Bombay Bicycle Club are moving through the gears
By Stuart Holmes | Sun, 05 April, 2009
WHEN CityLife speak with Bombay Bicycle Club’s bassist Ed Nash the band are preparing for their latest headline tour.
After several changes in their line-up and their name, the band commenced playing gigs as their current four-piece in 2006 whilst they were still at school.
“Our first gig was at a school assembly and it took off from there, but we were just having fun.” says Ed.
“There were no intentions to do anything big when we started out at all. All of the lads have been in numerous bands before – just garage bands and stuff – and then we started this one in the same way that you start a band when you’re a teenager; because you like the same music.”
Despite the bands modest intentions, interest in them grew quickly whilst they were still studying. By the end of 2007 - whilst the band were at college - they had released two EPs, played a series of support slots for The Young Knives, took to the stage at both Reading and Leeds Festival, and played their first headline tour.
Their success continued the following year, with numerous high profile support slots and festival appearances, at which point the band had finished college and were free to concentrate on their music on a full-time basis.
After another large scale tour during August and November that year, the band signed a deal with Island Records, and later went into the studio to record their debut album with Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Editors, Kasabian), who the band had worked with on their earlier EPs.
“We know how each other works now,” says Ed of their successful collaborations with Abbiss.
Winning formula
This winning formula is evident from the short space of time in which the band completed recordings for the album, which is titled I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose, and is due for released in early July at present.
“We did all of the recording really quickly; every day for a month in (Ray Davies') Konk Studios in London, and then it took about two months to mix.” confirms Ed.
With recording out of the way for the time being, the band can now concentrate on getting back out on the road and playing live, and are clearly looking forward to it.
“We’re practicing every day,” says Ed. “To have this opportunity is an amazing thing.”
The tour coincides with the release of the bands new single Always Like This, which was a firm favourite will all members of the band.
“We wanted to release it. It sounds different from our other stuff, and it was a new song so we thought that people would be into it.”
Once the tour is over the band are understandably looking ahead to the imminent festival season, and are very keen to make the most of this.
“We’ll pretty much do as many as we can do,” states Ed on behalf of his band mates. “I think we’ll probably do one in particular (to remain nameless for now), but we’ll do any that we get given.”
With the career that Bombay Bicycle Club has had so far it is hard to believe that the band is still in their late teens, but things are clearly going from strength to strength.
Bombay Bicycle Club's single ‘Always Like This’ (Island Records) is available on vinyl and download now.
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