Feeder

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Biography

Feeder are an alternative rock band from Newport , Wales , formed in 1991. Feeder's line-up from 1994 had consisted of founding members vocalist and guitarist Grant Nicholas alongside drummer Jon Lee (drummer)|Jon Lee , before the line-up was later completed with bassist Taka Hirose . The band had previously employed Simon Blight from Raindancer , a previous Feeder incarnation. On January 7, 2002 Jon took his own life in his Miami home, which saw the band keep out of the public eye for the rest of the year until August, when they made their live return with then former Skunk Anansie drummer Mark Richardson (musician)|Mark Richardson , who also recorded with the band. In May 2009, Mark parted company with Feeder to return to a reformed Skunk Anansie, before Karl Brazil took over as the band's studio and live drummer. Although the band have also employed Damon Wilson and former Mexicolas member Tim Trotter for live duties, Tim has recorded with the band on occasions.

Feeder first attracted national attention with the 2001 album Echo Park (album)|Echo Park , due to the popularity and frequent airplay of its lead and UK singles chart|UK top 5 single " Buck Rogers (song)|Buck Rogers ", although the band had released two albums before this being Polythene (album)|Polythene (1997) and Yesterday Went Too Soon (1999). Feeder's overall mainstream success is seen as moderate in comparison to their peers, but have seen very positive critical reviews for their early work, which includes a perfect 10/10 score for Yesterday Went Too Soon by Metal Hammer magazine. Two years previously Polythene was their album of the year, while in November 2004 Kerrang! 's writers have also approved of "Buck Rogers" as one of their "666 Songs You Must Own". Feeder's chart successes up until the end of 2006, enabled them to become one of the most successful UK chart acts between 1952-2006 based on the ranking system used in the now defunct Guinness publication British Hit Singles & Albums . Total combined domestic sales from all their albums that have been certified at least gold, currently stands at over 1.5 million.

Yesterday Went Too Soon and the albums that followed have all charted in the UK albums chart|UK top 20 . In 2004, the band was nominated for a Brit Award . Feeder's most commercially successful album, 2005's Pushing the Senses , peaked at #2 and sold 40,000 copies in the first week and 160,000 copies nine months after its release in the United Kingdom certifying it gold. Although 2002's Comfort in Sound has sold more copies at 503,706 enabling it to gain platinum status, it charted at #6. Since their formation, Feeder have released eight studio album s, eleven compilation album s, four extended play s (EP), and thirty-four single (music)|singles on The Echo Label and their own label Big Teeth Music, as well as thirty-six music video s. The band has performed at various international festivals, including Reading and Leeds festivals|Reading and Leeds , Glastonbury Festival , Rock Werchter and Download Festival|Download (where they headlined the first day in 2005), and sold 50,000 tickets for their 2003 Comfort in Sound Tour . A new studio album, Generation Freakshow (album)|Generation Freakshow , was released on April 23, 2012.

History

Formation and early releases (1991-1996)

At the age of 14, singer and guitarist Grant Nicholas joined a band called 'Sweet Leaf', named after a Black Sabbath song, who were the first band he had seen play live. At this time Japanese bassist Taka Hirose and drummer Jon Lee (drummer)|Jon Lee were playing in different covers bands, but did not know each other at the time. While playing in different bands on the Newport gig circuit, Grant and Jon became friends. They formed an electronic music|electronic wikt:duo|duo called 'Temper Temper' after Jon left Newport band The Darling Buds . Shortly thereafter, they formed a band called Raindancer.Jon Lee tribute night at T. J.'s Newport, programme guide. Both of these bands failed to win a recording contract, with the sound of the latter once being compared by Grant with that of The Waterboys .

Going back to the drawing board, they formed a three-piece band called 'Reel'. Their bass player Simon Blight departed from the band and the music business, before changing their name to 'Real'. During this time in 1994 they recruited Taka Hirose via an advert in Loot (magazine)|Loot , which Taka placed himself. The band then changed their name to Feeder, named after Grant's pet goldfish. They won their recording contract with Echo after sending a demo tape , and then completed the deal after an employee from the label witnessed one of the band's gigs. A track called "Don't Bring Me Down", which featured on the demo appeared as a b-side on the " Day in Day Out " single, albeit a different version to the demo recording."Day in Day Out", Feeder Central Exclusive CD single inlay inserts. After signing with The Echo Label in 1994, the group toured with Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough band B.l.o.w. who at the time, recently formed from the ashes of Little Angels . It was this tour where Feeder met Mark Richardson for the first time.

Feeder's first official release was a two-track EP entitled Two Colours EP|Two Colours , released in 1995 which was only available at the band's early gigs. It was limited to 1,500 CDs and 1,000 7" vinyls. In 1996, the band released their first commercially available release, being the EP Swim (EP)|Swim and received a 4/5 review in Kerrang! magazine (KKKK). Swim was later Swim (Feeder album)|re-released in July 2001 with extra tracks, being a selection of b-sides from their earlier singles, alongside the videos for the Polythene (album)|Polythene singles " Crash (Feeder song)|Crash " and " Cement (song)|Cement ". Overall unit sales for Swim stand at 40,000 as of February 2005.

Shortly before the release of Swim , a cassette tape titled Two Tracker was given away free with the magazines Kerrang! and Edge and contained the tracks "Sweet 16" and "Waterfall". The latter was described on the inlay card, as one of the tracks that would be on their forthcoming debut album proper, with the working title Here in the Bubble (whose name was soon changed to Polythene ). The photography for the inlay of Swim was produced by Grant himself, while Chris Sheldon produced the recordings."Swim" inlay booklet. The band released " Stereo World " as a single after appearing at the Reading and Leeds festivals|Reading festival .

Polythene (1997–1998)

After building a strong fanbase with the release of Swim , the band released their first full-length album in 1997. The result Polythene , was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 1997 with Metal Hammer and Kerrang! , placing the album at first and sixth in their respective end of year lists. Kerrang! later included the album in their 200 Albums For the Year 2000 list in the "Essential Britrock" category. Two tracks from Swim were used for the album, being "Descend" and "Stereoworld".

After the recording sessions were completed, the album's first single " Tangerine (Feeder song)|Tangerine " was released and charted at #60 in the UK singles chart . This was followed by "Cement", charting at #53 and then the release of the album which charted at #65. Two more singles were released before and after their main stage debut at the Reading festival, with "Crash" making number #48, while " High (Feeder song)|High " charted at number #24.

The album as of February 2005, has sold 89,000 copies. They also re-issued the album in October 1997, with "High" included and the "Stereo World" b-side "Change" replacing "Waterfall" from the original tracklist. Also included as an enhanced element was the video for "High". The album caused many critics to label the band "The UK's answer to the Smashing Pumpkins ", and also draw comparisons to The Pixies and Talk Talk .

In early 1998, following the band's final 1997 tour in support of Polythene , the band travelled to the United States as a support act for Everclear (band)|Everclear . During their U.S. tour, the band released a re-worked version of " Suffocate (Feeder song)|Suffocate " for UK release, which charted at #37. After their return to the UK, they played their own headline tour with Everclear this time in the supporting position. Later that year, Feeder started to play various music festival s in the United States, alongside a headline tour with "High" being released to radio stations and charting at #24 on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart; it was the follow-up to "Cement" which had charted at #31, also on the same listing. During the band's first U.S. tour, Grant broke his ankle and picked up other injuries, while finding it hard to sleep at nights. This inspired him to write " Insomnia (Feeder song)|Insomnia ", which later appeared on their second album. They stayed in the U.S. for the majority of the year, with a trip back to the UK for their V Festival|V98 appearance. Feeder later included live-only guitarist Dean Tidey; Grant once said in an interview with Kerrang! , that he was considering bringing in another guitarist for their live gigs.

Yesterday Went Too Soon (1999)

For 1999's Yesterday Went Too Soon , the band decided to self-produce the album, brought in Matt Sime for engineering duties and had the album mixed in New York by Andy Wallace (producer)|Andy Wallace . "Dry" was re-recorded as a full band version after the original acoustic version appeared on "Suffocate" as a b-side. That single's b-sides featured tracks from the sessions for that album, therefore revealing what sort of direction it would take on.Feeder Central "Suffocate" release information mailing card. The working title for the album was originally A Life Through Headphones , and was originally set to be a double album . The name change was due to former Take That singer Robbie Williams releasing his solo debut album Life Thru a Lens , with the band not wanting to be compared to him.

When the album was released, the band's reputation was on the rise and it entered the UK albums chart at number eight, which was at the time an unexpected chart position for the band. Before that, the band had released the album's first single, " Day in Day Out ", in March 1999 which charted at #31 followed by "Insomnia" at #22, resulting in their first appearance on Top of the Pops .Pete Seaton and Richard Down. (2006). The Kaleidoscope British Television Music & Variety Guide II : Top Pop 1964 - 2006 . Kaleidoscope Publishing. ISBN 978-1-900203-27-2. A week before the album's release, the band played the main stage of the Reading and Leeds festivals, while the Yesterday Went Too Soon (song)|title track from the album was at #20 in the singles chart. The album was then released on 30 August 1999. Only one single was lifted from the album after its release, in which a re-recorded version of " Paperfaces " charted at #41.

Some of the album's lyrical themes were derived from Grant's personal perspective of working in a menial supermarket job on a daily basis ("Day In Day Out"), his experiences after gigs on their US tour ("Insomnia" and "You're My Evergreen"), past relationships (the title track and "Dry"), the music industry ("Hole in My Head") and "fear of commitment in relationships" ("Anaesthetic") amongst others. Musically, the album employed an indie rock feel to it, which also featured extended appearances of an acoustic guitar on some of its tracks.

The album was due for release in June, but this was delayed until August to include material written after its completion which the band felt was too good to leave off.Feeder Central "Insomnia" mailing list release information mailing card. Upon its release, the UK music press immediately warmed to the album, who also received Melody Maker 's Album of the Week accolade.The year ended with the band providing support for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Wembley Arena and Manic Street Preachers at the Millennium Stadium . As of March 2003, the album has been Music recording sales certification|certified gold shipping 100,000 units in the UK, with total counter sales standing at 110,000 as of February 2005. The album was Melody Maker 's #24 album of 1999, while Metal Hammer placed the album in at #6 and Kerrang! ranked it at #16.

Echo Park and mainstream breakthrough (2000–2001)

Feeder spent most of 2000 at Linford Manor|Great Linford Manor studios , writing and recording for their next album. The band also continued playing festivals around the country previewing the new material they were working on, such as V2000 and Glastonbury Festival|Glastonbury , but would end the year promoting " Buck Rogers (song)|Buck Rogers ", their first single since November 1999 and then playing a mini-tour at the end of the year to mainly showcase the new material. The release of the single on 8 January 2001 was coupled with a signing session at London's now defunct Tower Records store and then a TV appearance on Top of The Pops before the single charted. The single charted at number five, becoming the band's first top 10 entry in the singles chart before appearing on Top of the Pops again. "Buck Rogers" then spent a second week in the top 10. Later on that year, "Buck Rogers" would reach the top spot of the 5FM airplay chart in South Africa, before being invited by the station as a headline act for their 26th birthday celebrations concert. However, this would be the last time Feeder would come to the country until 2011, a wait of almost 10 years since reaching 5FM's top spot.

Grant wrote " Buck Rogers (song)|Buck Rogers " with The Pixies as an influence, but "on a comic book level". He had originally written the track for another band Echo Park producer Gil Norton was working with, but decided not to give it away, as he felt Feeder could have a hit with it themselves. " Buck Rogers (song)|Buck Rogers " still receives regular airplay on alternative radio stations in the United Kingdom. Kerrang!'s writers have also approved of the track as one of their "666 Songs You Must Own", when it appeared at #5 in their rock songs list in November 2004.

After a sell-out tour of two legs ending at the London Astoria , the album Echo Park entered at number five in the UK album charts, shortly after " Seven Days in the Sun ", the album's second single charted at #14. Shortly before the single's release, the band's rise up to the mainstream was recognised by the now defunct Scottish Television live music show Boxed Set , where a half-hour long live-set with a studio audience was played. A third single, " Turn (Feeder song)|Turn " reached #27 in July before festival season. " Just a Day ", a b-side from "Seven Days in the Sun", later reached #12 in December. The response the album received on a critical level was mixed, with Dan Genroe of Q magazine claiming that the listener will still be "feeling hungry half an hour later", alongside suggesting that the album is "hard to love". Ben Myers of Kerrang! gave the album 4/5 (KKKK) which indicates "blinding", while citing that the band "hit their stride" on the album, alongside suggesting that the album is "fat free and stripped to the bone".

The album saw the band take on much more of a commercially influenced sound, and also the appearance of Moog synthesizers, while being lyrically focused on a comedic approach, as with "Seven Days in the Sun", but also dark emotions, such as those shown on "Turn", "Oxygen", and "Satellite News". It was during the campaign for Echo Park that the band played another slot on the main stage at the Reading and Leeds festival, including T in the Park . As of August 2003, the album has shipped 300,000 units in the UK going platinum, with counter sales standing at 293,000 as of February 2005. Grant said in a Melody Maker interview that if the album did not sell well enough the band would probably split up; he said at the time that "Its the same with any band. That's just the way the music business is. There is only a certain amount of money a label will put into a band. I'm just being realistic. We've been around for seven or eight years and I am not planning on giving up, but we're putting everything into this record and I'm just hoping that people like it". The album campaign helped the band in August 2001 win the "Best British Live Act" accolade at the Kerrang& #33; awards , before ending the year supporting the Stereophonics , and then releasing the " Just a Day " single in December. As of June 2008, both "Just a Day" and "Buck Rogers" individually sold over 100,000 physical copies and digital downloads combined. Music Week . 22 June 2008 United Business Media. In 2007 " Just a Day " became the first-ever song to be played on Afan FM .

