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The Long Blondes (United Kingdom)
The Long Blondes Music and Mp3's
Bio and profile of The Long Blondes
Four on the floor and a mirror ball.
The aim was to form a fantasy pop group: Nico, Nancy Sinatra, Diana Dors, Barbara Windsor. Sexy and literate, flippant and heartbreaking all at once. With this in mind, the Long Blondes went falling and laughing headlong into the glamorous world of heaving amps onto trains and applying eyeliner in National Express coach stations.
The first kindred spirit to notice the Long Blondes Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation, with whom the band released their ultra limited debut. Next, was hip south London independent label Angular Records. Through them, the band released a brace of exhilarating 45s; The Hitchcock-inspired Appropriation (By Any Other Name) and bona fide cult classic Giddy Stratospheres. Both have become indie dancefloor staples ever since, as has most recent release Separated By Motorways, recorded by uber-producer Paul Epworth (Futureheads, Bloc Party) at his request and released on his own Good and Evil label.
The band were leading double lives worthy of Harry Palmer for most of 2005, taking odd days off work to play in New York, Stockholm and Barcelona and signing autographs whilst their bosses weren’t looking. Meanwhile, word was spreading and all three previous singles were capturing the hearts of pop music lovers all over the world. In December, the band were personally asked to support Franz Ferdinand at Alexandra Palace – A fittingly flamboyant way to end the year.
They kicked off 2006 as recipients of the NME Philip Hall Radar Award (previously won by Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs) and played to increasingly frenzied crowds as everyone from the Guardian to Vogue proclaimed the Long Blondes to be the Best Unsigned Band In The Country. The band blushed at such proclamations but, frankly, even the best unsigned bands have to be at the office by nine. Surely Marlene Dietrich never had to work overtime? Even in these less than productive conditions, the Long Blondes spurned the advances of many inappropriate suitors until the right one came along. And it came along alright. In April – almost three years to the day of their incarnation – the Long Blondes signed to the legendary Rough Trade records. The label that brought the world the Smiths, the Strokes and the Libertines had done it again!
In November 2006, the band released their debut album: Someone To Drive You Home, produced by former Pulp bassist Steve Mackey, accompanied by a trio of top 40 singles; Weekend Without Makeup, Once and Never Again and Giddy Stratospheres. Like the Slits playing Roxy Music or Donna Summer reciting the collected works of Harold Pinter, the Long Blondes are truly becoming auteurs of the perfect left-field pop song.
So that’s them; vocalist Kate, guitarist Dorian, bassist Reenie, guitarist and keyboardist Emma and drummer Screech. The next chapter of Sheffield’s idiosyncratic musical heritage: The suburban disco fantasies of the Human League, the opulent ridiculousness of ABC, the seedy glamour of Pulp Truly a Carry On cast’s worth of characters all with loves, hates and passions just like yours. It’s a Blonde, Blonde, Blonde, Blonde world. Now just lie back and enjoy it.
Our new album "Couples" will finally be available in America from this Tuesday (6th May). Apologies for the delay in the release, we hope it's worth the wait.
To accompany the release we will be on tour in the states throughout May and into June. The full dates are:
05-14-08 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's - http://www.ticketweb.com
05-15-08 Brooklyn, NY - Studio B - http://www.ticketweb.com
05-16-08 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom - http://www.ticketmaster.com
05-17-08 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel http://www.ticketalternative.com
05-19-08 Boston, MA - Great Scott - http://www.ticketweb.com
05-20-08 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret de Musee - http://www.admission.com
05-22-08 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
05-23-08 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick - http://www.ticketmaster.com/
05-24-08 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium - http://www.ticketweb.com
05-25-08 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry - http://www.ticketmaster.com/
05-28-08 Seattle, WA - Neumo's
05-30-08 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards - not on sale
05-31-08 Portland, OR - Doug Fir - http://ticketswest.rdln.com/Default.aspx
06-02-08 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
06-03-08 Pomona, CA - Gl House - http://www.ticketmaster.com/
06-04-08 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour - http://www.ticketmaster.com/
Due to a technical problem with our means of transportation we will not be able to make it to Strasbourg for our gig tomorrow. A mive apology to all those who brought tickets or were planning to attend.
To further indulge our love of high street fashion, a few of us will be DJing at the re-opening of the Meadowhall branch of Topshop in Sheffield tomorrow (Thursday 17th April) from 4pm-7pm.
We’re also running a competition for 3 people to win some signed original album artwork. If you feel inclined to buy the download of the full 5 minute 30 second version of ’Century’ and the b-side ’The Unbearable Lightness of Buildings’. You can enter this competition by emailing us your proof of purchase… your e-reciept for example, to longblondescomp@hotmail.com. If you like the hard stuff, the limited edition 7" vinyl version of ’Century’ is out in record shops this Monday.
We’re out on tour now, so come see us in the flesh, and keep checking the website / MySpace / Facebook for all the gossip.
We used to all live in Sheffield and struggle to play our instruments, allegedly. Now we don't all live in Sheffield and are less prone to wandering accidentally into 5/4 time for a couple of bars here and there. Allegedly.
On top of these trivialities there's the issue of our new album, "Couples"*. That will be in the shops on April 7th. The first single to be released from the album is called Century and it's released on March 24th.
We hope that both the single and the album are - like Neil Armstrong leaving Apollo 11 - setting foot into brave new worlds. A small step for mankind, maybe, but a giant leap for us.
Stick by our side and you won't go far wrong.
Hasta Manana, Monsieur....
the long blondes XXX
*the quotation marks are part of the title. we won't bore you with the reasons, just try to remember, ok? good....
On Monday 24th March you can hear two exclusive tracks, recorded in session for Steve Lamacq's 'In New Music We Trust' . The programme airs on Radio One between 9-10 pm. A third exclusive track will be available online here:
As most of you will know by now we do not listen to The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Doors etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. We do however listen to The Dead-Eyed es. They are our favorite new band, and in our opinion (and we should know…) the best unsigned band in the country. If you would like the know why were like them so much you should check out their MySpace page, which has songs and live dates on. If you go to watch them you may even see us there…
Contrary folk that we are, we have decided the first single of our new album "Couples" will now in fact be 'Century'. The single will still be released on 24th March on 7" and download, backed by 'The Unbearable Lightness Of Buildings'. The B Side inspired by Jannis Kounellis' art work 'Untitled' (1979) which was previous available in the 'Tate Tracks' project.
You can hear the first play of 'Century' on Steve Lamacq's 'In New Music We Trust' show on Radio One this Monday (11th Feb) between 9-10 pm:
For tickets for Germany and the Netherlands: http://www.fnac.com - tel: 0892683622 (0,34€/min) or +33141573228
For tickets for Belgium: http://www.vkconcerts.be - tel: 0892683622 (0,34€/min) or +33141573228
And for tickets for France: http://www.ticketnet.fr - tel: 0892390100 (0,34€/min) or +33146915757
Also, some of you may have noticed that our MySpace page disappeared briefly last week. It's back now, but we're still ironing out a few glitches. If you have somehow been deleted from our friends list, or are experiencing any other problems with our page - send us a message and let us know!
As you can see, our Myspace page is back up and running - though we're still ironing out a few glitches. If you have somehow been deleted from our friends list, or are experiencing any other problems with our page - send us a message and let us know!
Wazzzzzzzuuuppp??!!? (we're bringing that catchphrase back, btw)
apart from the Durrr DJ slot, I'll be playing records on New Year's Eve at the fabulous Zoo Music club at Catch on Kingsland Road in the depths of East London...go here to preorder tickets, it's a tenner and it'll be worth it >>>>> www.myspace.com/zoomusicclub. These are my favourite records at the moment, so if you know or even like any of them come along and dance to them with me.
1/ for leg - lungleg 2/ if i can't have you - yvonne elliman 3/ penelope (under my hat) - hatcham social 4/ look at the lights go up - hopscotch 5/ time slipping - pauline murray and the invisible girls 6/ third uncle - eno 7/ please mr postman - the marvelettes 8/ happy hour - the housemartins 9/ balderdash - ipso facto 10/ bathroom gurgle - late of the pier
If you're feeling impatient and can't wait for the tour dates in April, you can catch us doing a DJ set at the Durr end of year party on 29th December, alongside DJ sets from Rory Phillips, Skulljuice, The Pix and our album producer Erol Alkan, plus live sets from Dan Deacon (he's amazing!) and Primary 1.
