Feeder (band)
Feeder are a British rock[6] band formed in Newport in 1994. They have released 12 studio albums, 12 compilations, four EPs and 43 singles, spending a combined total of 184 weeks on the singles and albums charts as of 2019, while accumulating 25 top 75 singles between 1997 and 2012. At the peak of their commercial success, Feeder won two Kerrang! Awards in 2001 and 2003; they were inducted into their Hall of Fame in August 2019.[7]
Feeder
Feeder are one of the Britpop-era bands to have continued success long after their peak. Their 2019 album Tallulah debuted at number four, more than two decades after the group formed, and 20 years after their first top 10 album Yesterday Went Too Soon.
The band was formed in 1994,[8] although an earlier incarnation under the name of "Reel" was formed in 1992 by vocalist and guitarist Grant Nicholas, drummer Jon Lee and bassist Simon Blight, three of the four members of Raindancer, after the departure of that band's other member, guitarist John Canham. However, Blight left Reel later in 1992, and the band played with many session bassists before hiring Taka Hirose in 1994 and re-establishing themselves as Feeder;[9] that year, the band signed with The Echo Label.
Feeder garnered media attention in 2001 for their third album, Echo Park, and its lead single, "Buck Rogers", which later became a UK top five single. Jon Lee died by suicide at his Miami home in January 2002, after which the remaining members began to record and play with former Skunk Anansie drummer Mark Richardson. They released their fourth album, Comfort in Sound, later that year; it touched on themes such as loss and coming to terms with death, while also exploring themes of positivity. Richardson was ultimately made an official member, remaining so until May 2009 when he returned to a reformed Skunk Anansie. Feeder have since worked with a roster of drummers live and in the studio, including Tim Trotter, Karl Brazil and former Elviss drummer Geoff Holroyde. Between 2010 and 2017, the band charted four more top 20 albums, with the latest of these being 2017's The Best of Feeder their second consecutive top 10 album. In 2019, the band signed a deal with Believe UK to release their tenth studio album, Tallulah.
Based on certifications alone, Feeder's overall track consumption in the UK is that of one million.
History[edit]
Early years (1994–1996)[edit]
In 1994, Reel/Real's bass player, Julian Smith, left the group. Grant Nicholas and Jon Lee went 'back to the drawing board'. They placed an advert in Loot for a new bass player.[10] The advert was answered by Taka Hirose, a Japanese ex-pat working in London as a graphic designer. The trio changed their name to Feeder, after Nicholas's pet goldfish.[11] In 1994, Feeder sent a demo tape to The Echo Label. Representatives at Echo listened to the tape, sent an employee to see the band play live, then offered them a record contract.[12]
In 1995, Feeder recorded their first EP, Two Colours. Limited to 1,500 CDs and 1,000 7" vinyl singles, the band sold Two Colours at gigs.[13][14] 1996 was an eventful year for Feeder. In February, Kerrang! and Edge gave away a promo tape the band made with producer Chris Sheldon.[15] Called 'Two Tracker', it featured two songs that would feature on Feeder's debut album. In July, Feeder released their first commercially available release, Swim. In August, the band made their first appearance at the Reading festival and in October, they released their first single, "Stereo World".
Polythene and Yesterday Went Too Soon (1997–1999)[edit]
Feeder's debut album, Polythene, was released in May 1997. Polythene was acclaimed by critics, including Metal Hammer and Kerrang!, who placed the album at first and sixth in their respective end-of-year lists.[16][17] Some critics labelled the band "The UK's answer to the Smashing Pumpkins",[18] and also drew comparisons to The Pixies and Talk Talk.[19]
Feeder would go on to release three further singles from Polythene, "Tangerine" (charting at No. 60 in the UK singles chart.[20]) and "Cement" (No. 53), "Crash" (No. 48). In October 1997, Feeder released their breakthrough single "High", which charted at No. 24.[20] They also reissued Polythene, adding "High" to the track listing, along with some other changes.
