GoodBooks
Encyclopedia
GoodBooks was an English
indie rock
band originating from Sevenoaks
in Kent
. They first received media attention upon releasing their self-published EP Valves and Robots in June 2005.
The band signed to Transgressive Records
in late-2005 for one single (Bassist Christopher Porter has the date the band signed their record deal tattooed on his left wrist) and released "Walk With Me" in April, before being snapped up by Columbia Records
shortly after. GoodBooks disbanded after their last gig on 28 June 2009.
The name GoodBooks was suggested to Max Cooke at a gig by children's TV Presenter Holly Willoughby
.
covers in their attic when they were just 8. It took till 2001 for the band to take shape when at Sevenoaks School
in Kent, Max and Leo came together with Chris Porter and JP Duncan to form The Fingerprints. The Fingerprints set about their musical career by self-recording two albums; Cards on the Table, Clothes on the Floor and Miranda. Tracks such as "Tangerine" appeared on local radio stations such as BBC Radio Kent
and KMFM. The band also started gigging locally in the South-East during this time, with regular gigs at the Tunbridge Wells Forum
helping them to develop a modest regional fanbase, even performing in front of 8,000 people on one eventful Christmas.
The Fingerprints disbanded in late 2004 when their then bassist left. The band decided to continue as a four piece and on the day of their first rehearsal "Walk With Me" was created. The band continued to write more songs but this time they had a maturer more electronic
-influenced sounds. The sessions created tracks from the Valves and Robots EP such as "Passchendaele" and "Isabella" which not only became fan favourites but impressed influential members of the industry and in late 2005 the band signed a deal for a one-off single with indie label Transgressive Records
.
The following months saw GoodBooks establishing their place within the UK alternative
scene on a wider scale with gigs all over the country, notably supporting Art Brut and a gig with The Magic Numbers
in Sweden
. "Walk With Me" was rerecorded and was released as the band's debut single on Transgressive on 3 April 2006 on 7" vinyl and cassette only (one of only a very small number of cassette singles released that year). The video was shown on MTV2
and NME
awarded it Runner-Up in its track of the week section, proclaiming GoodBooks "the best new band in Britain".
The band were approached by Columbia Records
at the start of 2006 and signed a deal in May, releasing the singles "Turn it Back" and "Leni" in the second half of 2006 as well as making important and well-received performances at the Carling Reading and Leeds Festivals and the Truck Festival
and their debut album, Control
, was released on 30 July 2007 in the UK. The band maintained a Myspace page with updates on their progress. This page reported that their second album, working title 'Cry Of The Hunters' was completed and would be released in Summer 2009. NME claimed that this would occur on the 4 May, although the album has yet to be released.
GoodBooks disbanded after Glastonbury 2009
, where they played their last set on the John Peel Stage on 28 June 2009.
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...
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 originating from Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. They first received media attention upon releasing their self-published EP Valves and Robots in June 2005.
The band signed to Transgressive Records
Transgressive Records
Transgressive Records is an independent record label based in London, England formed in 2004. Founders Tim Dellow, and Toby L first met at a Bloc Party gig organised by Toby's rockfeedback website. The first release on the label was 1am by The Subways, released in September 2004...
in late-2005 for one single (Bassist Christopher Porter has the date the band signed their record deal tattooed on his left wrist) and released "Walk With Me" in April, before being snapped up by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
shortly after. GoodBooks disbanded after their last gig on 28 June 2009.
The name GoodBooks was suggested to Max Cooke at a gig by children's TV Presenter Holly Willoughby
Holly Willoughby
Holly Marie Willoughby is an English television presenter and model, known for her work in presenting children's TV and entertainment shows. In her early career she modelled underwear and went on to present CD:UK...
.
History
GoodBooks' evolution began when Max Cooke and Leo von Bülow-Quirk started doing BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
covers in their attic when they were just 8. It took till 2001 for the band to take shape when at Sevenoaks School
Sevenoaks School
Sevenoaks School is an English coeducational independent school located in the town of Sevenoaks, Kent. It is the oldest lay school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432. Almost 1,000 day pupils and boarders attend, ranging in age from 11 to 18 years. There are approximately equal numbers of...
in Kent, Max and Leo came together with Chris Porter and JP Duncan to form The Fingerprints. The Fingerprints set about their musical career by self-recording two albums; Cards on the Table, Clothes on the Floor and Miranda. Tracks such as "Tangerine" appeared on local radio stations such as BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Kent.It broadcasts on FM on 96.7 , 97.6 and 104.2 also 774 and 1602 MW and DAB.- History :The radio station was launched in 1970 under the name of BBC Radio Medway, originally only serving the...
and KMFM. The band also started gigging locally in the South-East during this time, with regular gigs at the Tunbridge Wells Forum
Tunbridge Wells Forum
The Forum is a 250 capacity live music venue in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent.The Forum is an independent music and arts venue in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.-Location:...
helping them to develop a modest regional fanbase, even performing in front of 8,000 people on one eventful Christmas.
