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Spector (band)

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Spector
Background information
OriginLondon, England
GenresIndie rock
Years active2011–present
Labels
Members
  • Fred Macpherson
  • Jed Cullen
  • Nicolas Py
  • Jen Sanin
Past members
  • Christopher Burman
  • Thomas Shickle
  • Yoann Intonti
  • Danny Blandy
Websitespector.co.uk

Spector are a British indie rock[1][2] band from London,[3] composed of Frederick Macpherson (vocalist previously of Les Incompétents and Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man), Jed Cullen (guitar), Nicolas Py (drums) and Danny Blandy (keyboard, formerly drums).[4][5] They've released three albums and one compilation. The band's debut album Enjoy It While It Lasts reached number 12 in the UK Albums Chart and went to number one on the Official Record Store Chart on the week of its release.[6]

History

[edit]

Spector were formed in 2011 by former Les Incompétents and Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man frontman Fred Macpherson, and practiced and performed their first gigs in Efes Snooker Club in East London.[7] Macpherson notes that the band have drawn inspiration from 1980s acts including Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Spandau Ballet and Ultravox.[8]

In 2011, Spector were granted a session on BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens's radio show, and performed on the BBC Introducing stage at the Reading and Leeds Festival.[9] They appeared on the live broadcast of Later... with Jools Holland on 22 November 2011[10][11] and performed their single "What You Wanted".[12] On the longer, Friday-night show later that week they performed "Chevy Thunder" as well as "Never Fade Away", and it was announced that they would be releasing an album in 2012.[12]

On 5 December 2011, the BBC announced that Spector had been nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll.[9]

The band performed a headline UK tour in February 2012 and played as a support act for Florence and the Machine's March 2012 tour.[10] Spector also performed their first gig in America at the Coachella Festival in April 2012.[13]

Enjoy It While It Lasts

[edit]

After releasing new single "Celestine" on 20 May 2012,[14] the band revealed that their debut album would be called Enjoy It While It Lasts.[15] The album was released on 13 August 2012 to mixed reviews, reaching number 12 in the UK Album Charts and topping the Official Record Store Chart.

In August 2012, the band played at the Reading and Leeds Festival for the second time, this time on the much larger NME/Radio 1 stage. Following the two dates, Spector announced album track "Friday Night, Don't Ever Let It End" would be released as a single on Monday 12 November 2012.[16] A music video for the single, directed by Alan Del Rio, was released on 7 October 2012.[17]

In October 2012, Spector embarked on promotional tours in Singapore and Malaysia respectively, sponsored by Topman and Universal Music Asia. Following this, the band completed their third UK tour, supported by British indie rock bands Swim Deep, Splashh and LULS. Spector performed at XFM's 'Winter Wonderland' event in December 2012, alongside acts including Bloc Party, Maxïmo Park and Everything Everything.[18] Frontman Fred Macpherson was nominated in the "Best Twitter" and "Villain of the Year" categories at the 2013 NME Awards.[19] In March 2013, the band performed as main support act for Suede at an Alexandra Palace concert.[20]

Spector has a tech team, with a separate fan following via social media platforms Instagram and Twitter, called 'SpectorTech'.[21]

Moth Boys

[edit]

It was announced on 12 July 2013 that Christopher Burman had left the band, with touring members set to fulfil his duties on guitar and synthesizer on upcoming concert dates.[22] The group performed at the Reading & Leeds Festival for the third consecutive year in August 2013,[23] before making their first appearance at Glastonbury Festival in 2014, albeit with their set delayed/curtailed due to a severe electrical storm.[24] Their Glastonbury 2014 set included the live debut of two new tracks, "Stay High" and "Bad Boyfriend".[25] Two more new tracks, "Don't Make Me Try" and "All the Sad Young Men", were performed at a show at Leeds in July.

On 8 December 2014, the new single "Don't Make Me Try" was premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio One show, with a music video for the song being premiered at Noisey the same day. On 3 February 2015, a second single, "All the Sad Young Men", was premiered as Zane Lowe's 'Hottest Record in the World'. In a Twitter Q+A, it was confirmed as the first song on their upcoming album. The band also confirmed an "intimate" gig at London's The Lexington on 12 March to support the release.[26]

On 30 June 2015 they announced their second album, Moth Boys, was to be released through Fiction Records on 21 August that year.[27] The band followed up with an "intimate set and signing" tour to promote their album.[28] They also announced an accompanying UK tour, spanning 13 dates in October[29] with Yoann Intonti on the drums and Spring King and Bill Ryder Jones as supporting acts.[30]

Moth Noise

[edit]