It takes place at The End, 18 West Central St, WC1, London from 10pm -5am and tickets are ÂŁ10.
As a special xmas treat we have decided now is the time to announce three exciting bits of news: our new single, album and tour!
Our brand new single Guilt will be released on March 24th (aka Easter Monday), followed by the long awaited release of our second album "Couples", out on April 7th. Both the single and the album were produced by Superstar DJ / producer Erol Alkan, a long time friend and fan of ours.
We are also very happy to announce we are going back on the road again, here are the dates of our short UK tour:
Tuesday 11th March - Amersham Arms, New Cross, London Tuesday 18th March - Fibbers, York Wednesday 19th March - Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh Thursday 20th March - The Lamp, Hull Friday 21st March - Independent, Sunderland Saturday 22nd March - Escobar, Wakefield Monday 24th March - The Faversham, Leeds Tuesday 25th March - The Cavern, Exeter Wednesday 26th March - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
You can order tickets through all the usual outlets... these are pretty intimate venues and tickets are going to go pretty fast, so get booking! And keep checking MySpace / the website for more news....
Those of you in Sheffield this weekend can catch Screech DJing at the Totally Wired Christmas party this Saturday (15th December) at Bungalows & Bears, Division Street, Sheffield. 8 p.m-1 a.m. Free Entry.
 Brand new mobile network Blyk have teamed up with us to offer those of you who are lucky enough to be 16-24  a free SIM, with no need for a contract, and you'll get 217 free texts and 43 free minutes every month.    Once you're on Blyk we'll keep you up to date with our latest news, like tour dates, competitions etc. You can also sign  up for free updates from other bands you like.    If you're interested, text LONG to 82595 for your exclusive invite code, or click on the link below.    Apologies to all of you who are too old to take advantage of this  offer. We know how you feel...   Love, The LB's xx
Famous people I have seen since we've been recording (in order of appearance):
The girl who plays Merry in 'Peep Show', Jarvis er, Steve Mackey, Peaches Geldof, Mike Leigh, the guy who plays Julius Nicholson in 'The Thick Of It', Joe Daniel (the inventor of New Rave), Alex Turner, Green Gartside from Scritti Politti, Matt Tong from Bloc Party
Famous people I have seen since we've been recording (in order of appearance):
The girl who plays Merry in 'Peep Show', Jarvis er, Steve Mackey, Peaches Geldof, Mike Leigh, the guy who plays Julius Nicholson in 'The Thick Of It', Joe Daniel (the inventor of New Rave), Alex Turner, Green Gartside from Scritti Politti, Matt Tong from Bloc Party
Those of you who live in Sheffield can see me DJing and calling a bit of bingo this Saturday alongisde Trash/Durrr resident Rory Phillips and Hans & Jonny at my regular night Totally Wired. Bungalows & Bears. Division Street. 8am- 3pm. Free entry.
On Saturday I went to a 1930s party at Eye town hall. I didn't know what to expect. In my head glorious flappers, beautiful burlesque girls, suave tached gents and callous cads of London would pick up pipes, grab hats, jump in their wind up clic cars and descend on this sleepy Suffolk town with all the verve and decadence of Sally Bowles in a feather boa parlour. Bellinis would flow, Manhattans would clink, someone would offer me a Sobranie Black Russian and we wouldn't have to go outside to smoke. The good times would roll. And so we rolled up, dolled up, in a less than satisfactory mid 90s BMW, to find Eye. Now, Eye is chocolate box, Constable pretty in daylight. It's a place to go looking for Antiques shops and cakes. But at night it has the air of Willoughby Chase, To the Manor Born. There is no one about after 8. The one pub did have its lights on but I couldn't see a soul inside. The only sign that anything might be happening was a Sunbeam Roadster parked outside the butchers but it sort of fitted in there anyway. All my expectations were fading fast. Miss Dior ured me that the town hall and the party were just around the corner.
