Missing Andy is a British mod-influenced band based in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
. The group comprises Alex Greaves, Jonathan Sharpe, Rob Jones, Steve Rolls, and Elliot Richardson. The band's debut single "The Way We're Made (Made In England)" reached number 38 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and number 7 on the
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...
in September 2010, after their status was confirmed as runners-up in
Sky1's television talent competition, ''
Must Be The Music
''Must Be the Music'' is a British television musical talent competition contested by aspiring singers and musicians drawn from public auditions. The show is a music competition and reality show that was broadcast in the United Kingdom and Irel ...
''. Their debut digital only single "The Greatest Show On Earth - Act I" was released on 4 October 2010, with four tracks. It is said to be part of a compilation of an unspecified number of singles. Missing Andy have released three studio albums (''Generation Silenced'', ''Guerrilla Invasion Pt. 1'' and ''Guerrilla Invasion Pt. 2'').
History
2008–11: Early years
Missing Andy were good friends when they formed to make a band in 2008. They played in local pubs and clubs in Essex, and gained some popularity on the internet, both through
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
popularity, and on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
2011–2012: ''Must Be the Music'' and album
The band auditioned for ''Must Be the Music'' in the summer of 2010, wowing the crowd at their first audition. They got through to the semi-finals by decision of the judges, and thanks to the public phone votes they reached the final, ultimately reaching the final three. Missing Andy lost out to
Emma's Imagination
Emma Gillespie (born in Edinburgh, Scotland), better known by her stage name Emma's Imagination, is a Scottish singer. She came to prominence after winning the Sky 1 TV talent contest '' Must Be the Music''. She was signed to Gary Barlow's musi ...
, who won the competition outright, making Missing Andy runners-up along with five piece band The Pictures. In October 2010 band released the first part of a download-only digital single series containing four tracks and in October 2011, they released their debut full album ''Generation Silenced'' as a download-only digital format.
Having reflected upon being on the show, the band have since said of the positive and negative qualities of it with Greaves saying, "The TV show kind of damaged us a bit, but good things have come of it,"
2012–present: Acoustic EP and ''Guerrilla Invasion''
In 2012, Missing Andy began work on a follow-up to ''Generation Silenced''. In January 2013, the band released an Acoustic EP showcasing acoustic versions of new songs that would feature on their new album. The EP consisted of four songs: "It's Over", "Young Disciple", "Mr. Policeman" and "Slip Away", all acoustic versions. The EP gained positive reviews and charted highly in the iTunes rock chart.
The band announced via the Internet that their second album is to be called ''Guerrilla Invasion'' and the first single taken from it would be "Feel Like This". A video for "Feel Like This" was released on YouTube on 23 February. The single was released on 11 March 2013, and the album ''Guerrilla Invasion'' was released on 1 April 2013 in two parts. Missing Andy announced via their Twitter page on 29 January, that they would hold an album launch party for ''Guerrilla Invasion'' at London's KOKO on 29 March 2013. Attendees would be able to hear the brand new songs before release and could purchase the album and new merchandise before the album was released.
In support of the double-album, Missing Andy embarked on their Guerrilla Invasion Tour. The tour featured dates around the UK including dates in Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Birmingham. The tour started in March 2013 (at London's KOKO) and ran through the summer until October 2013.
Members
*Alex Greaves - vocals
*Jonathan Sharpe - synth/keyboards
*Rob Jones - bass, backing vocals
*Elliot Richardson - drums, piano
*Steve Greenwood - Guitar
Former members
* Peter Brooker - synth/keyboards
*Gareth Babet - synth/keyboards
*Steve Rolls - guitar, backing vocals
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
{{Authority control
British indie rock groups
Post-Britpop groups
Musical groups from Essex