Slow Club were an English duo formed in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...
in 2006. The band consisted of multi-instrumentalists Charles Watson and
Rebecca Lucy Taylor, with Watson contributing piano, Taylor contributing drums, and both performing guitar and vocals. The band split in 2017 following an extensive tour to support their last album, with both members moving on to solo projects.
History
Slow Club formed in 2006 following the dissolution of the indie-rock band The Lonely Hearts
The band released two
7" singles in 2007, "Because We're Dead"
and "Me and You", on
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, Ho ...
. On 1 September 2008, their first
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. , ''Let's Fall Back in Love'', was released. A
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
single, titled "Christmas TV", was released in December 2008.
Their debut album, ''
Yeah So'', was recorded by Mike Timm at Axis Studio in Sheffield and released in July 2009, followed by the release of their second EP ''Christmas, Thanks For Nothing'' in December 2009.
The band's second album, ''
Paradise
In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in para ...
'', produced by Luke Smith (
Clor
Clor was a short-lived five-piece band from Brixton, England, formed by Barry Dobbin and Luke Smith in 2003 and which signed to the Parlophone record label after only six gigs. The band released a self-titled first album, in 2005 to critical ...
), was released on 12 September 2011.
In 2012 "Beginners", the final single from the album, was released. The video features actor (and Slow Club fan)
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...
.
Slow Club have toured extensively around UK, Europe, US, Australia and Japan and played major UK festivals, including
Glastonbury festival,
Latitude festival and
Green Man Festival
The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular ...
. They have supported acts such as
KT Tunstall,
Florence and the Machine and
Mumford and Sons Mumford may refer to:
*Amazing Mumford, a Muppet character on ''Sesame Street''
* ''Mumford'' (film), a 1999 American comedy-drama film
* Mumford procedure, also called distal clavicle excision or distal clavicle resection, an orthopedic surgical pr ...
. They often collaborated with other musicians, such as
Sweet Baboo, during live shows.
In spring 2013 the band went back into the studio with Colin Elliot (who has worked with
Richard Hawley
Richard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longp ...
) and started recording their third album. The album ''Complete Surrender'' was released on 14 July 2014. The band's touring line-up included long-time drummer Avvon Chambers and bassist
Rob Jones. They were also occasionally joined by
Fyfe Dangerfield
Fyfe Antony Dangerfield Hutchins (born 7 July 1980) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the founding member of the indie rock band Guillemots.
Early life
Born in Moseley, Birmingham, in 1980, he moved to Bromsgrove at the ag ...
.
The band released their fourth album ''One Day All of This Won't Matter Anymore'', recorded in Richmond, Virginia, in 2016.
Following a tour in late 2016 - early 2017, the duo split up, with both working on solo projects. Taylor later discussed feeling unfulfilled by the joint project before the split. The tour was documented in the film ''Our Most Brilliant Friends'' directed by Piers Dennis.
Charles Watson released his solo debut album, ''Now That I'm A River'', in May 2018. Rebecca Lucy Taylor's debut, ''Compliments Please'', was released in March 2019, under the name
Self Esteem
Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie (2007) d ...
.
Critical reception
Slow Club were generally well received by critics. ''
Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
'' described the band and its music, "Charming two-part harmonies, scruffy pop melodies and bitingly aware lyrics mark out this endearing two-piece."
Robin Murray for ''
Clash'' wrote "Charles Watson and Rebecca Lucy Taylor built up a truly unique catalogue, four albums of joyous, heart-rending, and frequently under-rated songwriting".
Discography
Albums
EPs
Singles
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
English folk rock groups
Musical groups established in 2006
Musical groups disestablished in 2017
English indie rock groups
Musical groups from Sheffield
English musical duos
Caroline Records artists
Wichita Recordings artists
Moshi Moshi Records artists
Male–female musical duos