In early 1998 Feeder toured the United States as a support act for Everclear.[21] During their tour, the band released a re-worked version of "Suffocate" for UK release, which charted at No. 37.[20] After their return to the UK, they played their own headline tour with Everclear in support.[21] They stayed in the US for most of the year, playing various music festivals alongside a headline tour with "High", which had been released to radio stations and charted at No. 24 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The band travelled back to the UK to play at V98.
In March 1999, Feeder returned with a new single, "Day In Day Out", which charted at No. 31. Two more singles followed, "Insomnia" in May (charting at No. 22 and resulting in their first appearance on Top of the Pops[20][22]) and "Yesterday Went Too Soon" in August (charting at No. 20). That summer, Feeder added guitarist Dean Tidey to their live band.[23] They performed on the main stage of the Reading and Leeds festivals.
The album Yesterday Went Too Soon was released on 30 August. Yesterday Went Too Soon entered the UK albums chart at No. 8,[20] an unexpected position for the band.[24]
The UK music press warmed[25] to the album. It was Melody Maker's Album of the Week[25][26] (and later No. 24 album of 1999[27]), while Metal Hammer placed the album in at No. 6 and Kerrang! ranked it at No. 16.[16][17] As of March 2003, the album has been certified gold shipping 100,000 units in the UK, with total counter sales standing at 110,000 as of February 2005.[28][29]
In November, Feeder released a final single from the album, a re-recorded version of "Paperfaces", which charted at No. 41.[20] The year ended with the band supporting the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Wembley Arena and Manic Street Preachers at the Millennium Stadium.
Echo Park and mainstream breakthrough (2000–2001)[edit]
Feeder spent most of 2000 writing and recording for their next album. They previewed new material at festivals around the country, including V2000 and Glastonbury. They would end the year promoting "Buck Rogers", their first single since November 1999 and then playing a mini-tour at the end of the year to mainly showcase the new material. The release of the single on 8 January 2001 was coupled with a signing session at London's now defunct Tower Records store and then a TV appearance on Top of The Pops before the single charted.[22] The single charted at number five, becoming the band's first top 10 entry in the singles chart before appearing on Top of the Pops again.[20][22] "Buck Rogers" then spent a second week in the top 10.[30]
Grant wrote "Buck Rogers" with The Pixies as an influence, but "on a comic book level".[31] He had originally written the track for another band with whom Echo Park producer Gil Norton was working, but decided not to give it away, for he felt Feeder themselves could have a hit with it.[31][32] "Buck Rogers" still receives regular airplay on alternative radio stations in the United Kingdom.[33] Kerrang!'s writers also approved of the track as one of their "666 Songs You Must Own", when it appeared at No. 5 in their rock songs list in November 2004.[34]
After a sell-out tour of two legs ending at the London Astoria, the album Echo Park entered at number five in the UK album charts, shortly after "Seven Days in the Sun", the album's second single charted at No. 14.[20] Shortly before the single's release, the band's rise up to the mainstream was recognised by the now defunct Scottish Television live music show Boxed Set, where a half-hour-long live-set with a studio audience was played. A third single, "Turn" reached No. 27 in July before festival season.[20] "Just a Day", a b-side from "Seven Days in the Sun", later reached No. 12 in December.[20] The response the album received on a critical level was mixed, with Dan Genroe of Q magazine claiming that the listener will still be "feeling hungry half an hour later",[35] alongside suggesting that the album is "hard to love".[35] Ben Myers of Kerrang! gave the album 4/5 (KKKK) which indicates "blinding", while citing that the band "hit their stride" on the album,[36] alongside suggesting that the album is "fat free and stripped to the bone".[36]
The album saw the band adopt a more 'commercial' sound, also incorporating synthesizers.[37] Lyrically, Echo Park contains both a comedic approach, as with "Seven Days in the Sun", and dark emotions, such as those shown on "Turn", "Oxygen", and "Satellite News". It was during the campaign for Echo Park that the band played another slot on the main stage at the Reading and Leeds festival, including T in the Park. As of August 2003, the album has shipped 300,000 units in the UK going platinum, with counter sales standing at 293,000 as of February 2005.[28][29] Grant said in a Melody Maker interview that if the album did not sell well enough the band would probably split up; he said at the time that "It's the same with any band. That's just the way the music business is. There is only a certain amount of money a label will put into a band. I'm just being realistic. We've been around for seven or eight years and I am not planning on giving up, but we're putting everything into this record and I'm just hoping that people like it".[37] The album campaign helped the band in August 2001 win the "Best British Live Act" accolade at the Kerrang! awards,[38] before ending the year supporting the Stereophonics, and then releasing the "Just a Day" single in December. In February 2015, "Buck Rogers" gained a silver certification for 200,000 physical sales, digital downloads and streaming points combined. Two years later, "Just a Day" also passed 200,000 sales.