On 1 December 2017, after almost a year after their last shows in the UK, the single "Untitled in D" was released on their own Moth Noise label. It was the first song from an EP that was released in January, along with other tracks "Fine Not Fine", "Local International" and "Wild Guess". Describing the track, frontman Fred Macpherson said: "Untitled in D's been burning a hole in Spector's pocket for a little while now. I wrote the bones of it pretty quickly then Jed came through and channelled the ghost of John Frusciante on guitar and we knew we were on to something. After the sheen of our first two albums it was exciting capturing something simple and irreverent – the sound of us playing in a room rather than playing in a computer".[31]

The EP, titled Ex-Directory, was finally released on 9 March 2018, along with a video for "Fine Not Fine"[32] directed by Sarah Pearson[33] and shot in and around Taroudant. Spector announced an accompanying UK tour, with seven dates in May 2018[34] along with appearances at festivals including Reading and Leeds Festival.[35] In December 2018 they surprise released a second EP called Spector Reloaded.[36]

On 4 June 2019, the band released a non-album single, titled "I Won't Wait". Two more singles, titled "Half Life" and "Simplicity", followed on 6 August and 18 October, respectively. On 31 March 2020, a four-track EP called Extended Play was released, comprising these three tracks as well as one new song, titled "When Did We Get So Normal?"[37]

On 19 February 2020, the band announced the release of compilation Non-Fiction,[38] comprising all three EPs, along with the unreleased demo "Bryndon 2", written by Bryndon Cook.[39]

Now or Whenever

[edit]

In June 2021, the band released the single "Catch You on the Way Back" and announced that their first studio album in six years would be soon released.[40] The album, called Now or Whenever was originally scheduled to be released on 1 October 2021,[41][42] but was pushed back until 7 January 2022 due to vinyl manufacturing delays.[43] It charted at Number 40 on the UK Albums Chart.

Here Come the Early Nights

[edit]

In September 2023, the band announced the release that their next album, called Here Come the Early Nights would be released in November 2023. The band also announced a UK tour for November and December 2023 and released the single "The Notion" from the album.[44] The album was released on the 24th of November 2023.

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[45] 		UK
Record
Store
Enjoy It While It Lasts 12 1
Moth Boys
  • Released: 21 August 2015
  • Label: Fiction
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 27 1
Now or Whenever
  • Released: 7 January 2022[46][47]
  • Label: Moth Noise
  • Formats: CD, LP record, cassette, digital download
 40 3
Here Come the Early Nights
  • Released: 24 November 2023[48]
  • Label: Moth Noise
  • Formats: CD, LP record, cassette, digital download
 — —

Compilations

[edit]
Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
Record
Store
Non-Fiction
  • Released: 1 June 2020
  • Label: Moth Noise
  • Formats: LP
 10

Extended plays

[edit]
  • Ex-Directory (9 March 2018)[49]
  • Reloaded (30 November 2018)[50]
  • Extended Play (31 March 2020)

Singles

[edit]
Year Title Album
2011 "Never Fade Away" Enjoy It While It Lasts
"What You Wanted"
  • 19 September 2011[52]
"Grey Shirt and Tie"
2012 "Chevy Thunder"
  • 26 January 2012
Celestine
  • 20 May 2012
"Friday Night, Don't Ever Let It End"
2014 "Don't Make Me Try" Moth Boys
2015 "All the Sad Young Men"
  • 3 February 2015
"Bad Boyfriend"
"Stay High"
2016 "Born in the EU"
  • 21 June 2016
 Non-album single
2017 "Untitled in D" Ex-Directory EP
2019 "I Won't Wait" Extended Play
"Half Life"
"Simplicity"
2021 "Catch You On The Way Back In" Now or Whenever
"Funny Way Of Showing It"
"Bad Summer"
"No One Knows Better"
"Country Boy" Non-album single
"I'm Not Crying You're Crying" Now or Whenever
2022 "Felony" Non-album single

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Organisation Award Result
2011 BBC Sound of 2012 Sound of 2012[9] Nominated
2013 NME Awards Villain of the Year Nominated
2013 NME Awards Twitter of the Year Nominated

