King Adora
Encyclopedia
King Adora are a glam rock
influenced rock
group formed in Birmingham
, United Kingdom
in 1998. They released debut album Vibrate You in 2001, charting at #30 on the UK Albums Chart
, and the follow-up Who Do You Love? in 2004. They also released the EP
Friday Night Explodes in 2004. In 2005 the group split up with two members going on to form the glam rock
group The High Society
. In 2010 the group announced they were to reform, performing two shows, one in London
and one in Birmingham.
, adding bassist Robert Grimmit and drummer Dan Dabrowski. The group's name was reputedly taken from an oversized adult toy they had seen in a sex shop. Drawing strong glam
influences from the likes of Guns N' Roses
, Mötley Crüe
, Alice Cooper
, T-Rex, David Bowie
and Blondie
they often drew comparisons to Suede
, Pixies, and the early Manic Street Preachers
. After signing a deal with Superior Quality Recordings, they released the singles "Bionic" / "The Law", "Big Isn't Beautiful" and "Smoulder" in 2000, and toured with Mansun
as well as appearing at various festivals
including T in the Park
and the Reading and Leeds festival. They finished the recording of their debut album in December. They were heavily publicised by Melody Maker
magazine, before the publishers decided to end the publication, and "merge" it with NME
, and initially got some exposure in UK Kerrang!
, leading to modest success.
, on 19 February 2001 where it reached number 39, on the UK Singles Chart
. They then re-released "Bionic" on 14 May which peaked at number 30. Their debut album Vibrate You was released on 21 May charting at number 30 on the UK Albums Chart
. A tour with Mansun
soon followed along with some festival appearances including the Reading and Leeds festival. On 31 May, they were confirmed as support for Queens of the Stone Age
during their tour of the UK in June. In July, the band announced they were to give their next single, "Friday Night Explodes", as well as a number of B-sides away for free via the bands official website on 3 August. The Friday Night Explodes EP
was released on August 20. Sometime in 2002, the group were dropped from their record label
, despite this the group announced, in September, a tour of the UK
with one date in October and a string of dates in November. By November the tour had sold out while the band posted demos of new songs on their official website.
titled Fear of a Black Kennet released on 8 December through R*E*P*E*A*T Records. They released the single "Drag" on 24 November and Who Do You Love? on 24 March 2004 through Discovery, however the album failed to chart.
and Farse
bassist Ade Preston on guitar, bassist Glen Jones and drummer Ash Sheehan. Jones, Nelson andPreston later left the group to be replaced by Rex Roulette, Topper and Danny Boy. The group's only release was the self-titled EP The High Society, which included a recorded version of "Can't Stay Away" performed at the last King Adora show, released in 2009 on iTunes
with a limited pressing of 100 copies sold during live shows.
. Despite all members returning, it is unknown whether or not they plan to record new material or tour the UK as well as the future of The High Society. In the same month, filmmaker Ben Lewis began production of an official King Adora documentary. The film is due for release in early 2012 and will feature interviews with the band, previously unseen footage from international tours, and clips from their sell out London gig at the Relentless Garage in London. The film also features exclusive interviews with Steve Lamacq
and John Cornfield
.
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
influenced rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group formed in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1998. They released debut album Vibrate You in 2001, charting at #30 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 the follow-up Who Do You Love? in 2004. They also released the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Friday Night Explodes in 2004. In 2005 the group split up with two members going on to form the glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
group The High Society
The High Society
The High Society are a glam rock group from Birmingham, United Kingdom formed in 2006 by Matt "Maxi" Browne and Martyn "The Nelsta" Nelson following the breaup of their previous band King Adora. They have one release to date, the self-titled EP The High Society, released in 2009...
. In 2010 the group announced they were to reform, performing two shows, one in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and one in Birmingham.
Formation (1998–2000)
In 1998, Matt Browne and Martyn Nelson formed the group in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, adding bassist Robert Grimmit and drummer Dan Dabrowski. The group's name was reputedly taken from an oversized adult toy they had seen in a sex shop. Drawing strong glam
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
influences from the likes of Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, T-Rex, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
they often drew comparisons to Suede
Suede (band)
Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...