Jon Lee's death and Comfort in Sound (2002–2003)

In January 2002, Jon Lee committed suicide in his Miami, Florida|Miami home, resulting in the band keeping out of the public eye for most of the year. It was during this time that lead-singer Grant Nicholas wrote a series of songs relating to their emotions and reactions to Jon's death, which formed their fourth album Comfort in Sound . The band brought in former Skunk Anansie and Little Angels member Mark Richardson (musician)|Mark Richardson for drumming duties. The album focused mainly on themes such as loss, depression, grievance and positivity, while dedicating "Quickfade" to Jon. The album was released in October of the same year to widespread critical acclaim in the British music press , with Kerrang! alongside the heavy rock magazine Metal Hammer gave the album their Album of the Week award,. The band were invited to the Reading and Leeds festivals that year, headlining the second stage at Reading on the first day which took place on 23 August, before heading off to Leeds the next. Grant also mentioned that at the time their fourth album already had a series of backing tracks recorded, with a total of 15 when recording is completed with then 10 chosen for the final album, BBC Radio 1|The Evening Session BBC Radio 1 interview. April 2002. when the final tracklisting was revealed, this was increased to 12. The album is currently Feeder's best-seller with an estimated 503,706 units sold as of April 2012. The album charted at #98 in Japan and #28 in Republic of Ireland|Ireland , beating the peak position of #57 that Echo Park managed during the previous year. In Japan, it would be the first time Feeder ever charted there. The album charted at number six in the UK.

Musically, the album was much more mellow, with the use of a string orchestra on " Forget About Tomorrow ", while other tracks on the album also used an accordion , trumpet , and a piano played by their manager Matt Page, with "Godzilla" being one of two tracks on the album to use loud guitars. The album was their first release to be certified platinum, (with Echo Park going platinum later on). It also spawned their second top 10 single, with " Just the Way I'm Feeling " in January 2003. In December of the same year they took on their only arena tour, after the album's first nationwide tour was a sell out with 50,000 tickets sold, and visited 21 different towns and cities in the United Kingdom over 23 different dates. In reaction to this, the band were invited to the Glastonbury Festival being placed third on the last day, playing the "Pyramid Stage". Shortly after the release of the single, the band were invited to support Coldplay on their UK and Europe|European tour , due to their frontman Chris Martin often saying how much he liked the Comfort in Sound album and their live shows. Their show at the Birmingham National Indoor Arena was reviewed by Kerrang! , which seen Steve Beebee give the band 4/5 (KKKK) for their performance.

The album's final single, being Comfort in Sound (song)|the title track , was only available to buy as a limited edition of 3,000 CDs on their 2003 arena tour. Four singles were released commercially, with those being " Come Back Around " (#14), " Just the Way I'm Feeling " (#10), " Forget About Tomorrow " (#12), and " Find the Colour " (#24), which was released following their V2003 appearance and Kerrang! award win for "Best British Band", beating competition from Muse (band)|Muse and the Stereophonics , which Grant dedicated to Jon saying it was the award he had always wanted the band to win. The band later went on to win an Internet Music Award for their "Just The Way I'm Feeling" video, while the album became their first to appear on the end of year top 75 album charts, appearing at #66. The albums commercial reception, helped Echo experience their most successful financial year. Feeder then received their only nomination to date at The BRIT Awards , in which they appeared in the "Best British Rock" category at the 2004 in British music|2004 event, before making their only appearance in the charts that year as part of Bob Geldof 's Band Aid 20 charity ensemble. The single was the Christmas number one , and became the year's biggest-selling UK single. Alongside only making one chart appearance in 2004, Feeder also only made one live appearance during the year as part of the Carling Live#Carling Live 24|Carling Live 24 event, playing their show at the Hammersmith Apollo on 1 May.

Pushing the Senses (2004–2005)

Feeder returned to the studio to record their fifth album Pushing the Senses . The album was seen by Grant as more of an extension to Comfort in Sound , as it focused on the same lyrical themes and musical styles, and also said that it had more of an organic sound, with more upbeat tracks added into the mix. It also seen a number of piano driven tracks, with "Frequency" being an example. "Frequency" was produced by Coldplay producer Ken Nelson (British record producer)|Ken Nelson , while for the rest of the album, Gil Norton was on production duties. Pushing the Senses inlay booklet. Grant told Kerrang! in May 2004, "I've done some recording on my own in a little studio up by where I live in North London. I demo the album in its full form before the rest of the band play on it. Its difficult to know at this stage what it will turn out like, but so far its slightly more mature sounding". Grant later added "Each album is a journey and a reflection of the past, there is some stuff that touches on what has happened, but there are songs about love, songs of loss and songs about the future. I don't want to give too much away but there's one track called "Bitter Glass". Its quite dark but uplifting too. Its about pulling yourself out of a big hole". Kerrang! , issue 1005. "'I'VE GOT A GOOD FEELING ABOUT THIS!' Feeder frontman gets busy in the studio". EMAP|Emap Limited

The album was Feeder's highest charting release, at number two on the UK album chart selling 42,951 units in its first week, while receiving a gold certification, and becoming a top 100 album in six other countries. Press response to the album was mixed. Kerrang! were brutal towards the band for all of their review, with Ben Meyers referring to them as a " In Utero|Radio Friendly Unit Shifter ", including comparisons to a "Pastel box". Grant later said in a documentary with Kerrang& #33; Radio that he was " Anger|Pissed off " with the review their magazine counterpart gave them, while citing "It was a very unfair review and reviewed by the wrong person",Kerrang& #33; Radio- "Feeder Uncovered" documentary. August 2005.