In July 2001, Feeder's EP Swim was re-released with extra tracks, being a selection of b-sides from their earlier singles, alongside the videos for the Polythene singles "Crash" and "Cement". Overall unit sales for Swim stand at 40,000 as of February 2005.[28]
Jon Lee's death and Comfort in Sound (2002–2003)[edit]
In January 2002, Jon Lee died at home in Miami.[39] The band kept out of the public eye for most of the year. It was during this time that lead-singer Grant Nicholas wrote a series of songs relating to their emotions and reactions to Jon's death, which formed their fourth album Comfort in Sound. The band brought in former Skunk Anansie and Little Angels drummer Mark Richardson, whom Grant first met in 1994, when Feeder went on tour with Richardson's then-band, B.l.o.w.[40]
The album focused mainly on themes such as loss, depression, grief and positivity, while dedicating "Quickfade" to Jon.[41] The album was released in October of the same year to widespread critical acclaim in the British music press, with Kerrang! alongside the heavy rock magazine Metal Hammer giving the album their respective Album of the Week accolades.[42] The band were invited to the Reading and Leeds festivals that year, headlining the second stage at Reading on the first day which took place on 23 August, before heading off to Leeds the next. Grant also mentioned that at the time their fourth album already had a series of backing tracks recorded, with a total of 15 when recording is completed with then 10 chosen for the final album,[43] when the final track listing was revealed, this was increased to 12. The album is currently Feeder's best-seller with an estimated 503,706 units sold as of April 2012.[44] The album charted at No. 98 in Japan and No. 28 in Ireland, beating the peak position of No. 57 that Echo Park managed during the previous year. In Japan, it would be the first time Feeder ever charted there.[45][46] The album charted at number six in the UK.[20]
Musically, Comfort in Sound is mellower than Feeder's previous albums, with the use of a string orchestra on "Forget About Tomorrow", while other tracks on the album also used an accordion, trumpet, and a piano played by their manager Matt Page,[39][47] with "Godzilla" being one of two tracks on the album to use loud guitars. The album was their first release to be certified platinum,[29] (with Echo Park going platinum later on). It also spawned their second top 10 single, with "Just the Way I'm Feeling" in January 2003.[20] In December of the same year they took on their only arena tour, after the album's first nationwide tour was a sell out with 50,000 tickets sold,[48] and visited 21 different towns and cities in the United Kingdom over 23 different dates.[49] In reaction to this, the band were invited to the Glastonbury Festival being placed third on the last day, playing the "Pyramid Stage".[50] Shortly after the release of the single, the band were invited to support Coldplay on their UK and Europeean tour, due to their frontman Chris Martin often saying how much he liked the Comfort in Sound album and their live shows.[51] Their show at the Birmingham National Indoor Arena was reviewed by Kerrang!, which seen Steve Beebee give the band 4/5 (KKKK) for their performance.[52]
The album's final single, the title track, was only available to buy as a limited edition of 3,000 CDs on their 2003 arena tour.[53] Four singles were released commercially, with those being "Come Back Around" (No. 14), "Just the Way I'm Feeling" (No. 10), "Forget About Tomorrow" (No. 12), and "Find the Colour" (No. 24), which was released following their V2003 appearance and Kerrang! award win for "Best British Band", beating competition from Muse and the Stereophonics, which Grant dedicated to Jon saying it was the award he had always wanted the band to win.[20][54][55] The band later went on to win an Internet Music Award for their "Just The Way I'm Feeling" video,[56] while the album became their first to appear on the end of year top 75 album charts, appearing at No. 66.[57] The album's commercial reception helped Echo experience their most successful financial year.[58] Feeder then received their only nomination to date at The BRIT Awards, in which they appeared in the "Best British Rock" category at the 2004 event, before making their only appearance in the charts that year as part of Bob Geldof's Band Aid 20 charity ensemble.[59] The single was the Christmas number one, and became the year's biggest-selling UK single.[60] Alongside only making one singles chart appearance in 2004, Feeder also only made one live appearance during the year as part of the Carling Live 24 event, playing their show at the Hammersmith Apollo on 1 May.