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Suh, Jennifer (11 January 2012). "New indie rock band Spector hits the music radar". Daily North Western. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  2. ^ Kitty Empire, Killian Fox and Rebecca Nicholson (1 January 2011). "Our music tips for 2012: Spector, Noah Stewart and Cold Specks". The Observer. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  3. ^ Lester, Paul (26 May 2011). "New Band of the Day: Spector (1,031)". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  4. ^ "Yes please @yoannintonti". Twitter.com. 30 May 2016.
  5. ^ Gourlay, Dom (19 December 2006). "DiScover: Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Spector top the Official Record Store Chart". Official Charts.
  7. ^ "SPECTOR - MEET SPECTOR - EFES SNOOKER BAR - LONDON, UK - ROCK". Noisey.vice.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  8. ^ "Spector". indie.vidualist. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "BBC - Sound of - 2012 - Spector". BBC - Sound of - 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Spector announce headline February 2012 UK tour – ticket details". Nme.com. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  11. ^ "Artists who have appeared on Later..." BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  12. ^ a b "Later... with Jools Holland". Later... with Jools Holland. Series 39. Episode 11. 22 November 2011. BBC Two.
  13. ^ "Coachella 2012: Highlights". Prefixmag. 3 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Spector on Twitter". Twitter.
  15. ^ "Spector on Twitter". Twitter.com.
  16. ^ [1] [permanent dead link]
  17. ^ Del Rio, Alan. "Spector - Friday Night, Don't Ever Let It End". Blog.alandelrio.net. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  18. ^ "Tickets". Radio X.
  19. ^ Christian Tobin (27 February 2013). "NME Awards 2013 winners in full". Digital Spy.
  20. ^ Daisy Edwards. "» LIVE: Suede, Spector, Temples – Alexandra Palace, London – 30/03/13". Hooting And Howling Magazine.
  21. ^ "SpectorTech (@spectortech) • Instagram photos and videos". Instagram.com.
  22. ^ "Spector - It was amazing returning to the stage properly". Facebook.com.
  23. ^ "Latest Reading and Leeds Festival line-up additions revealed". Nme.com.
  24. ^ "Spector on Twitter". Twitter.com.
  25. ^ "Spector Concert Setlist at Glastonbury Festival 2014 on June 27, 2014". Setlist.fm.
  26. ^ "Spector return with new single 'All The Sad Young Men' – listen". Nme.com.
  27. ^ "Spector on Twitter". Twitter.com.
  28. ^ "Spector on Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  29. ^ "Spector on Twitter". Twitter.com.
  30. ^ "Spector on Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  31. ^ "Spector return with new single 'Listen to 'Untitled in D' and announce London show". NME. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  32. ^ "Spector unveil new single 'Fine Not Fine' | Mystic Sons". Mysticsons.com. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  33. ^ "Spector - Fine Not Fine (Official Video)". 27 March 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018 – via YouTube.
  34. ^ "Spector's 'Ex-Directory' EP is finally here - stream it now". Readdork.com. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  35. ^ "Reading & Leeds Festival 2018: Headliners and full line up". NME. 16 May 2018.
  36. ^ "Spector drop surprise four-track EP Reloaded". Thelineofbestfit.com.
  37. ^ "Spector have shared a brand new single, 'When Did We Get So Normal?'". Readdork.com. 31 March 2020.
  38. ^ "Spector announce new compilation, 'Non-Fiction'". Diymag.com. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  39. ^ "Spector – Bryndon 2". Genius.com. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  40. ^ "Spector announce third album 'Now Or Whenever' and share lead single 'Catch You On The Way Back'". Nme.com. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  41. ^ "SPECTOR RELEASE NEW SINGLE 'BAD SUMMER'". Diymag.com. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  42. ^ Cabré, Alex (30 September 2021). "Spector: Now or whenever | Dork". Readdork.com. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  43. ^ "Spector announce new album release date with 'Country Boy' | Gigwise". Gigwise.com. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  44. ^ "Spector announce details of forthcoming new album 'Here Come the Early Nights'". 6 September 2023.
  45. ^ "Spector | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  46. ^ "From Titane to Wolf Alice: a complete guide to this week's entertainment". The Guardian. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  47. ^ "Spector - Now Or Whenever Album Review". Diymag.com. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  48. ^ "Spector announce details of forthcoming new album 'Here Come The Early Nights'". DIY. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  49. ^ "Spector's 'Ex-Directory' EP is finally here - stream it now". Readdork.com. 9 March 2018.
  50. ^ *"Ex-Directory" - 9 March 2018
  51. ^ "Luvluvluv online Store". Archived from the original on 10 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  52. ^ "Luvluvluv online Store". Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  53. ^ "Luvluvluv online store". Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  54. ^ "Date set for Spector's second album release 'Friday Night, Don't Ever Let It End'". Blogs.coventrytelegraph.net. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  55. ^ "Spector unveil Dev Hynes-produced comeback single 'Don't Make Me Try'". NME. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  56. ^ "Premiere - Spector Turn on the Sardonic Wit For New Tune 'Bad Boyfriend'". NME. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  57. ^ "Spector Premiere the Video for "Stay High", an Ode to Shitty Groupon Dates". Noisey.vice.com. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  58. ^ "Spector are back! Listen to 'Untitled in D'". Diymag.com. December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
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