Unbelievable Truth
Encyclopedia
Unbelievable Truth were a British
rock
band
, led by Andy Yorke
, with Nigel Powell
, Jason Moulster and Jim Crosskey. Their sound has been described as "slow, melancholy, country-tinged ballads, wrapped in a soft blanket of acoustic guitars and minor chords".
, England
, and named after Hal Hartley
's film
, The Unbelievable Truth
. A crisis of confidence led to a split in 1995, during which time Yorke took to exile in Russia
. Upon his return in 1996, the band released their first single
, "Building" in February 1997 on Shifty Disco
, a record label
based in Oxford. They released their first album
, Almost Here
, in 1998 on Virgin
, and although being subsequently dropped by Virgin, the album had some success. In 2000, the band released their next album Sorrythankyou on Shifty Disco, the first from that label to be pressed in vinyl
.
The group parted ways in 2000, due to Yorke's decision to leave the band. In 2001 Unbelievable Truth released a double album
, self-published, called Misc. Music
. Disc 1 contained b-side
s and unreleased tracks, while disc 2 was the live recording of their farewell show held at the Zodiac in Oxford on 16 September 2000.
Since then, all of the members have gone on to other musical projects. Drummer
Nigel Powell formed a new band, The Sad Song Co., and has been playing with another Oxford band Dive Dive (formerly Dustball). They have released three singles and one album, and are currently at work on their second LP. Powell has been working and touring with folk singer/songwriter Frank Turner
since his solo career began, performing on all of his records to date with fellow Dive Dive
members Ben Lloyd
and Tarrant Anderson
. Jim Crosskey and Jason Moulster became part of the group Nine Stone Cowboy, along with members of other defunct Oxford bands The Candyskins
and Ride
.
The band reunited for a one-off concert in Oxford to support tsunami
victims on 19 February 2005. In May 2007, Unbelievable Truth, as a three piece ensemble, played an acoustic
set at the closing night of the Oxford venue, The Zodiac, before a summer refit.
In 2007, former frontman Yorke completed his first solo
effort with the help of ex-bandmates Powell and Moulster. The album Simple was released on 14 July 2008.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
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...
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...
, led by Andy Yorke
Andy Yorke
Andy Yorke is an English musician and former lead singer and guitarist for the band Unbelievable Truth. He is the younger brother of Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke.-Early life:...
, with Nigel Powell
Nigel Powell
Nigel Powell is a multi-instrumental musician from Abingdon, England. He currently works as Frank Turner's live and studio drummer and is a member of the Oxford based alternative rock band Dive Dive. He was formerly a member of Unbelievable Truth...
, Jason Moulster and Jim Crosskey. Their sound has been described as "slow, melancholy, country-tinged ballads, wrapped in a soft blanket of acoustic guitars and minor chords".
Biography
The band was formed in 1993 in OxfordOxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, 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...
, and named after Hal Hartley
Hal Hartley
Hal Hartley is an American film director, screenwriter, producer composer, who became a key figure in the American independent film movement of the 1980s and 1990s...
's film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, The Unbelievable Truth
The Unbelievable Truth (film)
The Unbelievable Truth is a 1989 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley, starring Adrienne Shelly and Robert John Burke. It was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize in 1990 at the Sundance Film Festival. The region 1 DVD was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment on March 11,...
. A crisis of confidence led to a split in 1995, during which time Yorke took to exile in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Upon his return in 1996, the band released their first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Building" in February 1997 on Shifty Disco
Shifty Disco
Shifty Disco is a British independent record label based in Oxford, England.The label was started by local enthusiasts in January 1997 and their early releases were often featured by John Peel on his BBC Radio 1 show...
, a 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,...
based in Oxford. They released their first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Almost Here
Almost Here (Unbelievable Truth album)
Almost Here is the debut album by Oxford band Unbelievable Truth. Available on Virgin Records, catalogue number CDVX2849.-Track listing:#"Solved"#"Angel"#"Stone"#"Same Mistakes"#"Forget About Me"#"Settle Down"#"Finest Little Space"#"Building"...
, in 1998 on Virgin
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, and although being subsequently dropped by Virgin, the album had some success. In 2000, the band released their next album Sorrythankyou on Shifty Disco, the first from that label to be pressed in vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
.