The Fingerprints disbanded in late 2004 when their then bassist left. The band decided to continue as a four piece and on the day of their first rehearsal "Walk With Me" was created. The band continued to write more songs but this time they had a maturer more electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
-influenced sounds. The sessions created tracks from the Valves and Robots EP such as "Passchendaele" and "Isabella" which not only became fan favourites but impressed influential members of the industry and in late 2005 the band signed a deal for a one-off single with indie label Transgressive Records
Transgressive Records
Transgressive Records is an independent record label based in London, England formed in 2004. Founders Tim Dellow, and Toby L first met at a Bloc Party gig organised by Toby's rockfeedback website. The first release on the label was 1am by The Subways, released in September 2004...
.
The following months saw GoodBooks establishing their place within the UK alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
scene on a wider scale with gigs all over the country, notably supporting Art Brut and a gig with The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers are an English pop rock band comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters from Greenford. The group was formed in 2002, releasing their critically acclaimed debut album titled The Magic Numbers on 13 June 2005...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. "Walk With Me" was rerecorded and was released as the band's debut single on Transgressive on 3 April 2006 on 7" vinyl and cassette only (one of only a very small number of cassette singles released that year). The video was shown on MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
and NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
awarded it Runner-Up in its track of the week section, proclaiming GoodBooks "the best new band in Britain".
The band were approached by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
at the start of 2006 and signed a deal in May, releasing the singles "Turn it Back" and "Leni" in the second half of 2006 as well as making important and well-received performances at the Carling Reading and Leeds Festivals and the Truck Festival
Truck Festival
Truck Festival is an annual independent music festival in Oxfordshire, England. It was started in 1998 by the Bennett family , who decided that mainstream festivals such as Glastonbury had become too commercial and predictable. It is held in July at Hill Farm in Steventon, near Abingdon...
and their debut album, Control
Control (GoodBooks album)
Control is the debut album by indie rock band GoodBooks. It was released on July 30, 2007 on CD, LP and as a digital download. The end of the song "Start/Stop" has an instrumental at the end of it.-Track listing:#"Beautiful To Watch"#"The Illness"...
, was released on 30 July 2007 in the UK. The band maintained a Myspace page with updates on their progress. This page reported that their second album, working title 'Cry Of The Hunters' was completed and would be released in Summer 2009. NME claimed that this would occur on the 4 May, although the album has yet to be released.
GoodBooks disbanded after Glastonbury 2009
Glastonbury Festival 2009
The 2009 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 24–29 June 2009.- Registration :In a similar way to previous festivals, tickets for the 2009 event required pre-registration through the festival website...
, where they played their last set on the John Peel Stage on 28 June 2009.
Now
Max Cooke has gone on to play synth in Ellie Gouldings band doing tours across the world and is also working on a new band who had their first gig in LA late 2011.Studio albums
- ControlControl (GoodBooks album)Control is the debut album by indie rock band GoodBooks. It was released on July 30, 2007 on CD, LP and as a digital download. The end of the song "Start/Stop" has an instrumental at the end of it.-Track listing:#"Beautiful To Watch"#"The Illness"...
(2007) - Control Freaks - The RemixesControl Freaks - The Remixes"Control Freaks - The Remixes" is an album released by British indie band GoodBooks. The album only features remixes of songs from their debut album Control. This album was only released as a download.- Track listing:# "The Illness" The Teenagers Mix)...
(2007)
EPs and singles
- Valves And Robots EP (2005)
- Walk With Me (2006)
- "You Can't Fool Me Dennis" (Mystery Jets Cover) (2006)
- "Turn It Back" (2006)
- Leni Mixes (2006)
- Leni (2006)
- "The Illness" (2007)
- The Illness Mixes (2007)
- "Passchendaele" (2007) #73 UKUK Singles ChartThe 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 ...
- Passchendaele Mixes (2007)
- Lovesongs on Casio (2007)