The dim lights emanating from the high windows of the hall reminded me of ballet exams (sick). There was a chill in the air. I was unsure about this party. Well, I'm sceptical at best but I found myself wondering how I had come to be in Eye freezing my tits off in a black Wheels and Dollbaby fringe dress with a bottle of gin in a carrier bag on a Saturday night. It could have been a new low.
The DJs played 78's on wind up gramophones, I bought some 1940's coffee cream slip on shoes, my dress was officially too low cut (getting looks in the ladies) so I felt sufficiently enough like the vamp who crashed the party, Bellinis did flow, as did Manhattans and at one point even a Bronx. A chap tried to teach me how to follow but following men really isn't my forte. It was a very unusual and enlightening evening. Madame JoJo (aka my mother) came too but she said she preferred The Arcade Fire. Well, I wouldn't want to sound too NME about it but I have to say that while the Charleston was a hit on the dance floor, I wish they'd mixed it up with some Mud. I really could have done with hearing Tiger Feet after a while…
We regret to announce that the Adelaide date of our Australian tour has been cancelled. We are really sorry to anyone who has brought tickets for this show, and as well as re-fund, as a small compensation we'll be giving you signed goodies
At last, we are pleased to announce the full US release of our album on 5th June, through Rough Trade/Beggars. To reward all those American fans who have been waiting patiently, the North American version of the album will come with a bonus disc of selected b-sides from the UK single releases, as well as the 'Once And Never Again' video. The tracklisting for the bonus disc looks like this:
1) Fulwood Babylon 2) Five Ways To End It 3) Never To Be Repeated 4) All Bar One Girls 5) 'Once And Never Again' Video
In support of the release we will also be partaking in a small tour of the US in early June, dates as follows:
Wed 06/06/07 Luna Lounge, Brooklyn, NY Thu 06/07/07 Rock'n'Roll Hotel, Washington DC Fri 06/08/07 Great Scott, Boston, MA Sat 06/09/07 Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY Mon 06/11/07 Lee's Place, Toronto, ONT Tue 06/12/07 Magic Stick, Detroit, MI Wed 06/13/07 Subterranean, Chicago, IL Fri 06/15/07 The Echo, Los Angeles, CA Sat 06/16/07 330Ritch/Popscene, San Francisco, CA
Thanks to everyone who came to see us last month on our European tour, and for those of you who came to see us in Paris, thanks again for being so understanding about our shortened set, due to Kate being ill - we decided we'd rather play a short set than cancel the gig altogether. We're back in Sheffield for a little while, then heading off to Austria, for a couple of gigs and some skiing - luckily you can pick up some stylish salopettes in most charity shops. We've got two songs to present for your pleasure: one new, one old. The new song is our most recent track - 'The Unbearable Lightness of Buildings', which we wrote for the project 'Tate Tracks'. You can only hear the track in Tate Modern at the moment, but from the 1st May, you will be able to listen to it on the Tate's website: http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/tatetracks/ The (very) old song is 'Autonomy Boy', which we've put up on Myspace cos you kept asking us to. Enjoy. xx
Some of you may have read from various sources that we will be touring America in November, including a number of shows with Gossip. We are sorry to say that this announcement was not exactly accurate – much as we would love to come back to the US, neither us nor Gossip will be touring there in November! We will in fact be spending October and November recording our second album. We're sorry for the confusion, and we apologise to anyone who hoped to come see us.
First week down in London recording the album this week. Due to various complications with living arrangements I am currently sleeping in a cabin bed in a room that previously belonged to a small child. Depending on my mood this is either really funny, or really uncomfortable. The water in London is very hard, which makes tea taste funny and my hair go frizzy
Recording is going well so far. We did a week up in Sheffield last week before moving down here. Due to a deal struck up with our producer Erol, he gives me one digit of Lindsay Lohan's phone number every time I do a drum track. I have no intention of ever using it, but I enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that I've got it.
We have the luxury of having weekends off. I drank a bit too much whisky and ginger Saturday, then a bit too much Guiness Sunday. I listened to lots of records I had previously avoided, and forget why I had avoided them in the first place. I've been craving a fish finger sandwich all weekend, and when I finally had one tonight it was as enjoyable as I'd hoped.