The album helped them win a headline slot at the Download Festival, shortly before supporting U2 for a brief period on their Vertigo Tour , which was followed by an appearance at the Live 8 concert in Edinburgh (the second charity event the band played that year after Tsunami Relief Cardiff ). The campaign in total spawned four UK top 40 singles, which included " Shatter (song)|Shatter ", a reworked version of the "Tumble and Fall" b-side that became a A-side and B-side#Double A-side|double A-side with "Tender" (#11). Other singles included " Tumble and Fall " (top five), "Feeling A Moment" (#13), and "Pushing The Senses" (#30). A fan-petition had been launched to see "Shatter" released as a single in its own right. The album was after ten weeks on sales of 111,214 units, 22 percent ahead of Comfort in Sound at that stage. However, the album did not keep up this momentum while also not going platinum. The last reported sales were that of 160,183 in October of the same year, which fell below Echo's expectations. It is however the bands most successful record based on peak chart positions in each country of release, while also being their only album so far to spawn a charting single outside of the UK and Ireland when "Feeling a Moment" peaked at #32 in Australia.Kent, David (2006). Australian Chart Book 1993 - 2005 . St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-45889-2. Feeder already at the time charted four top 50 singles in Republic of Ireland|Ireland , with "Tumble and Fall" being their first and only top 40 to date reaching a peak position of #26. The album itself made the Irish top 20 artist album chart at #16, one week before its UK release.

Feeder would end the year seeing their then latest album appear at #39 on Q 's end of year list, with "Feeling a Moment" voted the 98th best song of the year by its readers. However, on 3 December 2005, they were forced to postpone a winter tour, after Grant picked up bleeds on his vocal cords the night before during a gig in Brighton , causing the show to be abandoned and later rescheduled along with the rest of the outstanding dates. During the year, Feeder's domestic studio album sales passed the one million units mark.

The Singles and Silent Cry (2006-2008)

In late 2005, Feeder already returned to the studio, with Stephen Street working as the band's producer to record three new tracks to appear on their then forthcoming singles collection. The Singles inlay booklet. " Lost and Found (Feeder song)|Lost and Found " (which Grant described as "an urban love song") became the first single to promote the collection, and would reach #12 in the UK singles chart in May 2006 in British music|2006 , after completing their delayed winter tour, which ended at the National Exhibition Centre#LG Arena|LG Arena in Birmingham in front of 8,000 fans. The Singles (Feeder)|The Singles , released in the same month as "Lost and Found", was the first Feeder album to have involvement from a major label, with EMI taking part in a one-off collaboration with Echo as the album's distributor. The album reached number two on the UK albums chart with first week sales of 50,003 entering at number three, and was certified platinum in under three months, with a total of 497,700 units sold as of April 2012, including a gold certification in Ireland after charting at #13. The album also made the top ten in Europe with a debut top 40 peak in Japan at #37, while " Save Us " was its second and final single in the UK, charting at #34 in late July. A version of the album included a DVD of all their videos filmed up to that point, along with extensive sleevenotes by Ben Johncock. The album became only their second to appear on the end of year top 75 this time at #48, while becoming their first album to spend more than one week on the top 10. Sales of The Singles , alongside a series of changes at Echo making them into an "Incubator label", enabled the company to report a "modest profit" for 2006. Feeder returned to the Reading and Leeds festivals after a four year break, having a late slot on the main stage, before ending the year with a small tour of London, playing The Roundhouse , and The Coronet . These were in aid of War Child (charity)|War Child who the band are patrons of, having earlier in the year visited Republic of the Congo|The Congo as part of their work for the charity.

In 2007 Feeder returned to the studio to record their sixth album. Most of the year was spent on the recording, and in 2006 the band announced in an interview with XFM that the album would be reminiscent of their earlier material. The resulting album Silent Cry was released on 16 June 2008. The album overally received moderate reviews. While some like Guardian were negative towards the album. others like Rock Louder were more positive. On its release week the album charted at number eight with sales of 16,029. In its second week the album then fell to number 30, with a third week drop to number 60 before leaving the top 75 albums listing. In Japan it peaked at #53 which is currently higher than all their studio albums, but lower than the peak of The Singles . Before the release of the album, " We Are the People (Feeder song)|We Are the People " charted at #25 in the singles chart, making it their lowest chart position for a lead single since 1999's "Day in Day Out". " Miss You (Feeder song)|Miss You " from the album was given away by the bands official website as a free download in April, and gained over 8,000 downloads on its first day of release. As of December 2008, sales of Silent Cry stand at less than 50,000 units, less than was what hoped for by their label. Shortly after album release, the band recorded a cover of Public Image Ltd 's 1978 self-titled single "Public Image", for a compilation album to celebrate Independents Day which celebrated independently released music. The second single from Silent Cry was Feeder's first download-only single, consisting of " Tracing Lines / Silent Cry|Tracing Lines " and the album's title track which failed to make the charts.

