Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 81.154.149.234 (talk) at 20:43, 11 June 2010 (User is still not giving any good explanation). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Fightstar are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 2003. The original lineup consists of lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Charlie Simpson, lead guitarist and vocalist Alex Westaway, bassist Dan Haigh and drummer Omar Abidi. Although generally considered a post-hardcore band, Fightstar are also known to implement metal, progressive and acoustic elements into their sound. The band currently release their music independently through imprint label, Search and Destroy Records, which is distributed via PIAS Recordings.

During the band's initial emergence, they were faced with much scepticism due to Simpson's former pop career. However, they began to receive positive reactions to early live shows and their debut EP, They Liked You Better When You Were Dead (2005) was a critical success. Since then, their three studio albums have obtained top 40 chartings and critical praise. Indeed, debut album Grand Unification (2006) was regarded as "one of the best British rock albums of the past decade" by Kerrang! editor Paul Brannigan. Scottish publication, The Fly, also said that the album "remains one of the 21st Century’s ultimate rock debuts".

The band went onto receive nominations at the Kerrang! Awards for 'Best British Newcomer' and 'Best British Band', before releasing second album, One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours (2007). The follwing year a compilation album including b-sides and rarities titled, Alternate Endings (2008) was released. The four-piece then self funded and co-produced third album, Be Human (2009), which heavily featured orchestral and choral elements. It became their highest charting album after peaking at number twenty in the UK Albums Chart.

History

Origins (2003 - 2004)

The band formed in the latter part of 2003 during a party at Simpson's London home. He was then still an active member of chart topping pop band Busted. Drummer Omar Abidi had been completing a sound engineering diploma at college, whilst guitarist Alex Westaway had recently moved down to London after dropping out of university. Westaway had also invited old school friend, bassist Dan Haigh, who at the time was based in London working for a game development company.

During the party, an impromptu jam session took place. Playing Rage Against the Machine's song, "Killing in the Name" on a loop, they bonded and subsequently attended a gig a few days later. After the show, they went back to Simpson's flat and began performing on acoustic guitars and a v-drum kit, which led to their first song being written, titled "Too Much Punch".

In late 2004 Simpson had made the decision to quit Busted, stating he wanted to do something his "heart was in". In January 2005, the split was announced and the frontman immediately began playing shows with Fightstar. This was followed by the release of their debut EP in February which was recorded during 2004 whilst he was still a member of the pop trio.

They Liked You Better When You Were Dead EP (2004 - 2005)

Fightstar's debut EP, They Liked You Better When You Were Dead, was released on February 28, 2005, following a rapid promotional tour of the UK. The release proved popular enough to warrant a reprinting on March 23, 2005. The first track, "Palahniuk's Laughter", enjoyed heavy rotation on music video channels and spent many weeks in charts based on video and radio requests. The track was originally entitled "Out Swimming in the Flood", but was renamed after the 2004 tsunami. The EP was heavily influenced by the author Chuck Palahniuk, with the band naming a song after him ("Palahniuk's Laughter") and including a drawing by Westaway of Edward Norton's character in the film adaptation of Palahniuk's novel Fight Club.

The release was via the band's own imprint label - Sandwich Leg Records which was distributed through Universal Records. Soon after the release of the EP, they signed to Universal Island Records and started recording their first full length LP.

Grand Unification (2005 - 2006)

Fightstar went into the studio in October 2005 to start work on their first full length offering. They re-recorded four songs from their debut EP, which were 'Mono', 'Hazy Eyes', 'Lost Like Tears In Rain' and 'Paint Your Target'.

The band's first single, "Paint Your Target" was released on June 13, 2005 in the UK, peaking at #9 in the singles chart. Their second single, "Grand Unification Part 1" was released on October 31, 2005, and peaked at #20 in the UK singles chart.

A new version of They Liked You Better When You Were Dead was released in early 2006 through Deep Elm Records in America. This version contained nine tracks as apposed to the UK's six.

In March 2006, they were listed by the US rock magazine Alternative Press as one of the 100 bands to watch for that year.

The band released their first full-length album on 13 March 2006 through Island Records, entitled Grand Unification. Produced and mixed by Colin Richardson (Bullet for My Valentine, Machine Head, Funeral for a Friend), the album entered the midweek’s at #11 and ended up debuting at #28 in the UK charts. Grand Unification was released in America in March 2007, along with a full US tour.

Further singles taken from this album were "Waste a Moment", "Grand Unification (Part 1)" and "Hazy Eyes". The band also played a slot at the Download Festival at Donington Park Race Track and also headlined the Sunday of Welsh rock music festival The Full Ponty under Biffy Clyro and Funeral for a Friend. Fightstar toured with Funeral for a Friend for three months in 2006 covering such places as Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom.

They have also covered Metallica's "Leper Messiah" and Deftones' "My Own Summer" for Kerrang! magazine free CD giveaways during 2006, as well as covering Deftones' "Minerva" acoustically, which is available on the 7" vinyl version of the "Waste A Moment" single.

The band released Grand Unification, in the US and Canada on April 17, 2007. The release differs from the British and Japanese versions by including the "Hazy Eyes" B-Side and "Fight For Us" as a 14th track.

One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours (2007 - 2008)

After leaving Island records due to a disagreement over the bands artistic direction, Fightstar signed to an independent label called Institute Records which was a division of Gut Records to release their second album.

The band hit the road for an extensive tour beginning at Glasgow Barrowlands on October 8, 2006 with a supporting cast including The Blackout, The Receiving End of Sirens and Oceansize.

They recorded One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours in LA with producer Matt Wallace who has also produced Faith No More, Satchel, Deftones and Sugarcult. The album was released on September 24, 2007.

The first single from One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours was called "99". It was released as a free download-only single on 23 April 2007, and is available from a microsite, launched by Fightstar. The music video for "99" was shown on Scuzz TV and Kerrang TV.

The second single to be taken from the album was "We Apologise for Nothing". The single reached number 1 in the UK Independent Chart. The music video for the third single, "Deathcar" was made available on the band's MySpace on 22 November 2007. Although appearing to be a low budget video, the version on MySpace is an edited, "clean" version. After the release of the "uncut" version of the video on 28 November 2007, Charlie Simpson confirmed via a live forum chat on the band's official website that due to the last minute planning to release "Deathcar" a budget of only £500 was available. The band however confirmed they are "100% happy" with the shoot and enjoyed the change of making a lo-fi video. "Deathcar" went on to debut at #2 on both the UK Indie and Rock Charts.

The fourth single, "Floods" made its debut at No.3 in the UK Indie Chart. They also performed BBC Radio 1 live sessions on this single campaign for Colin Murray and Dan P Carter. The band went on a 10 date UK tour during May with support from London four piece Brigade and unsigned Essex band We Are The Ocean already confirmed. The tour included a date at Carling Academy Islington on 29 May, and at the Leeds Slam Dunk Festival on 25 May

The last single from the album was titled "I Am The Message". It was released on 16 June 2008 as a double A side single with the other side being the bands cover of "Waiting For Superman", which was recorded for the Colin Murray Show on Radio 1. This was the band's first single to be added to the Radio 1 playlist.

Alternate Endings (2008)

On 11 August 2008, the band released a b-sides album called Alternate Endings. It features a selection of the band's b-sides, live radio sessions, covers and a previously unreleased track.

Then, at Download festival 2008, the four-piece told press they would be returning to the studio in August to start recording their next album due for early 2009 and that they already have at least four songs demoed. The album’s name was confirmed as Be Human. The band recorded a cover of "Fear of the Dark" for an Iron Maiden cover CD called Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden, featuring various artists, which was given away with the July 16 issue of Kerrang! magazine.

They also headlined the Rocksound Cave stage on the Saturday at Guilfest, and headlined Greenbelt festival's Mainstage in 2008.

Due to Gut Records going into administration at the end of 2008, Fightstar decided to put out their new album Be Human on their own, in a joint venture with their management company Raw Power on a label called Search and Destroy. The new record was distributed through PIAS Records. In an interview Charlie Simpson said "This was something that we had always wanted to do and figured this would be the perfect time to do it. It is an exciting prospect to be able to own the rights to our own record with the music industry changing at such a rapid pace, I think it's something that more bands will be looking to do in the future."

Be Human (2008 - 2010)

Fightstar released their first single from the new album Be Human, "The English Way", on 3 November 2008 and it reached number 1 in the UK rock chart. The video was played on Kerrang! and Scuzz T.V. stations and also reached number 1 on the MTV2 top 10. The album was co-produced by the band along with Carl Bown, in Bown's state of the art Chesterfield based studio; Treehouse Studios. In interviews leading up to the album release, the band commented that the new record would be "quite different" from their previous releases. Charlie Simpson stated they wanted to experiment with more of a "rock opera" sound including full strings and choir. However, he also pointed out that although it may be different, it will remain Fightstar and still include their trademark dark and heavy elements.

The band supported Feeder for the first part of their UK tour, which started on 21 October 2008. Drummer Jason Bowld had filled in for drummer Omar Abidi on their UK tour, while he recovered from a broken wrist. Abidi returned to touring with the band early in 2009. Due to Abidi's hand injury, Simpson filled in to play drums on six tracks for the new album.

Next single, "Mercury Summer", was released on 6 April 2009, as announced on their MySpace page on 2 February 2009. Tracks include; Mercury Summer, Athea, We Left Tracks Of Fire, Mercury Summer (Acoustic) and Mercury Summer (Nero vs. Ohms remix) which was half produced by Abidi. Athea being a b-side to the physical CD and We Left Tracks Of Fire a b-side on the 7" Vinyl, all available to purchase online at various online stores and websites. Later that week on 4 February, they announced a 12-date UK tour with support from In Case of Fire and Laruso. The video for "Mercury Summer" debuted on their MySpace page on 25 February.

The reception for the single was extremely positive, with the song reaching the A List on the Radio 1 Playlist and remaining there for 4 weeks. It was also received well after the band featured on BBC2 music show Sound. "Mercury Summer" was also added to the daytime playlist at XFM Radio and was picked for Ian Camfield's Record of The Week. Emma Scott and Kerrang Radio station also made "Mercury Summer" her Record of The Week.

On 7 April 2009 the NME website announced that Fightstar were to perform at the Download Festival. Then on 26 May 2009, it was announced by the official website that Fightstar will also be playing the main stage at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

On 9 April 2009 the final album version of "Colours Bleed To Red" was played on the Colin Murray show. Murray said about the previous single "Mercury Summer" "It's only when you hear it in the context of the album that it makes total sense.' 'It's actually a little bit more experimental while at the same time being a bit mainstream" he also said that Be Human is "Quintessential Fightstar with all these new parts to it. Very impressed with it indeed." It was then rumoured that, Be Human, would be re-released in late 2009 and it is believed the new, deluxe version could contain four or five new songs. One of the new songs could be a cover version of Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield," which the band performed informally earlier in the year in the BBC Radio1 Live Lounge. The cover was met with great approval and Sparks herself said on radio that she was a fan of Fightstar and believed they should cover the song.

On the 12th October the band posted pictures on their myspace site from their latest music video shoot for new song "A City on Fire". The song subsequently was played for the first time during Fearne Cotton's show on Radio 1 on October 19 and the official video premiered on the bands MySpace on October 24, which was directed by the team at Sitcom Soldiers. The single was released as a digital download on December 20, peaking at number 116 on the UK Singles Chart, and number four and number ten on the UK Rock and Indie charts respectively. The band have since released the deluxe edition of Be Human on March 1, 2010.

