The Sunshine Underground
Encyclopedia
The Sunshine Underground (often shortened to TSU) are an English
, Leeds
based indie rock
band. The Sunshine Underground play a variety of punk, funk and indie, featured on their debut album, Raise the Alarm
, released by City Rockers on August 28, 2006. The group is named after a song from the 1999 album Surrender
by The Chemical Brothers
.
and Shrewsbury
, and formed while studying at New College Telford. After New College the band moved to Woodhouse in Leeds
where the band started to develop its sound.
They sold out venues in London
and Leeds on their first headline tour. Following their successful support slots for LCD Soundsystem
, the group earned the Live Band of the Year trophy at the Leeds Music Awards.
Work on their debut album, Raise the Alarm
, was completed in May 2006 and was released on August 28, 2006. They appeared on the 2006 spring/summer European festival circuit.
November saw the band play even more gigs, at increasingly large venues throughout the UK, including cities like Glasgow, Preston, Barnsley and London with the addition of other concerts in May 2007. Most notably they played the Other Stage at the Glastonbury Festival
in June and played a headline set on the future stage at T in the Park
in July and performed at the Leeds/Reading Festival in August 2007, playing on the NME stage.
The band headlined the Strathclyde University's 2007 freshers week
.
In November 2008, after several months of non-activity, the band posted several new demos on their MySpace page titled 'Malibu', 'Epic', 'Darktime', 'Animals' and 'An Introduction'. It was stated by the band that none of these songs would make their second album.
They recorded a song with FC Kahuna
named "From The City To The Sea" which was made public and free for download in February 2009. It was released as a free download because it differed too much from the other songs to make it on the album. The song takes a sample from the Aphex Twin
track Windowlicker
.
On 16 April 2009, the band put up low-resolution versions of five tracks from their new album on their MySpace account; "In Your Arms", "Coming to Save You", "Spell It Out", "Your Friends" and "Any Minute Now". The band performed at various festivals over the summer including 'V' festival and a number of smaller, more local festivals include Bathgate Live and Bingley.
On 3 November 2009 TSU released a 5 Track EP called 'Everything, Right Now'. The EP features 2 previously unheard tracks, 2 reworked demo's that were on their Myspace in November 2008 (Darktime, now renamed Dark Days, and Animals), and the track "Coming to Save You" which was to be on their second album. The band finally released the follow-up to Raise The Alarm
on 1 February 2010 named Nobody's Coming to Save You
released on City Rockers
/EMI
. The album reached #86 on the UK album chart following its release. To coincide with the release of the album, TSU embarked on a 3 week tour of the UK playing at venues such as Glasgow ABC, Manchester Ritz, Koko (Camden) and finishing with a sold out homecoming gig at Leeds Academy.
The band released 'We've Always Been Your Friends' as a standalone download online single on February 15, followed by the next single released from 'Nobody's Coming to Save You', 'Spell It Out', which was released as part of a digital download along with remixes of the first two singles and an official release of the much aired demo, 'Fall In Line'. The package was released on 17 May. The video is centered about a space chase to defeat a giant robot and is hugely influenced by 80's computer graphics. TSU went on to sub-headline the Festival Republic tent at the Reading & Leeds festivals over the August Bank Holiday weekend in 2010.
On 21 February 2011, TSU bass player Daley Smith announced he would be leaving the band and gave the following statement:
TSU later confirmed they will be continuing as a three-piece and are already well underway to compiling tracks for the forthcoming third album.
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...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
based 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. The Sunshine Underground play a variety of punk, funk and indie, featured on their debut album, Raise the Alarm
Raise The Alarm
Raise the Alarm is the debut album by British indie band The Sunshine Underground, released 28 August 2006. NME have described the album as the "first great album of the new rave movement" that is currently being championed by the publication, which includes the Klaxons and Shitdisco.-Track...
, released by City Rockers on August 28, 2006. The group is named after a song from the 1999 album Surrender
Surrender (The Chemical Brothers album)
Surrender is the third studio album by British big beat duo The Chemical Brothers, released on 21 June 1999. It features Noel Gallagher , Hope Sandoval , and Bernard Sumner as guest vocalists...
by The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
.
Biography
The band are originally from TelfordTelford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
and Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, and formed while studying at New College Telford. After New College the band moved to Woodhouse in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
where the band started to develop its sound.
They sold out venues in London
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...
and Leeds on their first headline tour. Following their successful support slots for LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
, the group earned the Live Band of the Year trophy at the Leeds Music Awards.