In May 2008, the band played a small eight date tour to promote the album to the fanbase, which sold out in six hours. This was followed by a one-off gig on 12 June at the Proud Galleries in Camden town|Camden , which sold out in six minutes. The band then went on to play at the iTunes store|iTunes festival in July, which saw a ITunes Live: London Festival '08 (Feeder EP)|live six-track EP release of their performance, before playing the 2008 Reading and Leeds festivals in August, on the main stage. In July the band played at T in the Park, with an appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival the month previous. In 2008, the band also introduced live keyboard player Dean Deavall, of the band Casino (band)|Casino . During the same year, on October 25 at 06:00 GMT after playing the Glasgow Barrowlands as part of their 29 date UK tour, the band's crew bus caught fire on the M62 motorway whilst travelling between Glasgow and Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln , destroying it and the crew's personal items. It was also announced by Chrysalis Group|Chrysalis later on in the year, that Echo have been restructured into a copyright exploitation company, in which its main duty is maintaining the copyright on existing releases while no longer releasing any new records or signing any more artists. As a result, Feeder were until 2010 no longer on a record contract in their own country, while still being signed to their Japanese label Victor and Play it Again Sam (PIAS), their European label. Their 2008 UK tour, seen their first ever gig in Loughbrough, and their last ever show at the London Astoria on 18 November 2008. The venue was later torn down in early 2009 and was also their last ever show as an Echo Label artist.

After ending their tour at the Portsmouth Pyramids Centre , a six track EP titled Seven Sleepers (Feeder EP)|Seven Sleepers was released in Japan, the same time they toured there in March. It included a collection of B-sides from the Silent Cry album, plus two new songs.

Mark's departure and Renegades (2009-2010)

In May 2009, it was announced that Feeder "ended their partnership" with drummer Mark Richardson, before returning to his original band Skunk Anansie. Mark was replaced by session drummer Karl Brazil who had just come off tour with James Blunt , and had also played drums for British band Ben's Brother . Karl's first live appearances with the band, after a series of university events were at the UK leg of the Sonisphere Festival , stating that this would be their only UK festival appearance of 2009, as they would be working on their seventh studio album. It was then later announced that they would be appearing at the Hevy Music Festival in Folkestone . Here they previewed a new track titled "Sentimental", with the announcement that they have been in a recording studio in South Wales.

At first, Tim Trotter then of Mexicolas was filling in on drum duties in the studio also as a session drummer, before Karl stepped in. Renegades album credit notes With Karl playing drums for Robbie Williams , Natalie Imbruglia and Ben's Brother, Tim once again took over drum duties in the studio. On 2 December, the band's official webpage was changed to display the word "RENEGADES" and the names of each of the band members by their surname, with "BRAZIL" mentioned amongst these. On 17 December a sample of a new song "Sentimental" was added to their website, which was later replaced with a 20 second clip of another song called "Renegades". Later on that month the website announced a six date tour and the release of a Renegades EP|tour-only EP which was released on "Big Teeth Music", also their own record label. After the tour was completed, another six date tour was shortly announced with the band this time playing bigger venues. Another EP was released to coincide with the tour, which included a further four new songs with one of these being titled "Home"; one of the new songs the band performed on their first tour under this alias. The side-project was used as a method to promote the seventh Feeder studio album titled Renegades at live shows where they would mainly play the new songs, thus avoiding having to play any of their hits if they played as Feeder. The side-project would cease in 2010 after playing their final gig as Renegades at that year's Sonisphere Festival.

In an April 2010 interview with South Yorkshire newspaper The Star , Grant expressed his disappointment with the side-project band's sudden increase in success and awareness, in which he claimed that he wanted the band to continue playing in clubs with a slower ascendency to the bigger venues. The tour promoter however suggested that Renegades should play slightly bigger venues for the second tour than of those seen on their debut. Looking back on this version of the band, Grant Nicholas explained in an interview with Culture Deluxe.

