicles and Animals |
| 2002 | "Beautiful" | 41 | Vehicles and Animals |
| 2003 | "El Salvador" | 31 | Vehicles and Animals |
| 2003 | "Westside" | 42 | Vehicles and Animals |
| 2003 | "You Got the Style" re-issue | 42 | Vehicles and Animals |
| 2005 | "Wires" | 4 | Tourist |
| 2005 | "Half Light" | 16 | Tourist |
| 2005 | "Tourist" | 43 | Tourist |
| 2005 | "Twenty Four Hours" / "Stand In the Sun" | 42 | Tourist |
[edit] Compilations
Athlete tracks have appeared on the following compilation CDs:
| Year | Compilation | Track |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Album Vol. 4 | "Westside" |
| 2004 | The Alternative Album Vol. 2 | "Westside" |
| 2004 | The Best Bands in the World...Ever | "Beautiful" |
| 2004 | The Best Bands 2004 | "You Got The Style" |
| 2005 | The Alternative Album Vol. 3 | "Shake Those Windows" |
| 2005 | The Album: Music from EMI | "Wires" |
| 2005 | Acoustic Vol.5: Acoustic 05 | "You Got The Style" |
| 2005 | The Album Vol. 6 | "Half Light" |
| 2006 | The Last Kiss Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | "El Salvador" |