Work on their debut album, Raise the Alarm
Raise The Alarm
Raise the Alarm is the debut album by British indie band The Sunshine Underground, released 28 August 2006. NME have described the album as the "first great album of the new rave movement" that is currently being championed by the publication, which includes the Klaxons and Shitdisco.-Track...
, was completed in May 2006 and was released on August 28, 2006. They appeared on the 2006 spring/summer European festival circuit.
November saw the band play even more gigs, at increasingly large venues throughout the UK, including cities like Glasgow, Preston, Barnsley and London with the addition of other concerts in May 2007. Most notably they played the Other Stage at the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
in June and played a headline set on the future stage at T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
in July and performed at the Leeds/Reading Festival in August 2007, playing on the NME stage.
The band headlined the Strathclyde University's 2007 freshers week
Orientation week
Student orientation or new student orientation, is a period of time at the beginning of the academic year at a university or other tertiary institution during which a variety of events are held to orient and welcome new students. The name of the period varies by country...
.
In November 2008, after several months of non-activity, the band posted several new demos on their MySpace page titled 'Malibu', 'Epic', 'Darktime', 'Animals' and 'An Introduction'. It was stated by the band that none of these songs would make their second album.
They recorded a song with FC Kahuna
FC Kahuna
FC Kahuna are a British DJ and electronic music production duo, consisting of Jon Nowell and Daniel Ormondroyd. FC Kahuna released Machine Says Yes in the spring of 2002, which had a number of singles released from it, most notably "Machine Says Yes" and "Hayling", which both featured Icelandic...
named "From The City To The Sea" which was made public and free for download in February 2009. It was released as a free download because it differed too much from the other songs to make it on the album. The song takes a sample from the Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
track Windowlicker
Windowlicker
"Windowlicker" is a song by British electronic music artist Richard D. James , released as a single in 1999 on Warp Records. The single peaked at #16 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his highest-charting song on the chart...
.
On 16 April 2009, the band put up low-resolution versions of five tracks from their new album on their MySpace account; "In Your Arms", "Coming to Save You", "Spell It Out", "Your Friends" and "Any Minute Now". The band performed at various festivals over the summer including 'V' festival and a number of smaller, more local festivals include Bathgate Live and Bingley.
On 3 November 2009 TSU released a 5 Track EP called 'Everything, Right Now'. The EP features 2 previously unheard tracks, 2 reworked demo's that were on their Myspace in November 2008 (Darktime, now renamed Dark Days, and Animals), and the track "Coming to Save You" which was to be on their second album. The band finally released the follow-up to Raise The Alarm
Raise The Alarm
Raise the Alarm is the debut album by British indie band The Sunshine Underground, released 28 August 2006. NME have described the album as the "first great album of the new rave movement" that is currently being championed by the publication, which includes the Klaxons and Shitdisco.-Track...
on 1 February 2010 named Nobody's Coming to Save You
Nobody's Coming to Save You
Nobody's Coming to Save You is the second studio album by British indie band The Sunshine Underground, the follow-up to their 2006 album, Raise the Alarm, and was released on 16 February 2010 through City Rockers/EMI...
released on City Rockers
City Rockers
City Rockers is a UK based indie label.Their current signed artists include The Sunshine Underground, The Ghost Frequency and The Blood Arm.Past releases on the label came from bands such as The Rakes, Felix Da Housecat, The Duke Spirit and The Boggs....
/EMI
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...
. The album reached #86 on the UK album chart following its release. To coincide with the release of the album, TSU embarked on a 3 week tour of the UK playing at venues such as Glasgow ABC, Manchester Ritz, Koko (Camden) and finishing with a sold out homecoming gig at Leeds Academy.
The band released 'We've Always Been Your Friends' as a standalone download online single on February 15, followed by the next single released from 'Nobody's Coming to Save You', 'Spell It Out', which was released as part of a digital download along with remixes of the first two singles and an official release of the much aired demo, 'Fall In Line'. The package was released on 17 May. The video is centered about a space chase to defeat a giant robot and is hugely influenced by 80's computer graphics. TSU went on to sub-headline the Festival Republic tent at the Reading & Leeds festivals over the August Bank Holiday weekend in 2010.