Soon afterward rumours began circulating in the British press that Simpson was about to re-join previous band Busted. However, these were quickly quashed by Simpson himself when he responded by stating, “I wish Matt and James all the best with their future projects but I want to make it unequivocally clear that I have no interest what-so-ever in re-joining Busted and I never will.” The rest of the band have since announced they are "taking some time off" for the remainder of 2010 to work on separate projects before regrouping in 2011 to begin writing a new record. Simpson has started working on a solo acoustic album, while Westaway and Haigh will be completing post-production on the band's film and working on some music videos. Despite this planned break the band still intend to the play the Sonisphere Festival on the 30th of July. On 27 May 2010, Rock Sound reported that Simpson had began writing and recording his debut solo album. The project is in line with Pledge Music and a free downloadable demo of a track entitled, "Thorns" was made available.

Musical style and influences

Fightstar's sound is generally regarded as "post-hardcore", incorporating a style that is "equal parts melody and menace". Their music has also been labelled by other publications as "alternative rock" and "emo". Kerrang! magazine have stated the band draw equal influences from genres such as post-rock, heavy metal and hardcore punk. Charlie Simpson has echoed this sentiment by describing the bands musical aim as trying to "combine the light and dark shades, to make something utterly brutal and really heavy, and on the other side have something really delicate and beautiful. The fusion of those things is what Fightstar does."

Commenting on debut EP, They Liked You Better When You Were Dead (2005), Allmusic wrote, "Vocalists Al Westaway and Charlie Simpson utilize a distinct sound that reaches total catharsis. Train-like guitar work also adds strength to the record, creating drama and tension in the key moments." Josh Barr, journalist for American music websize Aversion, described the EP as containing, "passionate musicianship that's equal parts serenading melody and jarring punch, these blokes unleash a welcome roundhouse kick to the face of overly sensitive emo rock, triggering crying fits and bloodying scarves".

In his review of the bands debut album, Grand Unification (2006), Vik Bansal of MusicOMH spoke of the bands varied dynamics; "Where others are happy to be one-dimensional, Fightstar are not content unless a song moves fluidly through seemingly incongruous but ultimately coherent moods and musical dynamics. The interspersion of thoroughly heavy metal sections within the otherwise widescreen rock of 'Grand Unification Pt I' and 'Sleep Well Tonight' encapsulates this perfectly". The bands second album, One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours (2007) was viewed as a "harder effort" than their debut, containing a "thrilling mixture of alt. rock and post-hardcore". Q magazine wrote that, "the intricate instrumental passages, multi-tracked vocal harmonies and pounding riffs hint at Muse-scale ambition and intellect". The Sun also described the albums sound as, "heavier, slicker and as focused as ever, tracks such as '99' and 'We Apologise For Nothing' embrace an epic, panoramic sound that sweeps you off your feet. It’s aggressive but emotive, with heaps of melody among the huge riffs."

Third album, Be Human (2009), heavily implemented choral and orchestral elements. Emma Johnston of Kerrang! emphasised this in her review by stating, "Fightstar throw as many orchestral and choral flourishes as their muscular, solemnly heavy rock as it could take without drowning". AbsolutePunk writer Anton Djamoos also opined that the album contains a "certain symphonic quality", that is "a departure from the general body of work we've seen in the past. They break from their own norm with several orchestral elements to make the album sound more full and let the music hit even harder".

The band have said they are influenced by a wide variety of music, particularly film scores, and have named artists such as Nirvana, Deftones, Radiohead, Silverchair, Pantera, Mono, Explosions in the Sky, The Cure, and Jeff Buckley as major inspirations.

Members

Official members

• Charlie Simpson — lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keys, lyrics (2003—present)
• Alex Westaway — lead guitar, vocals, lyrics (2003—present)
• Dan Haigh — bass guitar (2003—present)
• Omar Abidi — drums, percussion (2003—present)

