Late of the Pier was an English four-piece

dance-punk Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk, punk-funk or techno-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984 ...

band from

Castle Donington Castle Donington is a market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, on the edge of the National Forest and close to East Midlands Airport. History The name 'Donington' means 'farm/settlement connected with Dunna'. Another suggest ...

, England, signed to Parlophone. Their debut album ''

Fantasy Black Channel ''Fantasy Black Channel'' is the only studio album by British dance-punk band Late of the Pier. It was released on 30 July 2008 in Japan through Toshiba EMI and on 4August 2008 in the British Isles on Parlophone, the band's primary label. Five tr ...

'', produced by

Erol Alkan Erol Alkan (born 30 May 1974) is an English DJ and producer of Turkish Cypriot descent. He grew up in Archway in North London. Career DJ and club promoter In 1993, Erol Alkan started DJing in various indie nightclubs in London. His first ...

was released on 11 August 2008 by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

History

Formation, ''Zarcorp Demo'' and ''Fantasy Black Channel'' (2004–10)

The band formed in 2004, although some of the songs they perform were written before this, with some dating back to 2001. Their debut single, "

Space and the Woods "Space and the Woods" is a song released by United Kingdom, UK band Late of the Pier on 5 March 2007. It was released on 500 limited edition 7" records. The single and b-side are different recordings to those that appeared on the Zarcorp Demo. No ...

", was released through WayOutWest Records, and featured on the band's '' Zarcorp Demo'' EP in March 2007. The band's second single "

Bathroom Gurgle A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower (or both). The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically ...

" was produced by

and was released by

Moshi Moshi Records Moshi Moshi Records is a small London-based record label founded in 1998 by Adrian Pike, Michael McClatchey and Stephen Bass. The label has released music by bands including Lykke Li, Fimber Bravo, Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Late of the Pier, Hot ...

in September 2007. Their third single, "The Bears Are Coming", was released on 12" and download only, with 7" versions being sold exclusively on their February 2008 tour. This was released through the band's own Zarcorp label. Their fourth single, a double A-side including a new version of "

" as well as " Focker", was released following a headline slot on the

Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and M ...

's Ones To Watch tour. Late of the Pier opened 2007's

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

on the NME/Radio One stage, while appearing on the festival's Republic stage the following year. The band have performed in support slots for Hadouken!,

Soulwax Soulwax are an electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor Cavalera and Stefaan Van Leuven. They were first noticed after the release of their album ''Much Against Eve ...

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

and U.N.K.L.E., as well as supporting

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

on their 2008 UK tour. Their debut album, ''

'', was released by

on 11 August 2008. On 7 September 2009, it was voted winner of the Neptune Music Prize on the ''

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 ...

'' website. They released a new single titled "Blueberry" as a digital download on 17 December 2009, and as a

double A-Side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

in February 2010 with "Best in the Class". Following this release, the band concentrated on a number of side projects and personal work, and stated that it was unlikely that new material would be forthcoming.

Side projects (2010–2015)

Lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Sam Eastgate featured on

Filthy Dukes Filthy Dukes are a synthpop band from London, England. The band is composed of Olly Dixon (sampling, electronic percussion, electric guitar), Tim Lawton (synthesisers, lead vocalist) and Mark Ralph (bass guitar, backing vocals). Having been acti ...

' track "This Rhythm" on their debut album '' Nonsense in the Dark,'' and produced

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

indie pop band

Egyptian Hip Hop Egyptian hip hop is a form of hip hop music in Egypt that draws inspiration from both regional and global events. History Hip-Hop music reached Egypt when Andrew A. El-Sayid (OsamaBinRappin), a rapper from West Covina, California took Dr. Dr ...

's debut double A-side single "Wild Human Child"/"Heavenly". He also toured as part of New Zealand indie twee act

Connan Mockasin Connan Tant Hosford, better known by the stage name Connan Mockasin and sometimes credited as Connan Hosford, is a New Zealand musician, composer and record producer. Critically acclaimed and described as "a psych-funk oddball...a contrarian", ...

's band on his 2010 album release tour around New Zealand. Sam Potter co-wrote music on

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

's 2018 album ''

Always Ascending ''Always Ascending'' is the fifth studio album by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was released on 9 February 2018 through the Domino Recording Company. It is the band's first non-collaborative album in over four years, following '' ...

'', and formed

tribute act A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as Elvi ...

A Tribute to February Montaine in honour of

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

pop artist February Montaine. He also ran Blackout, a music event that ran at London venue Oval Space, where anonymous musicians played in the pitch black. Ross Dawson did some session work and joined London based band Zibra in summer 2014, but left in early 2015. In early 2015, Eastgate released the album '' Inji'' and its lead single "Oino" under the name LA Priest. On 21 May 2015, the band's former label

announced the death of drummer Ross Dawson. A press release from the musician's family, via the label, stated that Dawson was "involved in a very sudden and tragic accident" on 15 May. Dawson's family write, "Ross was a monumental force in the lives of everybody who knew him, multi-talented, modest, kind and generous; he loved and was loved by his family. The world has become a sadder place without him. He will be eternally missed by all who knew and loved him."

''Fantasy Black Channel'' reissue (2015–present)

In August 2018, the band resurfaced in a series of cryptic posts on a newly created Instagram account. In December 2018, the band announced a vinyl reissue of ''Fantasy Black Channel'' via Phantasy. Bundled with a download code for a digital album of unreleased demos and outtakes, the reissue was released on 19 January 2019.

Musical style

Late of the Pier's style has often been compared to artists like

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

, Stephen Dubrich,

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flor ...

Be-Bop Deluxe Be-Bop Deluxe were an English rock band who achieved critical acclaim and moderate commercial success during the mid to late 1970s. History Be-Bop Deluxe Be-Bop Deluxe was founded in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, by singer, guitarist ...

fame, and the more contemporary

Metronomy Metronomy are an English electronic music group formed in 1999. As of 2021, the band consists of Joseph Mount (vocals, keyboards and guitar), Oscar Cash (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar and saxophone), Anna Prior (drums and vocals), Olugbenga ...

and

Klaxons Klaxons were an English rock band, based in London. Following the release of several 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles " Magick" and " Golden Skans", the band released their debu ...

, mainly due to the prominent use of

synthesisers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

in an off-kilter pop style.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

Demos

*2005: ''Refill Men Twist & The Zarcorp Legacy'' *2007: ''Zarcorp Demo''

References

External links

Late of the Pier
on Myspace {{DEFAULTSORT:Late Of The Pier Astralwerks artists Alternative dance musical groups Dance-punk musical groups Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Musical groups reestablished in 2018 English rock music groups Musical groups from Leicester Parlophone artists