I Am Kloot

I Am Kloot
I Am Kloot live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, August 2007
Background information
Origin	Manchester, England
Genres	Alternative rock, indie rock
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Ugly Man Wall of Sound The Echo Label PIAS Skinny Dog Walk Tall Recordings Shepherd Moon
Associated acts	Elbow, The Mouth
Website	iamkloot.com
Members	John Bramwell Peter Jobson Andy Hargreaves

I Am Kloot are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1999. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist John Bramwell, bassist Peter Jobson and drummer Andy Hargreaves.

The band have released six studio albums to date, and were nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2010 for the album Sky at Night.

The band name had been shrouded in secrecy for the majority of the band's existence, with Bramwell stating in 2013 that the band "never said and we never will" confirm the origin of the name and joked that "If I told you, I'd have to kill you". Jobson has since confirmed that the name I Am Kloot is inspired by the Alan J. Pakula film Klute. He also claims that "I Am Kloot is a left handed card game made famous in the diaries of Jerome K. Jerome" – the rules of which are expounded in Jerome’s "Three Men on the Bummel".

I Am Kloot were formed from the ashes of The Mouth, a band co-fronted by John Bramwell and Bryan Glancy. Bramwell, who was born and brought up in Hyde, Cheshire, had previously played with bands including The Face Brothers (a band he was kicked out at the age of 18), The Ignition, Five Go Off To Play Guitar and The Debuchias, and performed solo as Johnny Dangerously. Peter Jobson moved from Morpeth, Northumberland to Manchester to study at Salford College (where he graduated with a BA Hons in Popular Music and Recording) and befriended Bramwell at The Night and Day Café, where they both ended up working for several years booking bands. Bramwell also ran an acoustic night at the venue called "Acoustica Mancunia" (and would continue hosting acoustic nights Gecko and Palookaville whilst the band got established). Jobson first saw Bramwell play at Castlefield Arena in central Manchester on 15 June 1996, the day of the IRA Bomb and ended up joining The Mouth who had released one single "Bang" the previous year, replacing the band's original bassist Simon Burns. The band split with Glancy after he went on holiday a week before a tour and didn't return for three weeks, began working on Bramwell's songs and changed their name to I Am Kloot.