The Bees (known in the United States as A Band of Bees) are an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

from

Ventnor Ventnor () is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface Down, and built on steep slopes leading down to the sea. ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. Although their sound is generally classified as

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 ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

, the band have a colourful range of styles and influences, such as

1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

History

The Bees have released four

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s: 2002's

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

-nominated ''

Sunshine Hit Me ''Sunshine Hit Me'' is the debut album from the British band The Bees. At the time when the album was recorded the band only comprised Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher, who wrote, performed and recorded the album alone using a home studio in Bu ...

'', its 2004 major label follow-up ''

Free the Bees ''Free the Bees'' is the second album from British band The Bees in 2004. Their first release for Virgin Records, it is also the first album to feature the current sextet that evolved during the tour that promoted debut album ''Sunshine Hit Me' ...

'' (which was recorded at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

), and 2007's ''

Octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...

''. Their fourth album, '' Every Step's A Yes'', was released on 11 October 2010. The first two albums featured songs that have been used in British television advertisements, which are partially responsible for the band's recognition: ''Sunshine Hit Mes "A Minha Menina", a cover of an

Os Mutantes Os Mutantes (meaning '' the mutants''; ) are an influential Brazilian rock band that were linked with the Tropicália movement, a dissident musical movement during the Brazilian dictatorship of the late 1960s. The band is considered to be one of ...

track (originally by

Jorge Ben Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes (born March 22, 1939) is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben Jor since the 1980s, though commonly known by his former stage name Jorge Ben (). His characteristic style fuses samba, ...

), appeared in a

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

car commercial and also an advert for

Magners Irish Cider Magners Irish Cider is a brand of hard cider produced in County Tipperary in Ireland by the C&C Group. The product range includes the cider varieties: Original, Light, Berry, Pear and Rosé. The cider was originally produced as Bulmers Irish ...

, whilst "Chicken Payback" and "Wash in the Rain", both from ''Free the Bees'', were incorporated in adverts for

Sure SuRe (The Standard for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure) is a global voluntary standard which integrates key criteria of sustainability and resilience into infrastructure development and upgrade. It has been developed by the Swiss Global In ...

Deodorant for Men and

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

, respectively. "Chicken Payback" was also used to introduce the Northern comic character Stan Hibbert on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

' ''

Soccer AM ''Soccer AM'' is a British football-based comedy/talk show, produced by Sky Sports. First broadcast in 1995, the programme currently airs on Sky Showcase, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football at 10.30am on Saturdays during the fo ...

'', as well as the 'bed' track for The Radcliffe and Maconie programme on

BBC Radio 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 onl ...

. The official video for "Chicken Payback" featured the band in an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

-type dance game machine in a Japanese

video arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as c ...

. The lead character, apparently a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

dance diva, dances so quickly that his shoes catch fire. The song was used in a 60-second flagship advert produced by

Karmarama Picturehouse are a band from Dublin, Ireland. The band are most famous for their song "Sunburst" from the album ''Karmarama'' in Ireland. History PictureHouse is the brainchild of Dave Browne. Originally signed to London Records in 1994, a rat ...

commissioned by

Age UK Age UK is a registered charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 25 February 2009, and launched on 1 April 2009, which combined the operations of the previously separate charities Age Concern England and Help the Aged to form the UK's largest cha ...

to launch the charity's 2011 "Thank You" campaign. It was performed by 81-year-old Joy Graham accompanied by a jazz orchestra and was directed by BAFTA winning director

Becky Martin Becky Martin is a British television director and producer. Among her directorial credits are episodes of ''Peep Show'', '' Pete versus Life'', '' Getting On'', ''Veep'', '' Succession'' and ''Avenue 5''. In 2017, Martin won the Directors Guil ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

sitcom ''

Peep Show A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...

''. The Bees supported

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

in 2005, and

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

in December 2007 during their Christmas tour, and supported Paul Weller in the UK on selected dates of his "Winter Arena Tour". In 2010, The Bees performed a set for '' The Sun'', covering "We Speak No Americano" and playing songs from their album, ''Every Step's A Yes''. Paul Butler appeared on stage at the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

in 2010 with Devendra Banhart, after performing two sets of their own. In 2011, The Bees supported

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes is an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals), Ch ...

on their UK tour. One of the influences the Bees have cited is the mind-altering drink called

ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...

. Butler came to drink this plant medicine with shamans in Peru after being introduced to it by Banhart. "The whole thing has brought a lot of joy into my life. I think this kind of cleansing helps with your natural rhythm. Everyone has a song within them or a rhythm that is individual and personal only to you … and this kind of activity unlocks that." In 2018, Fletcher and Parkin announced that they had formed a new group, 77:78. Their debut album ''Jellies'' was released through

Heavenly Recordings Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne (band), Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves (band), Doves, and early singles by Manic Street P ...

on 5 July 2018.

Members

*Paul Butler –

lead vocals 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 t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

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 ...

, various

Percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

*Aaron Fletcher –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, guitar, piano, drums, percussion, lyrics, vocals *Tom Gardner – drums, bass guitar *Tim Parkin – bass guitar, piano,

rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

, percussion, vocals,

*Warren Hampshire – hammond organ,

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, percussion, jew's harp, vocals *Kris Birkin – guitar, vocals *Jon McMullen - guitar *Michael Clevett - drums, percussion, bass, Hammond, vocals *Darren Pink -

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

*Chris Stankovich - 7-string electric balzouki

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (25 March 2002; We Love You (UK) /

Astralwerks Astralwerks is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in 1993 and, in its early years, featur ...

(US) * ''

'' (17 August 2004;

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

(UK) /

(US) - UK No. 26 * ''

'' (26 March 2007;

(UK) /

(US) - UK No. 26 * '' