Alphabeat
Encyclopedia
Alphabeat are a Danish pop
band from Silkeborg
, fronted by singers Stine Bramsen and Anders SG and signed to Polydor Records
. Their single "Fascination" was a major hit in Denmark during the summer of 2007 and a significant hit in the United Kingdom in 2008. Follow-up single "10.000 Nights of Thunder
" (or just "10,000 Nights" in the UK) saw equal acclaim, and their eponymous debut album reached number two in Denmark and number ten in the UK. It has sold over 100,000 copies and their three top twenty singles have sold of 400,000 altogether in the region.
and Prefab Sprout
, amongst others, with distinctive overlays of male and female harmonies. The band was previously named Sodastar, but this was changed to avoid confusion with a German band.
Their self-titled debut album, Alphabeat, was released in Denmark on 5 March 2007, peaking at number two on the Danish Albums Chart and reaching platinum status in five months of release. The band's success in their domestic market attracted the attention of several major labels from larger markets abroad and Alphabeat was eventually signed to EMI
's Charisma Records
label in the United Kingdom. Their debut UK single, "Fantastic 6", was released on 26 November 2007, followed by the international release of Alphabeat, retitled This Is Alphabeat, the following year. It peaked at number ten on the UK Albums Chart
and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
on 10 October 2008.
Alphabeat received several positive reviews in major British publications such as the NME
, The Observer
, Digital Spy
and Popjustice
.
On 20 December 2008, it was announced via press release that the band had been dropped by their UK label Charisma Records. In a statement from the band on 19 January 2009, it was confirmed that they had chosen to leave the label after being given the opportunity.
. The band's manager said, "We are thrilled to be signing to one of the UK's most successful record companies, and looking forward to achieving even more success with the band and Polydor in the coming years."
In August 2009, Popjustice premiered their single "The Spell" which was set for an October release, with their second album released shortly thereafter. The album was released as The Spell
in Denmark on 26 October 2009, where it charted at number five and was certified gold in less than two months of release. Originally set for release on 2 November 2009, the UK release was subsequently pushed back until 1 March 2010 and the album's title was changed to The Beat Is... It debuted and peaked at number thirty-nine on the UK Albums Chart.
On 9 January 2010 "DJ
" was released as the second single in the Danish market, with a UK release, under the title "DJ (I Could Be Dancing)", scheduled for 31 May. The second UK single, "Hole in My Heart", was released on 22 February 2010, debuting at number twenty-nine on the UK Singles Chart
.
in May 2007 and later that year embarked on their first UK tour (The Wolfbaggin' tour), supporting Lil Chris and Daniel Powter
. They were offered the chance to play as a warm-up for the Spice Girls
during their 2007–08 Return of the Spice Girls tour, but declined the opportunity, feeling that it would be "too weird" to suddenly play in front of a 23,000 audience unfamiliar with the band's music.
They have often been associated with the Wonky Pop
movement – their manager owns the brand name – and they have played a number of Wonky Pop events and tours.
During the summer of 2008 they played numerous British and international festivals including T in the Park
on "Camper's Friday", Roskilde Festival
, T4 on the Beach
, Summerfestival (in Klaksvík
, Faroe Islands, in early August), and in October 2008, along with many other bands at the National Exhibition Centre
in Solihull
, England for hundreds of young girlguides.
During late 2008, Alphabeat began a twenty-two-gig tour in the UK and the Netherlands, with many shows sold out. In the same year, the band was planning to play select shows with American singer Katy Perry
on her 2008 world tour. However, in March 2009, Alphabeat cancelled their appearances in support of her U.S. tour. Their management stated that they were instead working on their second album and planned to tour the U.S. later in the year.
They performed a mini UK tour to promote The Spell in autumn 2009 and toured the UK throughout April 2010, on the The Beat Is... Tour. They also played a support slot for Lady Gaga
on the UK and Irish leg of her The Monster Ball Tour
, which took place in February and March 2010. They made their U.S. debut at the 2010 SXSW
Festival. In June 2010, they co-headlined with Wheatus at Trinity May Ball, in Cambridge, UK.
