The Boy Least Likely To
Encyclopedia
The Boy Least Likely To is an English
indie pop
duo, composed of composer/multi-instrumentalist Pete Hobbs and lyricist/singer Jof Owen.
Owen and Hobbs both grew up in the village of Wendover
in Buckinghamshire
. They met when they were still in school and started writing songs together. They began writing and recording songs for The Boy Least Likely To in the summer of 2002. The group created the independent label Too Young to Die as a means to release their music. Their first release was the 7" single "Paper Cuts" in 2003. They released three singles and completed the recording of their debut album before they played any live shows. Their debut album The Best Party Ever
was released in the UK in February 2005. The album was released in the United States
in late Spring 2006.
The Best Party Ever
was included in the Pitchfork top 50 albums of 2005 and was number 8 in the Rough Trade Shop
top 100 albums of the same year.
They are known for the colourful characters that they use in their artwork, which are drawn by Jof Owen's brother, Tim. The artwork for their second album features 3D versions of the drawings that have been knitted.
The band describe their own sound as "Country Disco" in their song I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star . They were included in the top ten bands of 2006 in Rolling Stone magazine, and described as sounding like what would happen "if all your childhood stuffed animals got together and started a band."
In October 2006 they toured the United Kingdom with Razorlight
.
In September 2006 they began work on their second album.
In February 2008, the band posted two new songs from their upcoming album on their MySpace page. They also released "I Box Up All The Butterflies" as a free download single. The new album, previously delayed by label troubles, is entitled Law of the Playground and was released in April 2009. The album is available as both CD and LP, the LP is sold exclusively at Insound.
In February 2010, Apple, Inc. featured The Boy Least Likely To's song "Stringing Up Conkers" in Apple's latest iPhone 3GS
advertisements. In April 2010, the song was also featured in an iPad demonstration video for iTunes.
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 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...
duo, composed of composer/multi-instrumentalist Pete Hobbs and lyricist/singer Jof Owen.
Owen and Hobbs both grew up in the village of Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. They met when they were still in school and started writing songs together. They began writing and recording songs for The Boy Least Likely To in the summer of 2002. The group created the independent label Too Young to Die as a means to release their music. Their first release was the 7" single "Paper Cuts" in 2003. They released three singles and completed the recording of their debut album before they played any live shows. Their debut album The Best Party Ever
The Best Party Ever
The Best Party Ever is the debut album by British twee pop band The Boy Least Likely To. Released on their own label, Too Young to Die, the album was released in February, 2005 in the United Kingdom and in the United States in April, 2006....
was released in the UK in February 2005. The album was released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in late Spring 2006.
The Best Party Ever
The Best Party Ever
The Best Party Ever is the debut album by British twee pop band The Boy Least Likely To. Released on their own label, Too Young to Die, the album was released in February, 2005 in the United Kingdom and in the United States in April, 2006....
was included in the Pitchfork top 50 albums of 2005 and was number 8 in the Rough Trade Shop
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...
top 100 albums of the same year.
They are known for the colourful characters that they use in their artwork, which are drawn by Jof Owen's brother, Tim. The artwork for their second album features 3D versions of the drawings that have been knitted.
The band describe their own sound as "Country Disco" in their song I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon To Your Star . They were included in the top ten bands of 2006 in Rolling Stone magazine, and described as sounding like what would happen "if all your childhood stuffed animals got together and started a band."
In October 2006 they toured the United Kingdom with Razorlight
Razorlight
Razorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...
.
In September 2006 they began work on their second album.
In February 2008, the band posted two new songs from their upcoming album on their MySpace page. They also released "I Box Up All The Butterflies" as a free download single. The new album, previously delayed by label troubles, is entitled Law of the Playground and was released in April 2009. The album is available as both CD and LP, the LP is sold exclusively at Insound.
In February 2010, Apple, Inc. featured The Boy Least Likely To's song "Stringing Up Conkers" in Apple's latest iPhone 3GS
IPhone 3GS
-Camera:The iPhone 3GS features an improved 3 megapixel camera manufactured by OmniVision. In addition to the higher megapixel count, it also features auto-focus, auto white balance and auto macro and is capable of capturing VGA video...
advertisements. In April 2010, the song was also featured in an iPad demonstration video for iTunes.
