Fyfe Dangerfield
Encyclopedia
Fyfe Antony Dangerfield Hutchins (born 7 July 1980) is an English
musician
and songwriter
, best known as the founding member of the indie rock
band Guillemots
.
, Birmingham
, in 1980, he moved to Bromsgrove
at the age of eight. He studied at Bromsgrove School
where he was also the singer in a band. He was also music teacher at Cranbrook College
for a brief period.
Dangerfield composed a choral piece performed at The Lichfield Festival
in 2000 - a setting of Christina Rosetti's "A Better Resurrection". This led to a commission from Ex Cathedra
Chamber Choir to write a choral setting of one of the 'O Antiphons' for Ex Cathedra's Christmas Music by Candlelight concert in 2000. This has been performed many times since, was included on Ex Cathedra's Christmas Music by Candlelight CD which received some glowing reviews, and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3
and Classic FM
.
In 2002, Dangerfield was commissioned to write "A Stray Dog for Congratulations" – for three children’s choirs, four percussionists, two pianists and keyboard – for The Lichfield Festival
(the only commission that year). The performers included the Backbeat percussion ensemble, as well as the Sydney Children’s choir.
In 2007, Dangerfield was commissioned by the John Feeney Charitable Trust to write a piece for the CBSO for one of the concerts that took place in October 2007 to celebrate the re-opening of Birmingham Town Hall
. This was In Wait, a 30-minute orchestral composition, performed by cellist Eduardo Vassallo and the CBSO conducted by Nick Ingman
. The second half of the concert was given by Guillemots accompanied by the CBSO.
In 2009, cellist Natalie Clein performed the world première of a new work by Dangerfield called "Eggshell Walker" at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Dangerfield has since written two further works for Natalie Clein - "Pogo and the Cage" in 2010, and "Turquoise Black", which she premièred at the 2011 Bath Festival - a performance also broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in June 2011.
He composed music for the play, Howl's Moving Castle
, based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones
, which is to be performed in London at Southwark Playhouse in the winter 2011 - 2012.
(who played a radio session on the late John Peel
's show), Fyfe Dangerfield and The Accident, and The Courtesy Group (the band of his brother, Al Hutchins) who have supported Guillemots several times on tour, usually in Birmingham, but, most recently, in London. Dangerfield contributes to the band's upcoming debut album, Tradesman's Entrance. Dangerfield recently contributed a cover of Larrikin Love
's "Well, Love Does Furnish a Life" to their EP A Day in the Life. In late 2006, Fyfe released a very limited split vinyl single with his friends The Kittens, on which he contributed a demo of a solo song, "Delusia". This took place shortly before he played two solo shows (albeit, mostly consisting of solo renditions of Guillemots songs) in Birmingham and London, with support from Richard Burke
, Emmy the Great
, and Fyfe's older brother, Al.
In 2007 he sang "Lovers' Dream" with Anna Ternheim
on her EP, Lovers Dream and More Music For Psychotic Lovers.
under his own name on January 18, 2010. The album's first track "When You Walk in the Room" was the single of the week on iTunes in the week starting March 15, 2010.
A TV commercial for the British chain store John Lewis
, first broadcast in April 2010, features Dangerfield singing the Billy Joel
song She's Always a Woman
.
(when Preston of The Ordinary Boys
walked off the show), on Bill Bailey
's team.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, best known as the founding member of the indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Guillemots
Guillemots (band)
Guillemots are a BRIT Award nominated indie rock band formed in November 2004 by Fyfe Dangerfield. The band consists of 4 members: Fyfe Dangerfield, MC Lord Magrão, Aristazabal Hawkes & Greig Stewart. Although formed in Birmingham and now based in London, the band's members have been compiled from...
.
Early life
Born in MoseleyMoseley
Moseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, two miles south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, in 1980, he moved to Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...
at the age of eight. He studied at Bromsgrove School
Bromsgrove School
Bromsgrove School, founded in 1553, is a co-educational independent school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. The school has a long history and many notable former pupils.-History:...
where he was also the singer in a band. He was also music teacher at Cranbrook College
Cranbrook College
Cranbrook is an independent co-educational school, located in Ilford, Greater London, England. The Cognita Group own and operate the school. The academic years go up from junior to senior starting from reception then working the way up the academic ladder to Year 11. Pupils usually go on to other...
for a brief period.
Compositions
The Lichfield Festival
The Lichfield Festival is an annual multi-art-form festival held in Lichfield, Staffordshire, which aims to combine high quality, challenging and diverse events of an international calibre, alongside community-based, locally-sourced activities. Performances include drama, dance, film, literature,...
in 2000 - a setting of Christina Rosetti's "A Better Resurrection". This led to a commission from Ex Cathedra
Ex Cathedra
Ex Cathedra is a British choir and early music ensemble based in Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. It performs choral music spanning the 15th to 21st centuries, and regularly commissions new works....
Chamber Choir to write a choral setting of one of the 'O Antiphons' for Ex Cathedra's Christmas Music by Candlelight concert in 2000. This has been performed many times since, was included on Ex Cathedra's Christmas Music by Candlelight CD which received some glowing reviews, and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
and Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
.
In 2002, Dangerfield was commissioned to write "A Stray Dog for Congratulations" – for three children’s choirs, four percussionists, two pianists and keyboard – for The Lichfield Festival
The Lichfield Festival
The Lichfield Festival is an annual multi-art-form festival held in Lichfield, Staffordshire, which aims to combine high quality, challenging and diverse events of an international calibre, alongside community-based, locally-sourced activities. Performances include drama, dance, film, literature,...
(the only commission that year). The performers included the Backbeat percussion ensemble, as well as the Sydney Children’s choir.
In 2007, Dangerfield was commissioned by the John Feeney Charitable Trust to write a piece for the CBSO for one of the concerts that took place in October 2007 to celebrate the re-opening of Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church became...
. This was In Wait, a 30-minute orchestral composition, performed by cellist Eduardo Vassallo and the CBSO conducted by Nick Ingman
Nick Ingman
Nicholas Ingman is an orchestra conductor and composer.Early recordings include:*'Big Beat' *'The Love Album' *'Terminator'...
. The second half of the concert was given by Guillemots accompanied by the CBSO.
In 2009, cellist Natalie Clein performed the world première of a new work by Dangerfield called "Eggshell Walker" at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Dangerfield has since written two further works for Natalie Clein - "Pogo and the Cage" in 2010, and "Turquoise Black", which she premièred at the 2011 Bath Festival - a performance also broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in June 2011.
He composed music for the play, Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle is a young adult fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986. It won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and was named an ALA Notable Book for both children and young adults. In 2004 it was adapted as an Academy Award-nominated animated film by Hayao...
, based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones was a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction...
, which is to be performed in London at Southwark Playhouse in the winter 2011 - 2012.
Other bands
Prior to Guillemots, Dangerfield played in Senseless PrayerSenseless Prayer
Senseless Prayer were a British three-piece pop/rock band from Bromsgrove, near Birmingham. The band consisted of Fyfe Hutchins , Charles Hildebrandt and Alex Rajkowski – who were fellow pupils with Hutchins at the independent Bromsgrove SchoolThe band recorded four tracks for a "'Peel Session",...
(who played a radio session on the late John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's show), Fyfe Dangerfield and The Accident, and The Courtesy Group (the band of his brother, Al Hutchins) who have supported Guillemots several times on tour, usually in Birmingham, but, most recently, in London. Dangerfield contributes to the band's upcoming debut album, Tradesman's Entrance. Dangerfield recently contributed a cover of Larrikin Love
Larrikin Love
Larrikin Love were an English four piece indie rock band from London.Consisting of Edward Larrikin , Micko Larkin , Alfie Ambrose and Coz Kerrigan , and also occasionally including violinist Rob Skipper from The Holloways or roving violinist Jonnie Fielding, the band were briefly described as...
's "Well, Love Does Furnish a Life" to their EP A Day in the Life. In late 2006, Fyfe released a very limited split vinyl single with his friends The Kittens, on which he contributed a demo of a solo song, "Delusia". This took place shortly before he played two solo shows (albeit, mostly consisting of solo renditions of Guillemots songs) in Birmingham and London, with support from Richard Burke
Richard Burke
Richard Burke is a former senior Irish Fine Gael politician and a European Commissioner.Dick Burke was born in New York in the United States in 1932. He was raised in Tipperary and educated at the Christian Brothers School, Thurles, University College Dublin and King's Inns. He worked as a...
, Emmy the Great
Emmy the Great
Emma-Lee Moss , known by her stage name Emmy the Great, is a London-based singer-songwriter. She has released two albums, First Love and Virtue.-Early life:Moss was born in Hong Kong to an English father and a Chinese mother...
, and Fyfe's older brother, Al.
In 2007 he sang "Lovers' Dream" with Anna Ternheim
Anna Ternheim
-Early life:Ternheim was born 31 May 1978 in Stockholm, Sweden. When she was 10 years old she began playing the guitar, writing songs and performing. During a year abroad in Atlanta, Georgia, Anna created her first band "Sova," playing at smaller festivals and local clubs...
on her EP, Lovers Dream and More Music For Psychotic Lovers.
Solo artist
Dangerfield released the album Fly Yellow MoonFly Yellow Moon
Fly Yellow Moon is the debut solo album from British artist Fyfe Dangerfield, known as the front man of band, Guillemots. It was released on January 18, 2010 in the United Kingdom on Polydor Records. "She Needs Me" was released as the lead single in the UK, while "When You Walk in the Room" was...
under his own name on January 18, 2010. The album's first track "When You Walk in the Room" was the single of the week on iTunes in the week starting March 15, 2010.
A TV commercial for the British chain store John Lewis
John Lewis (department store)
-Recent developments:In June 2004, John Lewis announced plans to open its first store in Northern Ireland at the Sprucefield Park development, the province's largest out of town shopping centre, located outside Lisburn and from Belfast. The application was approved in June 2005 and the opening of...
, first broadcast in April 2010, features Dangerfield singing the Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
song She's Always a Woman
She's Always a Woman
"She's Always a Woman" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 album The Stranger. It is a love song about a modern woman, with whom he falls in love for her quirks as well as her flaws. The single peaked at #17 in the U.S. and in 1986 peaked at #53 in the UK when released as a double A-side single with...
.
Notable TV appearances
On 14 February 2007, he made an appearance on episode 20x03 of Never Mind the BuzzcocksNever Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
(when Preston of The Ordinary Boys
The Ordinary Boys
The Ordinary Boys are an English indie rock band from Worthing, in West Sussex, England. Originally named Next in Line, they were influenced by mod revival and Britpop music, as well as the bands Madness, The Specials, The Kinks and The Smiths...
walked off the show), on Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
's team.
Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| 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... |
||
| 2010 | Fly Yellow Moon Fly Yellow Moon Fly Yellow Moon is the debut solo album from British artist Fyfe Dangerfield, known as the front man of band, Guillemots. It was released on January 18, 2010 in the United Kingdom on Polydor Records. "She Needs Me" was released as the lead single in the UK, while "When You Walk in the Room" was...
|
12 |
Singles
| Year | Song | 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 ... |
EU | |||
| 2010 | "She Needs Me" | 152 | — | Fly Yellow Moon |
| "When You Walk in the Room" | — | — | ||
| "Faster Than the Setting Sun" | — | — | ||
| "She's Always a Woman" | 7 | 47 | ||
| "Barricades" | — | — | ||