Alfie (band)
| Alfie | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Manchester, England |
| Genres | Indie rock, folk rock |
| Years active | 1998–2005 |
| Labels |
Twisted Nerve Records Regal Recordings |
| Associated acts | The Beep Seals, Badly Drawn Boy |
| Past members | Lee Gorton Ian Smith Matt McGeever Sam Morris Sean Kelly |
Alfie were an English indie rock band, formed in 1998 in Manchester. The band were composed of singer Lee Gorton, guitarist-vocalist Ian Smith, drummer Sean Kelly, bassist Sam Morris and cellist-guitarist Matt McGeever.
Gorton admitted that the name Alfie "was just plucked out of the air", but with it being one of the first bands alphabetically had helped them as , for example, when the band "played All Tomorrow's Parties, it looked like we were headlining".
The band released four studio albums before disbanding in 2005.
The band was formed by Lee Gorton and Ian Smith, with Gorton commenting on the band's formation that "I knew a couple of the lads from Eccles in Salford where I’m from. They were friends of mine and had already been in bands and I knew they were f****** great already so I got them in. Then we got some music students". The band were close to local bands Doves, I Am Kloot and Elbow, with whom they shared a rehearsal studio. The band signed to Twisted Nerve Records in 1999 following an appearance on the In The City Key 103 Stevenson Square stage in 1998, and were simultaneously recruited by label co-owner Damon Gough (aka Badly Drawn Boy) to work on his debut album and perform as his live backing band. Gorton would later reveal that EMI had previously tried to sign the band, but that they were "stubborn little buggers because we wanted to keep it indie and on the coolest label around".
The band released 3 vinyl-only EP's on the label through 2000, the self titled debut in February, second "Bookends" in August and third "Montevideo" in November. They released debut album, If You Happy with You Need Do Nothing in March 2001. Explaining the origin of album title, Gorton revealed that "It actually comes from when I was in my old flat and my dentist had changed hands, and I had this Asian dentist who wrote a letter in pidgin English saying 'oh I'm gonna be your new dentist now, if you wanna use your old dentist you have to do this, but if you happy with you need do nothing' and it was in brackets and it was like 'Wow.' So we kept that because it suits what we do". Although the album is technically a compilation of the previous EPs plus new songs Umlaut and 2 Up 2 Down, it is largely considered to be the band's debut and was promoted as such. The band had wanted to record the album afresh, but as Twisted Nerve were unwilling to finance studio time the band were forced to use the existing recordings. In September 2001, the band released a newly recorded version of You Make No Bones as a single. In December 2001, the band were forced to pull out of a gig in Glasgow after guitarist Ian Smith was electrocuted during the soundcheck after he touched a microphone whilst some equipment had reportedly short circuited. He was treated as a local hospital for shock and burns to his hands.
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