On 26 July 2011, Alphabeat were the midline act at the pre-event party for the UK contingent of 4000 scouts, the night before leaving for the 22nd World Scout Jamboree
in Sweden.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band from Silkeborg
Silkeborg
Silkeborg is a city in central Denmark. Located in Silkeborg municipality in Jutland, the city has a population of 42,724 . The development of Silkeborg as a modern city may be traced to the foundation of the paper mill by Michael Drewsen on the Gudenaa in 1844...
, fronted by singers Stine Bramsen and Anders SG and signed to Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
. Their single "Fascination" was a major hit in Denmark during the summer of 2007 and a significant hit in the United Kingdom in 2008. Follow-up single "10.000 Nights of Thunder
10.000 Nights of Thunder
"10.000 Nights of Thunder" is the second single by Alphabeat.It was released in the UK as "10,000 Nights" in anticipation of "This Is Alphabeat", the international version of their debut album....
" (or just "10,000 Nights" in the UK) saw equal acclaim, and their eponymous debut album reached number two in Denmark and number ten in the UK. It has sold over 100,000 copies and their three top twenty singles have sold of 400,000 altogether in the region.
2006–2008: Alphabeat Beginnings & This Is Alphabeat
Alphabeat is made up six members: Anders SG, Stine Bramsen, Anders B., Rasmus Nagel, Anders Reinholdt and Troels Hansen. Their sound is mainly retro 1980s melodic pop, taking inspiration from British bands Deacon BlueDeacon Blue
Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow during 1985. Their name was taken from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues". The band consists of vocalist Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond....
and Prefab Sprout
Prefab Sprout
Prefab Sprout are an alternative English pop rock band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham, England who rose to fame during the 1980s. Eight of their albums have reached the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart, and one of their singles, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", peaked at number seven in the UK...
, amongst others, with distinctive overlays of male and female harmonies. The band was previously named Sodastar, but this was changed to avoid confusion with a German band.
Their self-titled debut album, Alphabeat, was released in Denmark on 5 March 2007, peaking at number two on the Danish Albums Chart and reaching platinum status in five months of release. The band's success in their domestic market attracted the attention of several major labels from larger markets abroad and Alphabeat was eventually signed to EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
's Charisma Records
Charisma Records
Charisma was a record label founded by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith in 1969. Manager for The Nice, the Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator at the time, Stratton-Smith was unable to find a record company willing to release an album by one of his favourite groups so he founded his own...
label in the United Kingdom. Their debut UK single, "Fantastic 6", was released on 26 November 2007, followed by the international release of Alphabeat, retitled This Is Alphabeat, the following year. It peaked at number ten on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
on 10 October 2008.
Alphabeat received several positive reviews in major British publications such as the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
and Popjustice
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....
.
On 20 December 2008, it was announced via press release that the band had been dropped by their UK label Charisma Records. In a statement from the band on 19 January 2009, it was confirmed that they had chosen to leave the label after being given the opportunity.
2009–2010: The Spell & The Beat Is...
It was announced on 7 March 2009 that Alphabeat had signed a new record deal with Polydor RecordsPolydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
. The band's manager said, "We are thrilled to be signing to one of the UK's most successful record companies, and looking forward to achieving even more success with the band and Polydor in the coming years."
In August 2009, Popjustice premiered their single "The Spell" which was set for an October release, with their second album released shortly thereafter. The album was released as The Spell
The Spell (Alphabeat album)
The Spell is the second studio album by Danish pop group Alphabeat. It was released in Denmark on 26 October 2009 by Copenhagen Records. Alphabeat stated their second album moved away from the pop roots of their debut album, Alphabeat, in favour of popular dance acts of the 1990s such as Snap! and...
in Denmark on 26 October 2009, where it charted at number five and was certified gold in less than two months of release. Originally set for release on 2 November 2009, the UK release was subsequently pushed back until 1 March 2010 and the album's title was changed to The Beat Is... It debuted and peaked at number thirty-nine on the UK Albums Chart.
On 9 January 2010 "DJ
DJ (Alphabeat song)
DJ is the second single by Danish electronica-pop group Alphabeat to be released from their second album The Spell, becoming a top ten hit in their native country....
" was released as the second single in the Danish market, with a UK release, under the title "DJ (I Could Be Dancing)", scheduled for 31 May. The second UK single, "Hole in My Heart", was released on 22 February 2010, debuting at number twenty-nine on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Touring
Alphabeat made their UK debut at Monto Water RatsMonto Water Rats
Monto Water Rats, also known as The Monto and Water Rats, is a music venue at 328 Grays Inn Road, Kings Cross, London. Until 1992 it was known as The Pinder of Wakefield....
in May 2007 and later that year embarked on their first UK tour (The Wolfbaggin' tour), supporting Lil Chris and Daniel Powter
Daniel Powter
Daniel Richard Powter is a Canadian recording artist. He is known for his hit "Bad Day", which spent five weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. Powter became the only act to register the #1 hit of the year but chart no other Hot 100 hit.- Life and career :Powter grew up in Vernon, in the...
. They were offered the chance to play as a warm-up for the Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
during their 2007–08 Return of the Spice Girls tour, but declined the opportunity, feeling that it would be "too weird" to suddenly play in front of a 23,000 audience unfamiliar with the band's music.
They have often been associated with the Wonky Pop
Wonky Pop
Wonky Pop was a term used to describe a loose grouping of musical acts that played what the BBC called "quirky, catchy and credible pop", rooted in the eccentric side of 1980s pop music, which was briefly popular in the late 2000s...
movement – their manager owns the brand name – and they have played a number of Wonky Pop events and tours.
During the summer of 2008 they played numerous British and international festivals including T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
on "Camper's Friday", Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...
, T4 on the Beach
T4 on the Beach
T4 On The Beach is a British one day music event which is held on the beach at Weston-super-Mare and televised for Channel 4. The event began in 2003 as Pop Beach in Great Yarmouth, changing to the current title and venue in 2005....
, Summerfestival (in Klaksvík
Klaksvík
Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands.The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands ....
, Faroe Islands, in early August), and in October 2008, along with many other bands at the National Exhibition Centre
National Exhibition Centre
The National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres making it the...
in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
, England for hundreds of young girlguides.
During late 2008, Alphabeat began a twenty-two-gig tour in the UK and the Netherlands, with many shows sold out. In the same year, the band was planning to play select shows with American singer Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
on her 2008 world tour. However, in March 2009, Alphabeat cancelled their appearances in support of her U.S. tour. Their management stated that they were instead working on their second album and planned to tour the U.S. later in the year.
They performed a mini UK tour to promote The Spell in autumn 2009 and toured the UK throughout April 2010, on the The Beat Is... Tour. They also played a support slot for Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
on the UK and Irish leg of her The Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American recording artist Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her album The Fame Monster and comprising a set list of songs from that and her debut album The Fame , the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 2009 through 2011...
, which took place in February and March 2010. They made their U.S. debut at the 2010 SXSW
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
Festival. In June 2010, they co-headlined with Wheatus at Trinity May Ball, in Cambridge, UK.
On 26 July 2011, Alphabeat were the midline act at the pre-event party for the UK contingent of 4000 scouts, the night before leaving for the 22nd World Scout Jamboree
22nd World Scout Jamboree
The 22nd World Scout Jamboree took place in Rinkaby, Kristianstad, Scania in southern Sweden from 27 July to 7 August 2011. The theme was Simply Scouting. 40,061 Scouts, leaders and adult volunteers participated from 143 different countries.-Jamboree site:...
in Sweden.
Discography
- Alphabeat (2007)
- The SpellThe Spell (Alphabeat album)The Spell is the second studio album by Danish pop group Alphabeat. It was released in Denmark on 26 October 2009 by Copenhagen Records. Alphabeat stated their second album moved away from the pop roots of their debut album, Alphabeat, in favour of popular dance acts of the 1990s such as Snap! and...
(2009)