On 21 February 2011, TSU bass player Daley Smith announced he would be leaving the band and gave the following statement:
I am sad and happy to announce that I am leaving The Sunshine Underground. Sad because I’m leaving behind some of the best friends I’ve ever had, but also happy because I can now set off on a completely new adventure. There have been no fall-outs or bust ups, no artistic differences or any bad blood what so ever. I just feel, for me, it is just time for something new. This was not an easy decision to make and I didn’t take it lightly. I toiled for a long time over this and in the end the conclusion was clear. Ever since our humble beginnings we have achieved a huge amount. Highlights have been releasing two great albums and an E.P, Japan, SxSW, Mexico, Glastonbury, and too many more to mention them all here. We have been blessed with some of the most loyal and brilliant fans a band could ever wish for. I’d like to thank each and every one of you, for turning up, tuning in and not dropping out. Thanks again you mental bastards. Looking forward, I will play my last gigs with the band in April, my last waltz will be Snowbombing. I wish the other three lads the best of luck for the future, and I know they will continue to make me proud by producing some more amazing music. So, for now it is goodbye.
TSU later confirmed they will be continuing as a three-piece and are already well underway to compiling tracks for the forthcoming third album.
Albums
- Raise the AlarmRaise The AlarmRaise the Alarm is the debut album by British indie band The Sunshine Underground, released 28 August 2006. NME have described the album as the "first great album of the new rave movement" that is currently being championed by the publication, which includes the Klaxons and Shitdisco.-Track...
(28 August 2006) - City RockersCity RockersCity Rockers is a UK based indie label.Their current signed artists include The Sunshine Underground, The Ghost Frequency and The Blood Arm.Past releases on the label came from bands such as The Rakes, Felix Da Housecat, The Duke Spirit and The Boggs.... - Nobody's Coming to Save YouNobody's Coming to Save YouNobody's Coming to Save You is the second studio album by British indie band The Sunshine Underground, the follow-up to their 2006 album, Raise the Alarm, and was released on 16 February 2010 through City Rockers/EMI...
(1 February 2010) - City RockersCity RockersCity Rockers is a UK based indie label.Their current signed artists include The Sunshine Underground, The Ghost Frequency and The Blood Arm.Past releases on the label came from bands such as The Rakes, Felix Da Housecat, The Duke Spirit and The Boggs....
/EMIEMIThe 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...
Extended plays
- Everything, Right Now EP (16 November 2009)
- Put You in Your Place (Remixes) (6 June 2011) - EMIEMIThe 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...
Singles
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Put You in Your Place Put You In Your Place "Put You in Your Place" is the 7" debut Single by Leeds Indie rock band The Sunshine Underground. The single was released 18 July 2005, by City Rockers and has been limited to 1000 copies. The single has been re-released on CDS and 7" Single on 14 August 2006 in forward to the album Raise the Alarm... " |
Non-album single |
| 2006 | "Commercial Breakdown Commercial Breakdown (song) "Commercial Breakdown" is a song by Leeds-based indie rock band The Sunshine Underground. It was released as a single on 3 February 2006 and then reissued in October 2006.-7" single #2:#"Commercial Breakdown"#"Filthy Techno Breakdown"... " |
Non-album single |
| 2006 | "What You Like" | Non-album single |
| 2006 | "I Ain't Losing Any Sleep I Ain't Losing Any Sleep "I Ain't Losing Any Sleep" is a song by Leeds-based indie rock band The Sunshine Underground. It appears on their 2006 debut album Raise the Alarm and was released as a single in May 2006.-CD single:#"I Ain't Losing Any Sleep"#"Who Called the Dandy?"... " |
Raise the Alarm |
| 2006 | "Put You in Your Place Put You In Your Place "Put You in Your Place" is the 7" debut Single by Leeds Indie rock band The Sunshine Underground. The single was released 18 July 2005, by City Rockers and has been limited to 1000 copies. The single has been re-released on CDS and 7" Single on 14 August 2006 in forward to the album Raise the Alarm... " (reissue) |
Raise the Alarm |
| 2006 | "Commercial Breakdown Commercial Breakdown (song) "Commercial Breakdown" is a song by Leeds-based indie rock band The Sunshine Underground. It was released as a single on 3 February 2006 and then reissued in October 2006.-7" single #2:#"Commercial Breakdown"#"Filthy Techno Breakdown"... " (reissue) |
Raise the Alarm |
| 2007 | "Borders Borders (song) "Borders" is a song by Leeds-based indie rock band The Sunshine Underground. It is taken from their 2006 debut album Raise the Alarm and is the fourth and last single to be released from the album, in March 2007.... " |
Raise the Alarm |
| 2010 | "In Your Arms" | Nobodys Coming to Save You |
| 2010 | "Coming to Save You" | Nobodys Coming to Save You |
| 2010 | "We've Always Been Your Friends" | Nobodys Coming to Save You |
| 2010 | "Spell It Out" | Nobodys Coming to Save You |