The Miserable Rich

The Miserable Rich
Background information
Origin	Brighton, England
Years active	2007–2012 (hiatus)
Labels	Hazelwood Vinyl Plastics Humble Soul
Associated acts	Shoreline, Hope of the States, Lightspeed Champion
Website	The Miserable Rich
Members	William Calderbank James de Malplaquet Mike Siddell Ricky Pritchard Rhys Lovell Jim Briffett Martin Deering

The Miserable Rich are a chamber pop band, formed in 2007 and based in Brighton, England. The band is known for its distinctive chamber orchestra sound, created using cello and violin as the primary lead instruments, augmented by double bass, acoustic guitar and occasionally piano. They have released three albums: Twelve Ways to Count (2008), Of Flight & Fury (2010) and Miss You in the Days (2011); and a live album, Live in Frankfurt (2014).

The band's name came from an experience Will Calderbank and James de Malplaquet had at the wedding of two rich aristocrats.

In 2006, Will Calderbank (cello) joined James de Malplaquet (vocals) to form the band Grape Authority, a live band playing the songs de Malplaquet had written under the pseudonym James Grape. The pair were playing in Brighton folk band Shoreline, and the more traditional instrumentation used in this band was taken on board, with inspiration derived from the ex-Zombie Colin Blunstone's "Say You Don't Mind" and The Balanescu Quartet's Kraftwerk covers. Together with Mike Siddell (formerly Hope of the States) on violin, Ricky Pritchard on guitar and Rhys Lovell playing double bass, they created The Miserable Rich.

They recorded their debut album, Twelve Ways to Count, at de Malplaquet's house in Hove during the summer of 2007. The debut single from the album received positive reviews, including Leftfield Single of the Month in DJ Magazine and widespread airplay, with the band championed in particular by BBC 6 Music's Marc Riley, for whom they have recorded two live sessions. The album itself has received widespread critical acclaim, both in Germany and the UK.

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