Razorlight
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| Razorlight | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information
<tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">Image:Flag of England (bordered).svg London, England</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">Pop |
Razorlight is an Anglo-Swedish pop band formed during the summer of 2002 around 22-year-old singer-songwriter Johnny Borrell.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] 2004
Razorlight's debut album, Up All Night, was released on June 28 2004, reaching number 3 in the UK album charts on 4 July.[1] The critical reception was generally good, receiving good reviews from NME, Q magazine and Billboard, although they were also accused of lack of imagination and unoriginality for allegedly borrowing ideas from other influential bands, notably The Strokes.
They appear to polarize opinion. NME wrote that the album: "bristles with passion, energy and, most importantly, amazing songs", while they were described elsewhere as "nearly everything wrong with rock and roll today". Their fans, though, embrace the music for its simple melodies and multi-layered, easy-going compositions.
Frontman Johnny Borrell caused some controversy and surprise when he likened himself to musical legend Bob Dylan, quipping "If Dylan's making the chips then I'm drinking the champagne". This led to suggestions of self-promotion. This statement was taken out of context however as Borrell was comparing his and Dylan's first albums, not their overall career. The band became very popular on the London music scene when they arrived earlier in the year. Large demand caused the band to play extra shows, including a 7,000+ capacity gig at Alexandra Palace. The album was heavily marketed in the UK. Up All Night is now recognized as one of the pre-eminent albums of 2004.
On Up All Night, Johnny Borrell recorded a phone number into the track "Vice". This number was widely rumoured to be his own phone number, however, it is the number of a London based samaritan type company called "Vice" who people can ring for advice. The number is 07761010233.
[edit] 2005
Up All Night was re-issued in April 2005, including previously unreleased single "Somewhere Else", which peaked at Number 2.
In July 2005, the band performed at Hyde Park, London, as part of the Live 8 series of concerts. However, the band came under fire for not donating their extra revenue to charity. Razorlight claim that due to their "fledgling status", they're unable to make such a commitment. [2]
Razorlight supported Queen + Paul Rodgers on Friday 15th July 2005, in front of 60,000 people. This gig had been rescheduled following the July 2005 London bombings.
They also appear as themselves in series 2 of The Mighty Boosh, in the episode 'The Priest and The Beast'.
Razorlight supported Oasis in December 2005, at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. The band also supported Richard Ashcroft in his homecomeing gig at the Lancashire County Cricket Club on June 17, 2006.
[edit] 2006
On April 3rd 2006, they streamed a new song from their new album on their website, from around 1800 BST to 1900 BST. According to NME.COM, it was called "Pop Song 2006". According to an interview with Planet Sound, this was only a working title and was a tribute to R.E.M.'s Pop Song '89. The band planned on calling it "Small Town Heroes", but never told the production people.
Continuing their association with The Who which started at the Live 8 gig, Razorlight debuted some of their second album songs on the March 30 2006 in one of a chain of Teenage Cancer Trust concerts, organised by Roger Daltrey. Later that year, on the 2nd July, they played to a sellout Hyde Park Calling gig, where they were preceded by the Zutons, and opened for The Who. Again they played half a set from the new album, the first single from which "In the Morning" was released at midnight that evening at HMV on Oxford St.
The band then appeared in front of Brighton's West Pier on the 12 July 2006 in a free concert as part of a Vodafone TBA event to be broadcast on Channel 4. Razorlight released their eponymous second album on July 17 2006. It was preceded by the release on July 3rd of the single "In The Morning".
[edit] Controversy
Borrell has also had arguments with other bands most notably new indie favourites The Kooks branding their music 'shit' and the lead singer 'boring'. He said "He models his style on me. And that record is the most horrible thing I've ever heard. It sounds like the band are literally rolling over, sticking their arse in the air and begging Radio 1 to fuck them. I heard their single on the radio the other day and it sounds like fucking Avril Lavigne! If he can live with himself after that production, and if he feels like he has to slag people off to keep up, then I'm sure his nights are long and those moments of doubt are really painful. So fuck The Kooks. Fuck 'em!"
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
 <center>(5 June, 2004) <center>Vertigo <center> #3 UK |
 <center>(17 July, 2006) <center>Vertigo <center> #1 UK, #180 US |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | UK Download Chart | US Modern Rock. | |||
| 2003 | “Rock ‘N’ Roll Lies” | 56 | - | - | Up All Night |
| 2003 | “Rip It Up” | 42 | - | - | Up All Night |
| 2004 | “Stumble and Fall” | 27 | - | - | Up All Night |
| 2004 | “Golden Touch” | 9 | 3 | 32 | Up All Night |
| 2004 | “Vice” | 18 | - | - | Up All Night |
| 2004 | “Rip It Up (re-release)” | 20 | - | - | Up All Night |
| 2005 | “Somewhere Else” | 2 | 2 | 36 | Up All Night (reissue) |
| 2006 | “In The Morning” | 3 | 5 | - | Razorlight |
| 2006 | "America" | 1 | 1 | - | Razorlight |
| 2006 | "Before I Fall to Pieces" | - | 98 | - | Razorlight |
[edit] Trivia
- On both of their albums, they have paid tribute to R.E.M with song titles. The tracks "Don't Go Back To (Dalston)" and "Pop Song 2006" take their names from the songs "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" and "Pop Song '89" respectively.
- Andy Burrows drummed on the single "Be Gentle With Me" by The Boy Least Likely To, who will support Razorlight on their 2006 UK arena tour.
- In December 2005 Johnny admitted that Ricky Wilson (Kaiser Chiefs front man) is the best lead singer a band could have and that he hopes to work with them in the future.
- Razorlight are close friends with Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding from The Mighty Boosh. Razorlight appeared on the program in the episode "The Priest and the Beast", and Noel Fielding appeared in costume as The Hitcher before a Razorlight gig.
- (Don't go back to) Dalston is allegedly about Pete Doherty and his drug addiction.
[edit] External links
de:Razorlight es:Razorlight fr:Razorlight nl:Razorlight no:Razorlight pl:Razorlight simple:Razorlight sr:Рејзорлајт fi:Razorlight sv:Razorlight
