Les Incompétents
Encyclopedia
Les Incompétents were an indie-rock band from west London
. They met with negligible mainstream success, but supported, amongst others, Mystery Jets
, Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, and Babyshambles
.
received airplay
from BBC Radio 1
, Virgin Radio
, BBC 6 Music
, XFM
, MTV2
and Kerrang Radio
, receiving support from Steve Lamacq
, John Kennedy
and Zane Lowe
, amongst others. They were also been highly rated by the record store Rough Trade
, who listed "Reunion"/"Much Too Much" as their fourteenth favourite single of 2005.
Their second single, "How It All Went Wrong", released in March 2006, was limited to 1,500 copies and sold out on the day of its release. The music video
that accompanied the song was made on a shoestring budget, at the Tatty Bogle Club in London, where the band rehearsed, by music promo directors, Type2Error.
On 1 September 2006, the band announced via a bulletin and blog-post on MySpace
that they were splitting up. The news came just after their V Festival
performance being aired on Channel 4
's Whatever programme. After selling out London's 100 Club
for their penultimate show, they played their final gig at Acton Town Hall on 11 November 2006. In February 2007, the band released End Of An Error, a collection of all their recorded material, on White Heat Records, including singles, b-sides
, early demos
, an introduction featuring David Walliams
and live performances from XFM
sessions.
er peace activist, former Green Party
candidate, Christiaan Briggs, after getting off a bus in Camden
, North London
. According to news reports, this followed an argument on the bus after Leeson accused Briggs of looking at Leeson's girlfriend, Elli Bradshaw; Briggs followed the couple off the bus and then punched Leeson who then fell and hit his head on the ground. Two witnesses claim Briggs walked away "smirking", although Briggs' lawyers have claimed he was "smiling nervously". Leeson was in a coma, and listed in critical condition for three weeks following surgery to remove a piece of skull that was pushing into his brain, causing it to swell. He regained consciousness on 27 July and is now out of hospital, but requires a metal plate in his head. Briggs turned himself in to police when the extent of Leeson's injuries was reported in the news. Briggs was sentenced to eight months in prison on 23 October. Leeson does not remember the attack.
. "It's meant to sound like an English person mispronouncing a French word/words." "Or it's a man called Les, with the surname Incompétents".
, a new band containing Paterson, Macpherson and Tommy Atomic of Les Incompetents, would be releasing their debut single via the independent record label
, Transgressive Records
.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. They met with negligible mainstream success, but supported, amongst others, Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets are an English five-piece indie band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band was formed by Henry Harrison , Blaine Harrison and William Rees when the boys were still at school and would send each other songs on cassettes...
, Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, and Babyshambles
Babyshambles
Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...
.
History
Their two singlesSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
received airplay
Airplay
* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...
from 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...
, Virgin Radio
Virgin Radio
Absolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008.The station is based in London and plays popular rock music...
, BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
, XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
, 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 Kerrang Radio
Kerrang! 105.2
Kerrang! Radio is a specialist rock music radio station broadcasting to the West Midlands, England. The station's format mixes modern & classic rock with speech programmes targeted at young people and an adult rock audience. Broadcasting on FM in the West Midlands and DAB & Freeview and online,...
, receiving support from Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
, John Kennedy
John Kennedy (DJ)
John Kennedy, is a DJ who presents Xposure on XFM, between 10pm and 2am Monday-Thursdays. He is the only DJ to have been with XFM constantly since its inception and the show is the longest running of all of the specialist shows John Kennedy, is a DJ who presents Xposure on XFM, between 10pm and 2am...
and 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...
, amongst others. They were also been highly rated by the record store Rough Trade
Rough Trade Shop
Rough Trade are two independent record shops based in London, UK.The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the Portobello Road district of west London. In 1978 the shop spawned the famous Rough Trade Records, which was to go on to be home to bands from The Smiths to The...
, who listed "Reunion"/"Much Too Much" as their fourteenth favourite single of 2005.
Their second single, "How It All Went Wrong", released in March 2006, was limited to 1,500 copies and sold out on the day of its release. The music 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...
that accompanied the song was made on a shoestring budget, at the Tatty Bogle Club in London, where the band rehearsed, by music promo directors, Type2Error.
On 1 September 2006, the band announced via a bulletin and blog-post on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
that they were splitting up. The news came just after their V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
performance being aired on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Whatever programme. After selling out London's 100 Club
100 Club
The 100 Club is a music venue in London situated at 100 Oxford Street, W1, originally called The Feldman Swing Club.The 100 Club attained legendary status in modern British music, having played host to live music since 24 October 1942....
for their penultimate show, they played their final gig at Acton Town Hall on 11 November 2006. In February 2007, the band released End Of An Error, a collection of all their recorded material, on White Heat Records, including singles, b-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
, early demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
, an introduction featuring David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
and live performances from XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
sessions.
Members
The band had a highly fluid line-up throughout their career, with the following line-up at the end of their time as a band:- Billy Leeson - vox
- Frederick Macpherson - vox
- Christopher Burman - guitar / vox
- Craig Clydesdale - guitar / vox
- Shaun Paterson - guitar
- Tommy Atomic - bass
- Lawrence of Templeton - drums
Assault on Billy Leeson
On 22 June 2006, Les Incompétents' frontman, Billy Leeson was involved in an argument with New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
er peace activist, former Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
candidate, Christiaan Briggs, after getting off a bus in Camden
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
. According to news reports, this followed an argument on the bus after Leeson accused Briggs of looking at Leeson's girlfriend, Elli Bradshaw; Briggs followed the couple off the bus and then punched Leeson who then fell and hit his head on the ground. Two witnesses claim Briggs walked away "smirking", although Briggs' lawyers have claimed he was "smiling nervously". Leeson was in a coma, and listed in critical condition for three weeks following surgery to remove a piece of skull that was pushing into his brain, causing it to swell. He regained consciousness on 27 July and is now out of hospital, but requires a metal plate in his head. Briggs turned himself in to police when the extent of Leeson's injuries was reported in the news. Briggs was sentenced to eight months in prison on 23 October. Leeson does not remember the attack.
Band name
According to the band themselves, in an interview with John Kennedy on Xfm, their name is pronounced as it is written, with the french plural for 'the' pronounced like the English name 'Les', as if it is a British person's attempt at speaking FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. "It's meant to sound like an English person mispronouncing a French word/words." "Or it's a man called Les, with the surname Incompétents".
Legacy
In November 2007, it was announced that Ox.Eagle.Lion.ManOx.Eagle.Lion.Man
Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man. are a British band, comprising elements of prog rock, folk and post punk.-History:...
, a new band containing Paterson, Macpherson and Tommy Atomic of Les Incompetents, would be releasing their debut single via the independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, 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...
.