Awards

Discography

References

1. "Fightstar". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
2. Shoemaker, Matt. "Fightstar - Be Human Review". 411mania.com. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
3. "FIGHTSTAR". Downloadfestival.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
4. ^ "INTERVIEW: Fightstar". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
5. "I Am Fightstar..." Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-08-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
6. "Fightstar 'Be Human' (Search & Destroy)". The Fly. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
7. "Fightstar up for best band award". CBBC. 2006-08-10. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
8. "Be Human". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
9. ^ "Fightstar - Liverpool - 02/05/09". Crowdsurfer.net. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
10. ^ NME (Magazine) 12 February 2005, p.38 Exclusive! The First Interview
11. ^ "Orange Music Interview - Fightstar". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
12. "Fightstar end Island Records contract". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2006-09-08.
13. "Fightstar Biography". NME. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
14. ^ "Fightstar return with free download". tourdates.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
15. "Fightstar to release "Alternate Endings" Album". Melodic.net. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
16. "Fightstar sets "Be Human" Release Date & Single Details". Melodic.net. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
17. "Photographs of Fightstar from Greenbelt Festival". www.flickr.com/photos/greenbelt.
18. "Gut Records' status in question". Music Week. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
19. "Fightstar will Never Change". The Music Fix. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
20. "Fightstar do it The English Way". Female First. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
21. "Jason Bowld & Fightstar - "The English Way" (live)". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
22. Bazley, Lewis. "Fightstar: Be Human". In the News. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
23. "Fightstar to re-release "Be Human" Album". mercenarypublicity. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
24. "Fightstar: Interview". News of The World. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
25. "Fightstar - "[[A City on Fire]]" Music Video shoot pictures". Fightstar. Retrieved 2009-10-19. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
26. "A City On Fire official video". Fightstar Official Myspace. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
27. "Fightstar release brand new single". Alt Sounds. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
28. "UK Top 30 Indie Singles Chart". BBC Radio One. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
29. "UK Top 30 Rock Singles Chart". BBC Radio One. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
30. Wightmana, Catriona. "Matt Willis hoping for Busted reunion?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
31. "Charlie Simpson: I have no interest re-joining Busted". idiomag. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
32. "Fightstar Interview". Norwich Gigs. Archived from the original on 2010-04-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
33. "Charlie Simpson Works With Pledge Music For Solo Record". Rock Sound. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
34. ^ "Fightstar Biography". All Music. Retrieved 2009-01-29. Cite error: The named reference "amg" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
35. Griffiths, March (March 2010). "Fightstar: Be Human - Deluxe Edition (Search & Destroy) KKKK. Fightstar's third album gets re-released with extra goodies". Kerrang!. No. 1303. p. 49. ISSN 1740-9977. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |title= (help)
36. "Fightstar - Profile". Absolutepunk.net. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
37. "CHARLIE SIMPSON'S TREASURE CHEST - An Intimate Portrait of A Life In Rock". Kerrang!. No. 1264. 2009-06-03. p. 40. ISSN 1740-9977. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
38. Outburn (Magazine) July 2007 #39, p.30. "Our whole aim in music is to combine the light and the dark shades"
39. "They Liked You Better When You Were Dead > Fightstar". Deep Elm Records. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
40. Barr, Josh. "They Liked You Better When You Were Dead". Aversion. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
41. Vik Bansal. "Fightstar - Grand Unification (Sandwich Leg)". MusicOMH. Retrieved 2006-03-13. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
42. "One Day Son This Will All Be Yours: Includes Dvd". HMV. Retrieved 2007-09-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
43. "Fightstar - One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours (Gut) ****", Q magazine, no. 91, p. 59, September 2007, ISSN 1717-287X {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
44. "This week's top albums". The Sun. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
45. Melissa Lewis. "Fightstar - Be Human (Search Destroy)". Daily Music Guide. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
46. Johnston, Emma (8 April 2009), "Fightstar: Be Human (Search & Destroy) KKKK. London crew pile on the drama with album three", Kerrang!, no. 1256, p. 52 {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |title= (help)
47. "Fightstar - Be Human". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved 2009-04-19. {{cite web}}: Text "Djamoos, Anton" ignored (help)
48. "On The Record - Fightstar". Rocksound. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
49. "Fightstar - London Band Ready To Rock America!". AMP Magazine. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
50. "Fightstar Chart History". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2009-09-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

• Official Website

• Musical groups established in 2003
• 2000s music groups
• 2010s music groups
• Musical groups from London
• Musical quartets
• English rock music groups
• British post-hardcore musical groups
• British alternative rock groups
• PIAS Recordings artists
• Island Records artists