Phil Scanlon

Idlewild
Idlewild performing at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, December 2008.
Background information
Origin	Edinburgh, Scotland
Genres	Indie rock alternative rock post-Britpop punk rock
Years active	1995–2010, 2013–present
Labels	Cooking Vinyl Sanctuary Pye Parlophone Capitol
Associated acts	The Birthday Suit The Fruit Tree Foundation DeSalvo Strike the Colours The Reindeer Section Astrid Degrassi Turn Paper Beats Rock Vega 4
Members	Roddy Woomble Rod Jones Colin Newton Luciano Rossi Andrew Mitchell
Past members	Allan Stewart Gareth Russell Gavin Fox Phill Scanlon Bob Fairfoull

Idlewild are a Scottish indie rock band that formed in Edinburgh in 1995. The band's line-up consists of Roddy Woomble (lead vocals), Rod Jones (guitar, backing vocals), Colin Newton (drums), Andrew Mitchell (bass) and Luciano Rossi (keyboards). To date, Idlewild have released seven full-length studio albums, with their latest, Everything Ever Written, released in February 2015.

Initially, Idlewild's sound was faster and more dissonant than many of their 1990s indie rock contemporaries. However, it developed over time from an edgy and angular sound (as heard in their early material—once described by the NME as "the sound of a flight of stairs falling down a flight of stairs") to a sweeping, melodic rock sound as displayed on The Remote Part and Warnings/Promises. While Idlewild's sound cannot be easily placed into a specific genre, they have clearly been influenced by the likes of: Gang of Four, Pavement, R.E.M., Blur and Fugazi.

In 2010, the band entered an indefinite hiatus, but reunited in late 2013 to record their seventh album, Everything Ever Written, released in 2015.

Idlewild, named after the quiet meeting place in Anne of Green Gables, formed in December 1995 in Edinburgh, Scotland when a 19-year-old Roddy Woomble met drummer Colin Newton at a party. The two discovered that they had much in common, including similar musical interests and record collections. By the end of the night, they had discussed forming a band together. On the same night, the two were introduced to guitarist Rod Jones and the three kept in contact afterwards, meeting up to listen to music. Soon, the trio began writing songs together, and, in need of a bassist, they brought Phil Scanlon into the fold, due to the fact that he owned a bass guitar.