Switches (band)

Switches
Switches performing in April 2007. Left to right: Ollie Thomas, Matt Bishop and Max Tite.
Background information
Origin	Southend and Guildford, England
Genres	Indie rock, Indie-pop, Post-Punk Revival
Years active	2005–2008
Labels	Degenerate Music Atlantic Records Interscope (US)
Associated acts	Flash Fiktion
Past members	Matt Bishop Ollie Thomas Thom Kirkpatrick Steve Godfrey James Gardiner Max Tite

Switches were an English indie rock band, consisting of members Matt Bishop (lead vocals and guitar), Ollie Thomas (guitar and backing vocals), Thom Kirkpatrick (bass guitar) and Steve Godfrey (drums).

The band initially met whilst at university in Guildford, Surrey. When Matt was young, he wrote songs and made music in his Essex home. After meeting and befriending the other band members, they did some gigs and got publishing interest before finding a manager. Meanwhile, the boys where experimenting with different band names in order to "conjure something non-cliché, something simple and bold". They cite many artists as their main influences, all of whom can be seen here.

They released their debut EP on Degenerate Records, entitled Message from Yuz on 10 July 2006. It was produced by Paul Schroeder. Their debut single (limited to 500 copies), "Lay Down the Law" appeared in September 2006. The band began recording their debut album in August 2006 at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles, where Prince recorded some of his classic 1980s material. The album was recorded by record producer Rob Schnapf and engineer Doug Boehm.

Switches toured with The Rakes, The Automatic, Graham Coxon and played the Reading and Leeds Festivals. The band released their second single 'Drama Queen', their first official release with Atlantic Records, on 29 January 2007.

The band's debut album, Heart Tuned To D.E.A.D., was released on 23 April 2007, preceded by their second official single, a re-recording of "Lay Down The Law". The album reached No. 64 on the UK Albums Chart.