The Rifles (band)
Encyclopedia
The Rifles are an English
indie rock
band
from Chingford
, London
.
Their debut album No Love Lost was released on 17 July 2006 and reached #26 in the UK charts. Their follow up album, Great Escape
, was released on 26 January 2009 and came in at #27 in the UK charts and #2 in UK indie charts.
The band currently consists of Joel Stoker (vocals, guitar
), Lucas Crowther (guitar
, vocals), Lee Burgess (bass guitar
), Kenton Shinn (drums, percussion
), and Dean Mumford (keyboard
).
in 2003 (which is where they also met Rob Lloyd from Chingford punk outfit Betamax). They were both inspired by an Oasis
concert the two attended in Knebworth
, England
. Guitarist Crowther revealed "From that moment on we knew we had to start a band." After adding bassist Rob Pyne, who Joel knew from school, and drummer Grant Marsh, who Luke met in the Candy Box club, The Rifles performed their first gig at The Bull & Gate pub in Kentish Town
, London in 2004.
The Rifles first official release was a 7" demo of "Peace & Quiet
" released by Blow Up Records
. The band switched to fellow independent label Xtra Mile Recordings
for their May 2005 release of the single "When I'm Alone", which would go on to reach number 64 in the UK charts. Later that year the band's next single "Local Boy
" would be released via Right Hook Recordings. It would get airplay on the Saturday morning show Soccer AM
and would help give the band more exposure and even help them become regular guests on the show. The Rifles released two singles, "Repeated Offender" and "She's Got Standards", ahead of the 17 July release of their debut album No Love Lost, which peaked at 26 in the UK charts. The band toured in 2006, and performed at A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise
2007 and Paaspop Schijndel 2007, two music festival
s in the Netherlands
. The Rifles launched their Europe
an tour to promote their new album including a gig at the Forum, London, at which Paul Weller (The Jam
) appeared on stage to play the song "She's the Only One" with the band, and The Jam's single, "The Eton Rifles
". The Rifles then released a free download of the song "No Love Lost" a year after their album of the same name was released.
" on 20 October 2007. The single garnered high accolades from BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, who called it the "Hottest Record in the World". "Talking
" also marks the bands label switch from Red Ink to 679 Recordings
. On 21 July 2008, the single "I Could Never Lie" was released on a limited edition vinyl.The Rifles also made appearances at the Underage Festival and the V Festival
in the summer and played an extensive tour throughout October and November in 2008.
When the band's second album was delayed from October 2008 to January 2009, The Rifles created The Rifles EP that fans could download on the internet. The Rifles released their second album Great Escape
on 26 January 2009, which peaked at 27 in the UK charts and reached the number 2 slot in the UK indie charts.
It was reported by The Sun
newspaper that they had to cut the Italy leg of their tour short due to getting into trouble with the Mafia
. Reportedly, Grant Marsh was accused of flirting with a Sicilian promoter's wife After a tour throughout the UK
and Germany
, The Rifles announced extensive acoustic tours for the fall and winter of 2010 and plans for a third album.
On 17 October 2010, Grant Marsh and Rob Pyne announced they had left the band. Dean Mumford was added on keyboards for live performances. While touring in 2010, The Rifles released Acoustic #1, an acoustic album containing new and old songs. Long time friends Lee Burgess and Kenton Shinn from the band Garda were added to The Rifles. On 15 February 2011, The Rifles began recording songs for a third studio album. The new album, called Freedom Run, will be released on 19 September 2011.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
from Chingford
Chingford
Chingford is a district of north east London, bordering on Enfield and Edmonton to the west, Woodford to the east, Walthamstow and Stratford to the south and Essex to the north. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross and forms part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest...
, 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...
.
Their debut album No Love Lost was released on 17 July 2006 and reached #26 in the UK charts. Their follow up album, Great Escape
Great Escape (The Rifles album)
Great Escape is the second studio album from The Rifles, which was released on January 26, 2009 after the initial release date of October 13 was delayed.The album delay was somewhat attributed to the length of time it took to record...
, was released on 26 January 2009 and came in at #27 in the UK charts and #2 in UK indie charts.
The band currently consists of Joel Stoker (vocals, guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
), Lucas Crowther (guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocals), Lee Burgess (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
), Kenton Shinn (drums, percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
), and Dean Mumford (keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
).
Formation and No Love Lost (2003-2006)
Joel Stoker and Lucas Crowther met at Redbridge CollegeRedbridge College
Redbridge College is a further education college based over two sites in north-east London, England.The college has two main campuses, in Ilford and Romford and offers a range of courses including BTECs, Diplomas, ESOL programmes and Access courses...
in 2003 (which is where they also met Rob Lloyd from Chingford punk outfit Betamax). They were both inspired by an Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
concert the two attended in Knebworth
Knebworth
Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden and Langley, and encompasses the village of Knebworth, the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Guitarist Crowther revealed "From that moment on we knew we had to start a band." After adding bassist Rob Pyne, who Joel knew from school, and drummer Grant Marsh, who Luke met in the Candy Box club, The Rifles performed their first gig at The Bull & Gate pub in Kentish Town
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
, London in 2004.
The Rifles first official release was a 7" demo of "Peace & Quiet
Peace & Quiet (The Rifles song)
-Red Ink :...
" released by Blow Up Records
Blow Up Records
Blow Up Records is a British independent record label, that was established in London in 1994, by Blow Up club founder and DJ Paul Tunkin.Music genres of releases from the label include New Wave, Pop/Rock and Electronica...
. The band switched to fellow independent label Xtra Mile Recordings
Xtra Mile Recordings
Xtra Mile Recordings are an independent record label based in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 2003 by Charlie Caplowe and they release rock albums and singles...
for their May 2005 release of the single "When I'm Alone", which would go on to reach number 64 in the UK charts. Later that year the band's next single "Local Boy
Local Boy
"Local Boy" is the second single from the British indie rock band The Rifles, from their debut record No Love Lost. The single was released via Right Hook Recordings in November 2005 and reached number 36 in the UK singles chart.-Track listings:...
" would be released via Right Hook Recordings. It would get airplay on the Saturday morning show Soccer AM
Soccer AM
Soccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League...
and would help give the band more exposure and even help them become regular guests on the show. The Rifles released two singles, "Repeated Offender" and "She's Got Standards", ahead of the 17 July release of their debut album No Love Lost, which peaked at 26 in the UK charts. The band toured in 2006, and performed at A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise
A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise
A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise, also known as simply Lowlands, is a music festival, held annually in the Netherlands in August. Lowlands has about 55,000 visitors, over 200 acts and more than ten stages every year which are named according to the NATO phonetic alphabet apart from the Grolsch...
2007 and Paaspop Schijndel 2007, two music festival
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,...
s in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The Rifles launched their Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an tour to promote their new album including a gig at the Forum, London, at which Paul Weller (The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
) appeared on stage to play the song "She's the Only One" with the band, and The Jam's single, "The Eton Rifles
The Eton Rifles
"The Eton Rifles" was the only single to be released from the album Setting Sons by The Jam. Recorded at Townhouse studios and released on 3 November 1979, it became the band's first top ten hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at #3...
". The Rifles then released a free download of the song "No Love Lost" a year after their album of the same name was released.
Great Escape (2007-present)
Touring on the back of their album No Love Lost, The Rifles again released a free download, this time of their single "TalkingTalking (The Rifles song)
"Talking" is a single release from British indie rock band The Rifles. It was made available as a free download and on a one-sided 7" vinyl.The song was given the accolade of 'Hottest Record in the World' by BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, and hit number 48 on the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone.The...