, Pixies, and the early Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
. After signing a deal with Superior Quality Recordings, they released the singles "Bionic" / "The Law", "Big Isn't Beautiful" and "Smoulder" in 2000, and toured with Mansun
Mansun
Mansun were an English alternative rock band formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone. The band broke up in May 2003....
as well as appearing at various festivals
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
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...
and the Reading and Leeds festival. They finished the recording of their debut album in December. They were heavily publicised by Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
magazine, before the publishers decided to end the publication, and "merge" it with 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...
, and initially got some exposure in UK Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
, leading to modest success.
Vibrate You (2001–2002)
They released their fourth single "Suffocate", along with a music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, on 19 February 2001 where it reached number 39, 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 ...
. They then re-released "Bionic" on 14 May which peaked at number 30. Their debut album Vibrate You was released on 21 May charting at number 30 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...
. A tour with Mansun
Mansun
Mansun were an English alternative rock band formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone. The band broke up in May 2003....
soon followed along with some festival appearances including the Reading and Leeds festival. On 31 May, they were confirmed as support for Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
during their tour of the UK in June. In July, the band announced they were to give their next single, "Friday Night Explodes", as well as a number of B-sides away for free via the bands official website on 3 August. The Friday Night Explodes EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
was released on August 20. Sometime in 2002, the group were dropped from their record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, despite this the group announced, in September, a tour of the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with one date in October and a string of dates in November. By November the tour had sold out while the band posted demos of new songs on their official website.
Who Do You Love? (2003–2004)
In March 2003, King Adora returned releasing new material for the first time in nearly two years with the limited edition double A-side single "Born to Lose" / "Kamikaze". They also announced a string of UK shows to take place in May. "Born to Lose" was included on the Love Music, Hate Racism compilation albumCompilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
titled Fear of a Black Kennet released on 8 December through R*E*P*E*A*T Records. They released the single "Drag" on 24 November and Who Do You Love? on 24 March 2004 through Discovery, however the album failed to chart.
Break up (2005–2009)
In September 2005, the group announced their breakup. Dabrowski went on to become the technical manager at the Carling Birmingham Academy. Both Browne and Nelson went on to form a new group initially known as The Bombshell AC's in early 2006, eventually changing their name to The High Society, and playing their first live show soon after. Rounding up the band's line-up was Beat UnionBeat Union
Beat Union was a pop-punk band from Birmingham, Bromsgrove and Redditch, United Kingdom. They were formerly known as Shortcut to Newark. The group has garnered comparisons to Elvis Costello and The Jam, as well as pop punk groups like Green Day....
and Farse
Farse
Farse are a five-piece ska-punk band hailing from Birmingham in the West Midlands.They attended St. Thomas Aquinas school in Birmingham, where the band formed in 1996 as a four piece, Ollie Chris Dan Tom Rose...
bassist Ade Preston on guitar, bassist Glen Jones and drummer Ash Sheehan. Jones, Nelson andPreston later left the group to be replaced by Rex Roulette, Topper and Danny Boy. The group's only release was the self-titled EP The High Society, which included a recorded version of "Can't Stay Away" performed at the last King Adora show, released in 2009 on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
with a limited pressing of 100 copies sold during live shows.
Reunion (2010–present)
In January 2010, King Adora announced that they were to return scheduling two gigs in April, a show in their home town of Birmingham, as well as a show in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Despite all members returning, it is unknown whether or not they plan to record new material or tour the UK as well as the future of The High Society. In the same month, filmmaker Ben Lewis began production of an official King Adora documentary. The film is due for release in early 2012 and will feature interviews with the band, previously unseen footage from international tours, and clips from their sell out London gig at the Relentless Garage in London. The film also features exclusive interviews with Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
and John Cornfield
John Cornfield
John Cornfield is a British record producer and sound engineer. He has been working from Sawmills Studios in Cornwall since 1982. As the chief engineer he has assisted some highly respected and regarded producers, including John Leckie and Tom Dowd, and has worked with a vast selection of artists...
.
Current band members
- Matt Browne - lead vocals, guitar
- Martyn Nelson - lead guitar
- Robert Grimmit - bass
- Dan Dabrowski - drums
EPs
| Year | Title | Track listing |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Friday Night Explodes
|
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 ... |
|||
| 2000 | "Bionic" / "The Law" | - | Vibrate You |
| "Big Isn't Beautiful" | - | ||
| "Smoulder" | #62 | ||
| 2001 | "Suffocate" | #39 | |
| "Bionic" | #30 | ||
| 2003 | "Born To Lose" / "Kamikaze" | #68 | Who Do You Love? |
| "Drag" | - |