After completing their second and final tour as Renegades, the band then announced their new single " Call Out (Feeder song)|Call Out " under the name of Feeder before shortly revealing the name of their seventh album as Renegades (Feeder album)|Renegades . All of the new songs performed live as Renegades were listed on the album with the free download track "Fallen" being a b-side on "Call Out" and was released as a download and vinyl single, with the album released on 5 July. Renegades peaked at #16 in the UK album charts, giving them their seventh top 20 album with sales of 8,729, Music Week . 11 July 2010 United Business Media . before being followed-up by the single release of the title track, also only on vinyl and download. In Japan, the album charted at #93, making it their least successful since Comfort in Sound . Dean Deavall then departed from Casino to concentrate more on his time with Feeder, including his own band The High Hurts. The album received mostly favourable reviews, although some critics as Will Dean of BBC Online did not praise the album giving it a mixed response

After a tour of Japan which saw Luna Sea guitarist Inoran join them on stage at the Daikanyama Unit for a performance of " Nevermind|Breed " (originally recorded by Nirvana (band)|Nirvana ), Feeder returned to the UK for a sell-out tour in late October which started at the Leeds Met Students' Union|Leeds Metropolitan University , before ending at University of Southampton#Students.27 Union|Southampton University . This was followed by a small tour of Europe, South Africa and Australia, before a brief return to the UK ended their year. " Down to the River / This Town " also became the final single from the album, released only as a download and vinyl on 6 December.

Generation Freakshow (2011-present)

In 2010, during the Renegades sessions, a number of tracks were left off the album before then being considered for inclusion for the follow-up to that album. As there were not enough to fit on the album, more were recorded during the closing stages of the year, with the band taking a break from recording on 19 December, before resuming recording on 10 January 2011. Between 16 January and 24 January a production session began in New York City , this included overdubs, guitars and keyboards with Grant also flying over to record vocals, while some of the album was already recorded in London. On 19 January 2011 a photo of song lyrics written on a sheet of paper was posted on their official Facebook page. The first of these songs to enter public knowledge, with different working titles was "Borders", with other working titles being "Jessie" and "White City Rock". In an interview with Heineken Pilsener|Heineken Music , on 27 January 2011 Grant revealed that 19 or 20 songs are so far in the recording stages, while the album is planned to be released after their tour of the United Kingdom and Europe ends in March, and like Renegades , looks likely to be released domestically on their own Big Teeth Music imprint.

" Side By Side (Feeder song)|Side By Side ", which was a chart-eligible paid download in aid of the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The single charted at #91, before it ultimately did not appear on the UK version of the album, although appearing on the Japanese release. Grant Nicholas cited on the band's Facebook page, that the single was released purely for the Japanese Tsunami disaster with the chart position not being as important. During their 2011 touring, Feeder introduced drummer Damon Wilson as a live regular and session musician. In September 2011, band revealed on their faccebook page that the recording of their yet-untitled eighth studio album is complete with only mixing on the final song to be finalised, before mastering then began on the 30 September in New York. Feeder hosted a trailer on YouTube titled "Coming Soon" on 2 December 2011 and had a message written in Morse code as "-... --- .-. -.. . .-. ...", which translates to "Borders". On 6 December 2011 another trailer was released, announcing "Borders" as the first single from the new album, including a four-date tour. On 19 January 2012 the official music video for "Borders" was uploaded on YouTube. "Borders" was released on CD, cassette and 7" on 30 January 2012, with the parent album Generation Freakshow (album)|Generation Freakshow originally scheduled with a release date of 26 March 2012 but later delayed until 23 April 2012. This was the first time Feeder released a cassette single since 2001's "Just a Day". In February 2012 after Feeder had completed a mini-tour, which ended in Inverness and started in Exeter, "Borders" charted at #52 giving the band their 25th top 75 single and their first official chart visit since 2008's "We Are the People".

Critical response to the album kept itself to the same level as with recent Feeder albums, although on a lower level The Guardian 22 April 2012 Retrieved 29 April 2012 Metro 23 April 2012 Retrieved 29 April 2012 BBC Music praised the album, BBC Music 10 April 2012 Retrieved 29 April 2012 while Drowned in Sound , despite negative reviews in the past, credited Feeder for creating another strong addition to their back catalogue. Drowned in Sound 23 April Retrieved 29 April 2012 The album which was released to co-incide with a week-long tour, however improved upon the respectable commerical response of Renegades by charting at #13, which increased the band's UK album charts span to fifteen years, while selling 7,338 units in the same week. In Japan, Generation Freakshow improved upon the relatively disappointing chart position of Renegades , when it entered at #57 and became their most successful studio album in almost four years. The only track from the sessions of the Renegades album to end up on Generation Freakshow , was that of "Tiny Minds". Drowned in Sound 23 April Retrieved 29 April 2012

Criticism

In a 2008 interview with Kerrang! on a selection of the bands singles, Grant expressed his annoyance with the Coldplay comparisons, in which he said they were only made because he played a piano on many of the tracks that were on the album.. feederscrapbook.co.uk. 21 June 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008. In a 2011 interview with Cambridge based webzine The Tab , Grant elaborated on these criticisms by saying "Feeder have a much broader music dynamic musically, and we are a much heavier band, both live and on record. I have a lot of respect for Coldplay and we have toured with them, but we are two totally different bands, both dynamically and musically. I just think its lazy journalism".

