Brother (UK band)
Encyclopedia
Viva Brother are an English Britpop
band from maidenhead/burnham they claim to be from Slough to get a more 'street' look. Previously known as Brother, they were signed to major global record label
Geffen Records
in October 2010 and to EMI Publishing
in November 2010. Their debut album, Famous First Words
, was released on August 1, 2011.
They describe their sound as "Gritpop" and count bands such as Blur
, The Stone Roses
and The Smiths
among their influences. However, prior to their debut as Brother the band had gone under the names Kill the Arcade and Wolf Am I. During this time, the band wrote, recorded and performed music primarily in the pop-punk emo genre.
Upon playing their debut release - "Darling Buds of May" - on his BBC Radio 1
show, DJ
Zane Lowe
stated "We like [the song's] classic song structure, it harks back to a time of craft in British songwriting, before the edginess. It's classic..." Lowe also picked-up on the band's blog site www.acidlove.net. The site featured a video of the band setting-up and playing a guerrilla gig
in front of the railway station of their hometown, Slough, along with a promo video
they had shot using money they had earned playing local gigs. Lowe's playing of their demo resulted in the band being signed to Geffen Records.
During February and March 2011 the band went on an UK tour with Indie pop
/UK garage
rapper The Streets
and performed several gigs at the influential South by Southwest
.
On 5 March 2011, Viva Brother appeared on early morning football show Soccer AM
. They revealed that the name for the album was to be named Famous First Words, after discussing it in the canteen just half an hour before the interview.
In June 2011, they were forced to change their band name from Brother to Viva Brother due to a lawsuit brought by another band, also called Brother. Leonard Newell admitted that his band went ahead with the previous name change from Wolf Am I to Brother despite being aware of the fact that other musicians were already using the name.
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
band from maidenhead/burnham they claim to be from Slough to get a more 'street' look. Previously known as Brother, they were signed to major global record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
in October 2010 and to EMI Publishing
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in November 2010. Their debut album, Famous First Words
Famous First Words (Viva Brother album)
The album was panned by critics upon release, with reviewers criticizing the lack of original content and the clumsiness with which the band attempted to emulate popular acts of the 90s...
, was released on August 1, 2011.
They describe their sound as "Gritpop" and count bands such as Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
, The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
and The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
among their influences. However, prior to their debut as Brother the band had gone under the names Kill the Arcade and Wolf Am I. During this time, the band wrote, recorded and performed music primarily in the pop-punk emo genre.
Upon playing their debut release - "Darling Buds of May" - on his BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show, DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...
stated "We like [the song's] classic song structure, it harks back to a time of craft in British songwriting, before the edginess. It's classic..." Lowe also picked-up on the band's blog site www.acidlove.net. The site featured a video of the band setting-up and playing a guerrilla gig
Guerrilla gig
Guerrilla gigging is a type of concert performed in a non-traditional setting or arranged in an unusual fashion. It became associated with punk rock, indie rock and noise rock bands in UK and the United States during the early to mid 2000s. Bands who perform at such events are sometimes referred to...
in front of the railway station of their hometown, Slough, along with a promo video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
they had shot using money they had earned playing local gigs. Lowe's playing of their demo resulted in the band being signed to Geffen Records.
During February and March 2011 the band went on an UK tour with Indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
/UK garage
UK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
rapper The Streets
The Streets
The Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
and performed several gigs at the influential South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
.
On 5 March 2011, Viva Brother appeared on early morning football show Soccer AM
Soccer AM
Soccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League...
. They revealed that the name for the album was to be named Famous First Words, after discussing it in the canteen just half an hour before the interview.
In June 2011, they were forced to change their band name from Brother to Viva Brother due to a lawsuit brought by another band, also called Brother. Leonard Newell admitted that his band went ahead with the previous name change from Wolf Am I to Brother despite being aware of the fact that other musicians were already using the name.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
IRL Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
JPN Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
|||
| 2011 | Famous First Words Famous First Words (Viva Brother album) The album was panned by critics upon release, with reviewers criticizing the lack of original content and the clumsiness with which the band attempted to emulate popular acts of the 90s...
|
34 | – | – | – | 46 |
None |
| "–" denotes that the album did not chart. | |||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||
| 2011 | "Darling Buds of May" | – | Famous First Words Famous First Words (Viva Brother album) The album was panned by critics upon release, with reviewers criticizing the lack of original content and the clumsiness with which the band attempted to emulate popular acts of the 90s... |
| "Still Here" | – | ||
| "New Year's Day" | – | ||
| "Time Machine" | – | ||
| "–" denotes that the single did not chart. | |||