" on 20 October 2007. The single garnered high accolades from BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, who called it the "Hottest Record in the World". "Talking
Talking (The Rifles song)
"Talking" is a single release from British indie rock band The Rifles. It was made available as a free download and on a one-sided 7" vinyl.The song was given the accolade of 'Hottest Record in the World' by BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, and hit number 48 on the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone.The...
" also marks the bands label switch from Red Ink to 679 Recordings
679 Recordings
679 Artists is a Warner Music Group-owned record label based in London, England....
. On 21 July 2008, the single "I Could Never Lie" was released on a limited edition vinyl.The Rifles also made appearances at the Underage Festival and the V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
in the summer and played an extensive tour throughout October and November in 2008.
When the band's second album was delayed from October 2008 to January 2009, The Rifles created The Rifles EP that fans could download on the internet. The Rifles released their second album Great Escape
Great Escape (The Rifles album)
Great Escape is the second studio album from The Rifles, which was released on January 26, 2009 after the initial release date of October 13 was delayed.The album delay was somewhat attributed to the length of time it took to record...
on 26 January 2009, which peaked at 27 in the UK charts and reached the number 2 slot in the UK indie charts.
It was reported by The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
newspaper that they had to cut the Italy leg of their tour short due to getting into trouble with the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
. Reportedly, Grant Marsh was accused of flirting with a Sicilian promoter's wife After a tour throughout 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...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, The Rifles announced extensive acoustic tours for the fall and winter of 2010 and plans for a third album.
On 17 October 2010, Grant Marsh and Rob Pyne announced they had left the band. Dean Mumford was added on keyboards for live performances. While touring in 2010, The Rifles released Acoustic #1, an acoustic album containing new and old songs. Long time friends Lee Burgess and Kenton Shinn from the band Garda were added to The Rifles. On 15 February 2011, The Rifles began recording songs for a third studio album. The new album, called Freedom Run, will be released on 19 September 2011.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| 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... |
||
| 2006 | No Love Lost
|
26 |
| 2009 | Great Escape Great Escape (The Rifles album) Great Escape is the second studio album from The Rifles, which was released on January 26, 2009 after the initial release date of October 13 was delayed.The album delay was somewhat attributed to the length of time it took to record... Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , Vinyl LP |
27 |
| 2011 | Freedom Run
|
37 |
EPs
- Live at Shepherds Bush Empire (4 October 2007)
- The Rifles EP (15 December 2008)
Singles
| Year | Song | 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 ... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Peace & Quiet Peace & Quiet (The Rifles song) -Red Ink :... " (demo) |
- | No Love Lost |
| "When I'm Alone" | 64 | ||
| "Local Boy Local Boy "Local Boy" is the second single from the British indie rock band The Rifles, from their debut record No Love Lost. The single was released via Right Hook Recordings in November 2005 and reached number 36 in the UK singles chart.-Track listings:... " |
36 | ||
| 2006 | "Repeated Offender" | 26 | |
| "She's Got Standards" | 32 | ||
| "Peace & Quiet Peace & Quiet (The Rifles song) -Red Ink :... " (re-issue) |
48 | ||
| 2007 | "No Love Lost" | - | Free Download |
| "Talking Talking (The Rifles song) "Talking" is a single release from British indie rock band The Rifles. It was made available as a free download and on a one-sided 7" vinyl.The song was given the accolade of 'Hottest Record in the World' by BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, and hit number 48 on the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone.The... " |
- | ||
| 2008 | "I Could Never Lie" | - | Limited Vinyl |
| 2009 | "Fall to Sorrow" | - | Great Escape Great Escape (The Rifles album) Great Escape is the second studio album from The Rifles, which was released on January 26, 2009 after the initial release date of October 13 was delayed.The album delay was somewhat attributed to the length of time it took to record... |
| "The General"/"Romeo & Julie" | - | ||
| "The Great Escape" | - | ||
| 2011 | "Tangled Up in Love" | - | Freedom Run |