Raygun were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

band formerly signed to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

History

The Adj, former guitarist indie rock band

Kubb Kubb (pronounced in Swedish and Gutnish) is a lawn game where the objective is to knock over wooden blocks () by throwing wooden batons () at them. Kubb can be described as a combination of bowling and horseshoes. Play takes place on a smal ...

, met lead singer Ray Gun studying Music Technology in Guildford. The two began writing songs and performing around Surrey and London, putting on live music events under the name 'Raygun and the Adjitators'. The duo recruited the help of bass player Ben and drummer Sam, continued the wild live performances and recorded an album at Britannia Row with producer Tim Bran.

Career

Raygun toured Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and The Philippines promoting the release of their debut album in South-East Asia. On 15 August 2009, Raygun made history when it was featured alongside

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karlof ...

Hoobastank Hoobastank (sometimes stylized as h∞bastank, and originally known as Hoobustank) is an American rock band formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, by lead vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist ...

Pixie Lott Victoria Louise Lott (born 12 January 1991), better known by her stage name Pixie Lott, is an English singer and songwriter. Her debut album, '' Turn It Up'', released in September 2009, reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and sold ove ...

Boys Like Girls Boys Like Girls is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2005, the group gained mainstream recognition when it released its self-titled debut album which went on to sell over 700,000 albums in the United States earning a ...

and

The All-American Rejects The All-American Rejects is an American rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma, formed in 1999.MTV World Stage Live In Malaysia MTV World Stage Live In Malaysia was a concert series in Malaysia from 2007 to 2015. On August 15, 2009, MTV Asia staged the an outdoor concert at Sunway Lagoon resort in Kuala Lumpur. The event was attended by over 15,000 people and featured a r ...

concert that was held in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The band supported

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

during the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an leg of her 2009

Funhouse Tour The Funhouse Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Pink. The tour supported her fifth studio album, ''Funhouse'' (2008). The tour visited Europe, Australia and North America. According to Pollstar, the Funhouse Tour (200 ...

. They have also supported

Alphabeat Alphabeat were a Danish pop band from Silkeborg, fronted by singers Stine Bramsen and Anders Stig Gehrt Nielsen. Their single " Fascination" was a major hit in Denmark during the summer of 2007, as well as the United Kingdom in 2008. Follow-up ...

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...

The Script The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin, consisting of lead vocalist and keyboardist Danny O'Donoghue, lead guitarist Mark Sheehan, and drummer Glen Power. The band moved to London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint ...

and

Newton Faulkner Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner (born 11 January 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and musician from Reigate, Surrey. He is known for his percussive style of guitar playing. In 2007 Faulkner's debut studio album ''Hand Built by Robots'' was ce ...

and toured smaller venues as headliners later in 2009. Their debut single "Just Because" was released on August 3, 2009. The video for "Just Because" was directed by

Joseph Kahn Joseph Kahn may refer to: *Joseph Kahn (director) (born 1972), a film and music video director *Joseph Kahn (journalist) (born 1964), American journalist * Joseph Kahn (shipping executive) (1916–1979), American businessman See also *Joseph Hahn ...

, which features a high speed chase on the freeway. A flash game was also released to support the single. Raygun was the supporting act for

Peter Bjorn and John Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie pop/rock band formed in Stockholm in 1999, named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Björn Yttling (bass guitar, keyboards and vocals) and John Eriks ...

and

at the iTunes live festival on 13 July 2009.

YouTube video

Channel 4's 4Play screened a 15-minute programme featuring the band. A negative ''Guardian'' article by Rhodri Marsden saw the video receive numerous predominantly negative comments. The criticism of the video mainly focused on the clichéd sentiments from singer Ray Gun likening his band to "Iggy Pop, James Brown, David Bowie and Shirley Bassey in a lift". He also claimed the album was "inspired by the perils of hedonism, when you go out and indulge too much and regret it the next day. Anything that you think is good for a while can end up being so harmful to yourself, whether it's love or sex or drugs or alcohol". Raygun later released a sarcastic apology for the whole debacle which they posted on their MySpace blog.

Discography

*''Raygun'' (29 January 2009)

Track listing

Demise and break-up

At the end of 2009, the band was dropped by Sony which consequently led to Ray Gun and The Adj deciding to go their separate ways. Sam and Ben are now playing for successful Scottish singer-songwriter

Amy Macdonald Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. In 2007, she released her debut studio album, ''This Is the Life (Amy Macdonald album), This Is the Life'', which respectively produced the singles "Mr. Rock & Roll ...

and are currently touring with her. Ben also plays with ''

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' star

Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television presenter. He was runner-up on the sixth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2009 and was subsequently signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom, ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Full performances at MTV World Stage Live In Malaysia
RCA Records artists