Collectors Club were an English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band based in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Formed in 2010, the band consisted of Joe Smithson (Guitar and

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

), Jesse Eigen (Bass and vocals), Jack Kelsey (Guitar and vocals) and Dave Ormsby (

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

History

Formed in 2010 as a sixth-form band, Collectors Club was originally a six-piece band including Joe Smithson and Lewis Mondal, who were both at the time members of

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

-based band

The Master Colony ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

. Focused initially on recording music than on playing it live, the band played their first gig at Uncle Albert's in Middlesbrough in December 2010, by which point several tracks had already been made available to download free via music sharing site

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

. This had gathered the group a following already and made the first gig a success, and following attention from Bob Fischer of

BBC Radio Tees BBC Radio Tees is the BBC's local radio station serving the former county of Cleveland which comprises the unitary authorities of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV an ...

, the band were offered a headline gig at Middlesbrough club Empire, with support from Toyger. In June 2011 the band were offered a slot at the

BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, 6 ...

stage at

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

festival 2011, which they accepted. For several hours after official videos of the bands playing the festival had been posted online, Collectors Club were the fifth most-shared artist of the festival's entire line-up. Collectors Club soon began to be noticed by more well-known bands and supported

Pete and the Pirates Pete and the Pirates were an English indie rock band from Reading, Berkshire, England. The band consisted of Thomas Sanders (vocals), Peter Hefferan (vocals and guitar), David Thorpe (guitar), Peter Cattermoul (bass) and Jonny Sanders (drums). ...

, Mona and

Mystery Jets Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band consists of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Jack Flanagan (bass and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums) and Henry Harriso ...

. On 1 April 2012 their first single, ''First to Know'', was released, and the official video, starring Jessica Robinson and filmed in and around

and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, followed on 19 April. The single achieved some airplay, being featured on

6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available only ...

's ''The Tom Robinson Show'' and later on BBC Radio 2's ''After Midnight'' presented by

Janice Long Janice Berry ( Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. In a career that spanned five decades, s ...

. During the summer of 2014, the band's popularity continued to grow and shows included support for

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

and

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind ...

amongst others. On 13 April 2015 the band released "Shoulder to Shoulder" – the first single from their forthcoming EP produced by Grammy and Brit Award-winning producer

Steve Levine Steve LeVine (born in New York) is a journalist. He writes The Electric, new publicationon batteries, electric vehicles, and their impact on society, cities and geopolitics. He is a senior fellow on the Foresight, Strategy and Risk Initiative at ...

. The band disbanded in late 2015.

Reception

The band attracted much favourable attention early on, being compared to fellow

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

bands

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, ...

and

Bombay Bicycle Club Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London, consisting of Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram, and Ed Nash. They are guitar-fronted and have experimented with different genres, including folk, electron ...

. When ''First to Know'' was released in 2012 the comparisons continued, with music magazine Manifesto comparing them to

Little Comets Little Comets are an English indie rock trio from Jarrow and Washington, Tyne and Wear. They are described as playing "kitchen sink indie" music. In early 2009 the band were signed to Columbia Records following numerous gigs in strange location ...

. The review also noted that 'any similarities are inconsequential, however, as this is a pop song so joyous and gratifying it could throw up on your dog and you'd still forgive it'. The magazine awarded the single a high rating of 4 out of 5. During an appearance on BBC Radio Tees, host Bob Fischer described their song 'Still Lie With You' as 'pure summer – the perfect indie pop song', and, similarly, music website

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

called ''First to Know'' 'a gloriously carefree piece of indie-pop, which feels unequivocally summery'. Following the release of the band's second single "Wanna Be You", Collectors Club was selected to appear on the BBC Introducing Picks for 2013 compilation album download, made available on 2 January 2013. The band's latest single "Shoulder to Shoulder" was described by

Chris Hawkins Christopher Charles Hawkins (born 23 September 1975) is a British radio presenter, DJ, and music pundit. Hawkins is a regular early morning presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music. He can also be heard presenting documentary programmes on BBC Radio ...

of Radio 6 as "absolutely perfect new pop music".

Discography

References

External links

Facebook profile

SoundCloud profile

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collectors Club English indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2010 2010 establishments in England