Sales and legacy[edit]
Between 1997 and 2012, Feeder accumulated 25 top 75 singles when guest singles are excluded. They have headlined many of the UK's major venues, such as Wembley Arena, Birmingham National Indoor Arena, Birmingham LG Arena, Bournemouth International Centre and the Cardiff International Arena.
Feeder's overall album sales stand at 1,957,016 in the United Kingdom, as of 6 October 2017.[136] Their second-highest selling release is 2002's Comfort in Sound, shifting over 506,000 units in the UK. As of October 2017, The Singles has sold 524,000 copies. In the UK, Feeder has accumulated seven gold and platinum records. Gold records in Ireland for The Singles, Comfort in Sound and Echo Park brings their worldwide total to ten. In 2020, "Buck Rogers" received a Gold award for 400,000 UK consumption sales, 19 years after its release. 2001's "Just a Day" was certified Silver in 2017 for 200,000 consumption sales. That same year also seen 1997's Polythene, receive a Gold award from the BPI for sales of 100,000; almost 20 years to its release date.
Despite having dropped out of mainstream radio play since 2008, Silent Cry reached No. 8 on the UK albums chart in its first week of release, with 16,000 units sold. It has sold less than 50,000 units to date according to Chrysalis, the owners of the now defunct Echo Label. The Silent Cry tour was Feeder's longest, playing 29 dates, with many selling out. Nevertheless, Silent Cry remains Feeder's first album not to achieve at least gold status.
2010's Renegades was less successful. It entered the UK chart at No. 16 – Feeder's first album since 1997's Polythene not to chart within the Top 10 – and dropped out after 2 weeks. However, the charting of Renegades, marked the third decade in which a Feeder album had been released and charted at least in the Top 20. This marked their 6th studio album to appear in the Top 20 and the band's 9th album to appear on the chart regardless of position over the course of their career. The album also debuted at No. 1 on the Official UK Rock Albums chart.[111] Still, Renegades has yet to accumulate sales that approach or eclipse any of their other studio albums before this. 2012 follow-up Generation Freakshow, charted higher at No. 13 although on lower debut week sales, before 2016 saw the band return to the top 10 with All Bright Electric, then less than 12 months later appeared in the top 10 again, with The Best of Feeder in 2017. 2019's Tallulah, became the band's first top 5 studio album since 2005's Pushing the Senses.
Feeder are also one of Wales' most popular rock bands. In October 2003, the bass guitar that Taka Hirose played in the video for "Seven Days in the Sun" was added to the Hard Rock Cafe in Cardiff.
Feeder have also gained a cult following in Japan. Their most recent seven studio albums have all charted in the top 200. Their most successful of these is 2008's Silent Cry charting at No. 53, although their most successful and only top 40 entry to date is their 2006 singles compilation, meaning the band have charted eight albums regardless of format.
In April 2012, Total Guitar praised the band, writing that "all the way from their first release, the Two Colours EP in 1995, through tragedy and triumph, he's [Grant] gone the distance with Feeder, while other British alternative rock bands of the 90s crashed or faded".[137]
They were inducted into Kerrang's Hall of Fame in August 2019. Their induction came two months after Grant presented Skunk Anansie with their Hall of Fame award at the Kerrang Awards ceremony. This event marked the first time in ten years that Grant Nicholas had shared the same stage with former drummer Mark Richardson.
Studio albums