Touring personnel
Musicians known to have toured with The Boy Least Likely To include:- Alistair Hamer - Drums, Backing vocals. (Sweet Billy PilgrimSweet Billy PilgrimSweet Billy Pilgrim are an English Experimental Rock/ Folk band, composed of bassist/banjo player Anthony Bishop, guitarist and singer Jana Carpenter, guitarist and songwriter Tim Elsenburg, and drummer/percussionist Alistair Hamer.-Biography:...
) - Anthony Bishop - Electric Bass, Backing Vocals (Sweet Billy PilgrimSweet Billy PilgrimSweet Billy Pilgrim are an English Experimental Rock/ Folk band, composed of bassist/banjo player Anthony Bishop, guitarist and singer Jana Carpenter, guitarist and songwriter Tim Elsenburg, and drummer/percussionist Alistair Hamer.-Biography:...
) - Adam Chetwood - Guitar, Banjo. (I Am ArrowsI Am ArrowsI Am Arrows is an indie rock band founded by former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows in June 2009. Eleven days after he left Razorlight, it was revealed that Burrows had signed to Universal Records – the same record label as his ex-band.- Live :...
) - Amanda Applewood - Keys, Backing Vocals.
- Bahar Brunton - Violin, Backing Vocals.
- Boris Ming - Violin, Keys.
- Rob Jones - Glockenspiel, Backing Vocals. (The Voluntary Butler SchemeThe Voluntary Butler SchemeThe Voluntary Butler Scheme is the stage name for one-man band Rob Jones, based in Stourbridge near Birmingham. Jones records and produces the majority of his material by himself in the home studio in his bedroom...
) - Ross Curnow - Drums, Backing Vocals (Captain PhoenixCaptain PhoenixCaptain Phoenix was a UK indie pop rock band, from London, originally from Winchester, Hampshire. The band consists of singer and bassist Ben Burrows, lead guitarist Luke Keyte, guitarist Nick Hill, and drummer Ross Curnow.- History :...
) - Luke Keyte - Guitar, Banjo (Captain PhoenixCaptain PhoenixCaptain Phoenix was a UK indie pop rock band, from London, originally from Winchester, Hampshire. The band consists of singer and bassist Ben Burrows, lead guitarist Luke Keyte, guitarist Nick Hill, and drummer Ross Curnow.- History :...
)
Albums
- The Best Party EverThe Best Party EverThe Best Party Ever is the debut album by British twee pop band The Boy Least Likely To. Released on their own label, Too Young to Die, the album was released in February, 2005 in the United Kingdom and in the United States in April, 2006....
- Too Young to Die - 2005 - Law of the PlaygroundLaw of the Playground (album)The Law of the Playground is the second studio album by British Indie Pop band The Boy Least Likely To. Released on Too Young to Die , Law of the Playground was released in April 2009.-Track listing:# "Saddle Up"...
- Too Young to Die - 2009 - The Best B-Sides Ever - +1 Records - 2009
- Christmas Special - Too Young to Die - 2010
Singles
- "Paper Cuts b/w Sleeping With a Gun Under My Pillow" - Too Young to Die 2003
- "Be Gentle With Me" - Too Young to Die 2003
- "Fur Soft as Fur" - Karma Lion - 2004
- "Hugging My Grudge" - Too Young to Die - 2004
- "Paper Cuts" - Too Young to Die - 2005
- "Little Donkey" - Too Young to Die - 2005 given away free to fans at Christmas
- "Be Gentle With Me" - Too Young to Die - 2006 UK #62
- "Hugging My Grudge" - Too Young to Die - 2006 UK #66
- "Faith" - Too Young to Die - 2007 released as a limited edition download
- "I Box Up All The Butterflies" - Too Young to Die - 2008 released as a limited edition free download
- "The First Snowflake" - Too Young to Die - 2009
- "Every Goliath Has Its David" - Too Young to Die - 2009
- "When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade" - Too Young to Die - 2009
- "Fairytale Ending" - Too Young to Die - 2009
- "Summer Of A Dormouse" - For Us Records - 2009
- "George and Andrew" - Too Young to Die - 2010
External links
- The Boy Least Likely To (Official Website)
- MySpace Page
- The Boy Least Likely To entry at The Indie Music Database
- Interview with The Boy Least Likely To on musicOMH.com
- Interview with The Boy Least Likely To on Music Towers
- Pitchfork review of The Best Party Ever Album
- Interview on Brightest Young Things