The group parted ways in 2000, due to Yorke's decision to leave the band. In 2001 Unbelievable Truth released a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
, self-published, called Misc. Music
Misc. Music
Misc. Music is the third and final Unbelievable Truth album, released on the Shifty Disco label in 2001.It consists of two CDs, the first containing unreleased tracks and b-sides from throughout their career; the second a recording of their farewell show held at the Zodiac in Oxford on 16 September...
. Disc 1 contained b-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
s and unreleased tracks, while disc 2 was the live recording of their farewell show held at the Zodiac in Oxford on 16 September 2000.
Since then, all of the members have gone on to other musical projects. Drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Nigel Powell formed a new band, The Sad Song Co., and has been playing with another Oxford band Dive Dive (formerly Dustball). They have released three singles and one album, and are currently at work on their second LP. Powell has been working and touring with folk singer/songwriter Frank Turner
Frank Turner
Frank Turner is an English folk/punk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Winchester. Initially the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, Turner embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. To date, Turner has released four solo albums, two rarities...
since his solo career began, performing on all of his records to date with fellow Dive Dive
Dive Dive
Dive Dive are a British rock band, composed of Jamie Stuart , Ben Lloyd , Nigel Powell and Tarrant Anderson...
members Ben Lloyd
Ben Lloyd
Ben Lloyd is a musician and producer / recording engineer based in Oxford, England. He currently plays electric guitar for Frank Turner and is a member of the British rock band Dive Dive. He also recorded and produced Frank Turner's first EP Campfire Punkrock and his first two albums Sleep Is for...
and Tarrant Anderson
Tarrant Anderson
Tarrant Anderson is a musician based in Oxford, England. He currently plays bass guitar for Frank Turner and is a member of the British rock band Dive Dive. He was previously a member of the British punk band Dustball...
. Jim Crosskey and Jason Moulster became part of the group Nine Stone Cowboy, along with members of other defunct Oxford bands The Candyskins
The Candyskins
The Candyskins are a rock band formed in 1989 in Oxfordshire, England. Though early members of the 'Oxford Scene', they enjoyed limited commercial success compared to their contemporaries Radiohead and Supergrass. They were considered by the British music press as one of the seminal early bands of...
and Ride
Ride (band)
Ride were a British alternative rock band that formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, consisting of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence "Loz" Colbert, and Steve Queralt. The band were initially part of the "shoegazing" scene. Following the break-up of the band in 1996, members moved on to various other...
.
The band reunited for a one-off concert in Oxford to support tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
victims on 19 February 2005. In May 2007, Unbelievable Truth, as a three piece ensemble, played an acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
set at the closing night of the Oxford venue, The Zodiac, before a summer refit.
In 2007, former frontman Yorke completed his first solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
effort with the help of ex-bandmates Powell and Moulster. The album Simple was released on 14 July 2008.
Albums
- Almost HereAlmost Here (Unbelievable Truth album)Almost Here is the debut album by Oxford band Unbelievable Truth. Available on Virgin Records, catalogue number CDVX2849.-Track listing:#"Solved"#"Angel"#"Stone"#"Same Mistakes"#"Forget About Me"#"Settle Down"#"Finest Little Space"#"Building"...
(1998) - UKUK Albums ChartThe 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...
#21 - Sorrythankyou (2000)
- Misc. MusicMisc. MusicMisc. Music is the third and final Unbelievable Truth album, released on the Shifty Disco label in 2001.It consists of two CDs, the first containing unreleased tracks and b-sides from throughout their career; the second a recording of their farewell show held at the Zodiac in Oxford on 16 September...
(2001)
EPs
- Stone - EP (1997)
- Higher Than Reason - EP (1998)
- Settle Down / Sea Dune - EP (1998)
- Solved - EP (1998)
Singles
- "Building" (1997)
- "Higher Than Reason" (1998) - UKUK Singles ChartThe 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 ...
#38 - "Solved" (1998) - UK #39
- "Settle Down" / "Dune Sea" (1998) - UK #46
- "Agony" (2000)
- "Landslide" (2000)
- "Advice to a Lover" (2000)