The Bees (band)

The Bees
The Bees (Rotterdam, 2011)
Background information
Also known as	A Band of Bees (U.S. name)
Origin	Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England
Genres	Indie rock, Psychedelic rock
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Virgin Records (formerly We Love You) (UK) Astralwerks (US) Fiction Records (UK) MapleMusic Recordings (Canada)
Members	Paul Butler Aaron Fletcher Kris Birkin Michael Clevett Tim Parkin Warren Hampshire Tom Gardner

The Bees (known in the United States as A Band of Bees) are an English band from Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. Although their sound is generally classified as indie rock or psychedelic rock, the band have a colourful range of styles and influences, such as 1960s garage rock, country, reggae and jazz.

The Bees have released four albums: 2002's Mercury Prize-nominated Sunshine Hit Me (which was acclaimed by critics for being recorded in frontman Paul Butler's own garden shed), its 2004 major label follow-up Free the Bees (which was recorded at Abbey Road Studios), and 2007's Octopus. Their fourth album, Every Step's A Yes, was released on 11 October 2010.

The first two albums featured songs that have been used in British television advertisements, which are partially responsible for the band's recognition: Sunshine Hit Me's "A Minha Menina", a cover of an Os Mutantes track, appeared in a Citroën car commercial and also an advert for Magners Irish Cider, whilst "Chicken Payback" and "Wash in the Rain", both from Free the Bees, were incorporated in adverts for Sure Deodorant for Men and Sainsbury's, respectively. "Chicken Payback" is also used as the 'bed' track for The Radcliffe and Maconie programme on BBC Radio 6 Music. The official video for "Chicken Payback" featured the band in an arcade-type dance game machine in a Japanese video arcade. The lead character, apparently a rock and roll dance diva, dances so quickly that his shoes catch fire. The song was used in a 60-second flagship advert produced by Karmarama commissioned by Age UK to launch the charity's 2011 "Thank You" campaign. It was performed by 81-year-old Joy Graham accompanied by a Jazz Orchestra and was directed by BAFTA winning director Becky Martin of Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show.