Now you're back here to Monday, so we can do it all over again…
This is a record of all the dogs I have seen this week (8th - 12th October) whist recording our album in London.
Monday 8th: Didn't actually go into the studio today - today was a day to lay guitar parts over the solid foundations Screech and I put down last week. Spent most of the day in our rented house in Islington, so didn't see many dogs. First and only dog of the day was a large brown dog with a ridge of sticky-up fur on his back. This was at 6.20pm, whist me and Emma waited for the bus to go see our driver, Anna, for tea at her new house. We call this 'networking' and it's vital to the album recording process, I ure you.
Tuesday 9th: I walk to the studio in the ing down rain to, not seeing a single dog on the way. I re-record a wonky b line, then walk back home with Screech. It's stopped raining but my feet are still wet. At 4.52 I see a bull terrier (remember Rude Dog? Like him) playing in the park near my house. He's a tough looking guy with a tough looking owner in a leather jacket. I also see 2 more tuff dudes at the other end of the park. At 6.18 I see a black and white sheepdog type puppy as I walk to the tube station. I'm off out for tea before Emma, Screech and I go to White Heat for "research". Again, vital to the album.
Wednesday 10th: Today we trot along to the studio to have a listen to some mixes of our works in progress, and see what Erol has been up to till 2am each morning. While we are there, a friend of ours snaps some photos of us to prove that we have not disappeared, but are hard at work in the studio. After that, I don't have anything sonic to offer, so, I leave. At 4.35pm I see an all black young dog wearing a red harness, as Screech and I walk to Old Street tube station. I head off to central London. I meeting some friends tonight, but I decide to do a bit of shopping first, all the time, I have the best interests of our new album at heart. On Bloomsbery Street at 5.08 I see another bull terrier / Rude Dog type, and shortly after a grey and white shaggy dog (5.30pm, New Oxford Street). On my way home, I see the last dog of the day, at 9.49pm, I see a tan coloured dog with sloppy chops, as I walk past Dorian and Kate's street on the way back to mine. As a band we have 2 rented houses in London, one house for those who adore wicker furniture (Dorian and Kate) and one for those who abhor wicker furniture.
Thursday 11th: Walking down to the studio with Emma and Screech, about 3.30pm, I see a smiley, panting pit bull, then brown and white dog which appears to be inspecting a building with two men in high visability vests. Then Jack Russell Terrier scramble (i.e 4 excited little dogs all scrapping / playing in the park). I am redundant in the studio today, having already recorded so many killer b parts already, though Screech does record a few cymbol crashed he omitted the first time round. Screech and I leave at about 7pm, as we are DJing at a friends' night. As we leave Emma is recording some guitar. I see a very dainty Jack Russell trotting out of Old St Tube Station about 7.15ish, with a very dainty lady mistress. We emerge from the underground some time later (7.50pm) I see a stocky white dog just outside Kilburn tube station. After spinning some records and having a few drinks we head home, and I spot another stocky, pale coloured dog out of the taxi window on the way home, about 12.30am, somewhere in North London.
Friday 12th: We aren't recording next week as our producer Erol is off to New York to DJ. So this morning we dragged ourselves to the studio to load all our equipment into a transit van. We had to get our gear out by 8.30, so another band could load into the studio, and I was too sleepy to notice any dogs on the walk there. After this labourious task, (and a greasy spoon breakfast) Screech and I went to the new Rough Trade shop off Brick Lane (again, more 'research'). As usual, we put our debut album to the front of the rack, to encourage impulse buys. On the walk home, as we turn down our street, I see a grey haired lady in a wax jacket walking an Alsatian-type dog. It sits down on the curb and waits to be told when to cross the road. Anyway, we made a group decision not to work weekends, so now I'll sign off. It's a hard life.
Reenie xx
P.S. Screech beat all my dog spots this week by spying Billy Childish walking his dog in Hoxton Square. Kudos to him.
For all of you who have been asking - finally, here is our new on-line shop! We have a range of T-shirts available, as well as cloth shoppers (tote bags). Take a look:
