The Strange Death of Liberal England (band)
Encyclopedia
The Strange Death of Liberal England also known as TSDOLE are five member band from Portsmouth
, England
. Their influences range from folk
to indie rock
to post rock with this diversity creating a large number of followers, including BBC Radio One DJs Steve Lamacq
, Zane Lowe
and Huw Stephens
.
The band takes its unusual name from George Dangerfield
's 1935 book of the same name
, about the early 20th century decline of the Liberal Party
.
As well as a self-produced and distributed EP, Stop/Go Happy/Sad Forward/Forward (2005), The Strange Death of Liberal England have so far released two singles and one "mini-album". The first single titled "A Day Another Day" was released by Fantastic Plastic early in 2007, it was greatly received by fans and music critics alike, with "Oh Solitude" following in June 2007. The band released their first "mini-album" called Forward March! on 9 July 2007 which has received high praise from many sources. "Mute Magic, 7/10" - NME
, "quite possibly the best debut album you will leap yourself upon in 2007... 4.5/5" - gigwise.com, “7/10” - Drowned In Sound
and more recently the 2008 single "Angelou" which includes the B-side "Scared to death" as well as "Angelou".
The Strange Death of Liberal England released their first full-length album, Drown Your Heart Again, in September 2010.
The first track to emerge from these sessions was "Like A Curtain Falling", it was debuted on the band's Myspace page on the 18th March 2009. A CD version was available from their New Theatre Royal
gig, backed by a demo of the song "September Sparrows".
"Flagships" backed by a four-track demo of "Winter" was released via iTunes on March 5, 2010. A CD was also made, limited to 500 copies made available on the support tour of Editors. The new album will be preceded by a single, "Rising Sea" in August.
On 6 March 2010 by email the band announced that "Those of you who attended our recent two shows will have noticed that a new pair of arms has been sitting behind the drum kit. Andrew Summerly is no longer drumming for The Strange Death of Liberal England and we would like to thank him for the years of hardwork. We will keep you up-to-date with any new projects embarked upon by Andy but in the meantime would like to welcome our new homme de batterie, Mr David Lindsay, to the band."
2007, and a live Maida Vale studio set for Steve Lamacq. The band have also supported Manic Street Preachers
during their 2007 tour. The band are known for their unique style of presentation during their gigs, as rather than speaking they hold up placards with statements such as "we are bandini" and "Repent", as well as song titles, and "thank you". This unique idea and the quality of their live performances has created an almost cult following.
Whilst the band did not play many dates in 2008 they played gigs in Germany with Mother Tongue & The Animal Five, in Spain at Primavera Sound (Barcelona) and gigs in England at The Freebutt, The Water Rats and at The Offset Festival.
The band returned to the stage in April 2009 at The New Theatre Royal Portsmouth and played dates with The Editors on their March 2010 tour.
The band have recently played at the Beautiful Days festival 2011 in Devon where they were well received by the crowd, despite the heavy rain.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, 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...
. Their influences range from folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
to 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...
to post rock with this diversity creating a large number of followers, including BBC Radio One DJs 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...
, Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...
and Huw Stephens
Huw Stephens
Huw Stephens is a radio presenter currently broadcasting shows on BBC Radio 1.-Early life and career:Stephens was born in Cardiff, Wales, the son of the author and literary journalist Meic Stephens...
.
The band takes its unusual name from George Dangerfield
George Dangerfield
George Dangerfield was a journalist, historian, and the literary editor of Vanity Fair from 1933 to 1935...
's 1935 book of the same name
The Strange Death of Liberal England
The Strange Death of Liberal England is a book written by George Dangerfield, first published in 1935, attempting to explain the decline of the British Liberal Party in the years 1910 to 1914.-Thesis:...
, about the early 20th century decline of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
.
History
Forming in 2005 the five piece band began life with mainly instrumental songs, however as they grew as a band lyrics began to appear in their songs. Their music is often compared to the likes of Arcade Fire and the early work of Pixies, although as they begin to form their own following they are breaking away from these comparisons and are beginning to form their own path.As well as a self-produced and distributed EP, Stop/Go Happy/Sad Forward/Forward (2005), The Strange Death of Liberal England have so far released two singles and one "mini-album". The first single titled "A Day Another Day" was released by Fantastic Plastic early in 2007, it was greatly received by fans and music critics alike, with "Oh Solitude" following in June 2007. The band released their first "mini-album" called Forward March! on 9 July 2007 which has received high praise from many sources. "Mute Magic, 7/10" - 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...
, "quite possibly the best debut album you will leap yourself upon in 2007... 4.5/5" - gigwise.com, “7/10” - Drowned In Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
and more recently the 2008 single "Angelou" which includes the B-side "Scared to death" as well as "Angelou".
The Strange Death of Liberal England released their first full-length album, Drown Your Heart Again, in September 2010.
The first track to emerge from these sessions was "Like A Curtain Falling", it was debuted on the band's Myspace page on the 18th March 2009. A CD version was available from their New Theatre Royal
New Theatre Royal
The New Theatre Royal is a Victorian theatre in the centre of Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom. The building was constructed in 1854 as Landport Hall. It was converted to a theatre two years later. It was rebuilt in 1884 by Charles J. Phipps and again in 1900 by Frank Matcham...
gig, backed by a demo of the song "September Sparrows".
"Flagships" backed by a four-track demo of "Winter" was released via iTunes on March 5, 2010. A CD was also made, limited to 500 copies made available on the support tour of Editors. The new album will be preceded by a single, "Rising Sea" in August.
Members
- William Charlton - Guitar, Drums, Backing Vocals
- Kelly Jones - Bass, Backing Vocals
- Andrew Summerly - Drums, Backing Vocals (Summerly left in early 2010 and was replaced on drums by David Lindsay)
- Adam Woolway - Guitar, Main Vocals
- Andrew Wright - Glockenspiel, Percussion, Backing vocals
On 6 March 2010 by email the band announced that "Those of you who attended our recent two shows will have noticed that a new pair of arms has been sitting behind the drum kit. Andrew Summerly is no longer drumming for The Strange Death of Liberal England and we would like to thank him for the years of hardwork. We will keep you up-to-date with any new projects embarked upon by Andy but in the meantime would like to welcome our new homme de batterie, Mr David Lindsay, to the band."
Live
The Strange Death of Liberal England have a huge live following, and have played many gigs throughout the UK and Europe, mostly notable Latitude FestivalLatitude Festival
The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006....
2007, and a live Maida Vale studio set for Steve Lamacq. The band have also supported 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...
during their 2007 tour. The band are known for their unique style of presentation during their gigs, as rather than speaking they hold up placards with statements such as "we are bandini" and "Repent", as well as song titles, and "thank you". This unique idea and the quality of their live performances has created an almost cult following.
Whilst the band did not play many dates in 2008 they played gigs in Germany with Mother Tongue & The Animal Five, in Spain at Primavera Sound (Barcelona) and gigs in England at The Freebutt, The Water Rats and at The Offset Festival.
The band returned to the stage in April 2009 at The New Theatre Royal Portsmouth and played dates with The Editors on their March 2010 tour.
The band have recently played at the Beautiful Days festival 2011 in Devon where they were well received by the crowd, despite the heavy rain.
Singles
- "A Day Another Day" (2007)
- "Oh Solitude" (2007)
- "Angelou" (2008) Limited to 500 copies.
- "Rising Sea" (2010)