Sales and legacy

Over the course of their career, Feeder has come to release 5 gold records and 3 platinum records.

Despite having completely dropped out of the mainstream for five years after the platinum-selling singles compilation, (which peaked at #2 on the UK Top 75 albums chart) and the band being relegated almost solely to alternative rock stations in the United Kingdom, Silent Cry reached #8 on the albums chart in its first week of release in 2008 with 16,000 units sold. It has sold less than 50,000 units to date according to Chrysalis, the owners of the now defunct Echo Label. The subsequent Silent Cry tour was Feeder's longest playing up to 29 different dates, with many selling out. Nevertheless, Silent Cry remains their first album since 1997's Polythene not to achieve at least gold status. The 2010 follow-up Renegades , was less successful only spending two weeks in the chart after entering at #16, while also being their first since the aforementioned Polythene not to chart within the Top 10.

However, the charting of Rengades , marked the third decade in which a Feeder album had been released and charted at least in the Top 20. This marked their 6th studio album to appear in the Top 20 and the band's 9th album to appear on the chart regardless of position over the course of their career. The album also debuted at #1 on the Official UK Rock Albums chart. Still, Renegades has yet to accumulate sales that approach or eclipse any of their other studio albums. 2012 follow-up Generation Freakshow , charted higher at #13. Combined album sales from all certified releases stands at over 1.5 million to date. 2002's Comfort in Sound is the band's best selling release, shifting over 503,706 units in the United Kingdom alone with The Singles taking second spot with 497,700 units.

In Japan, Feeder have also gained a cult following , in which their last five studio albums have all charted in the top 100 between 2002 and 2012. Their most successful of these is 2008's Silent Cry charting at #53, although their most successful and only top 40 entry to date is their 2006 singles compilation, meaning the band have charted six albums regardless of format.

Feeder are also one of Wales's most popular rock bands, highlighted in October 2003, by the display of Taka's bass guitar from the "Seven Days in the Sun" video at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cardiff and Grant's attendance at the branch's opening the same year. The Cardiff branch later closed in late 2010, one day shy of its seventh anniversary of opening. At the end of 2006, the band amassed 166 weeks on both the UK singles and albums charts combined, which was more than enough to see them listed as one of the most successful chart acts between 1952–2006, according to the ranking system that was used by the now defunct Guinness British Hit Singles & Albums book.By collating together the chart information in the 19th and final edition of British Hit Singles & Albums (Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles and Albums 19th Edition. Guinness. ISBN 1-904994-10-5), along with all 2006 singles and albums chart data on chartstats.com, Feeder rank at #457 entering the top 500 for the first and only time. In an April 2012 interview with British rock monthly Total Guitar , the band were praised by Rob Laing citing "All the way from their very first release, the Two Colours EP in 1995, through tragedy and triumph, he's gone the distance with Feeder while other British alternative rock bands of the 90s crashed or faded".

Discography

Polythene (album)|Polythene (1997)

Yesterday Went Too Soon (1999)

Echo Park (album)|Echo Park (2001)

Comfort in Sound (2002)

Pushing the Senses (2005)

Silent Cry (2008)

Renegades (Feeder album)|Renegades (2010)

Generation Freakshow (album)|Generation Freakshow (2012)

Members

;Current

Grant Nicholas - lead guitars & lead vocals (1991–present)

Taka Hirose - bass guitars (1994–present)

;Former

Jon Lee (drummer)|Jon Lee - drums (1991–2002; deceased)

Mark Richardson (musician)|Mark Richardson - drums (2002–2009)

Simon Blight - bass (1991–1994)

;Live/Session

Dean Tidey - guitars (1999–2000, 2002–present)

Dean Deavall - keyboards (2008–present)

Tim Trotter - drums (2009–present)

Damon Wilson - drums (2009–present)

Karl Brazil - drums (2009–present)

Awards

Major awards

Year !! Award !! Category
2001
2003

Gold and platinum records

Recording	Gold	Platinum
Yesterday Went Too Soon	UK
Echo Park		UK
Comfort in Sound		UK
Pushing the Senses	UK
The Singles	Ireland	UK

Copyright Citations

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1. The Smashing Pumpkins 2. The Waterboys

Alternative Music Artists

Feeder

Biography

History

Formation and early releases (1991-1996)

Polythene (1997–1998)

Yesterday Went Too Soon (1999)

Echo Park and mainstream breakthrough (2000–2001)

Jon Lee's death and Comfort in Sound (2002–2003)

Pushing the Senses (2004–2005)

The Singles and Silent Cry (2006-2008)

Mark's departure and Renegades (2009-2010)

Generation Freakshow (2011-present)

Criticism

Sales and legacy

Discography

Members

Awards

References

External links

Copyright Citations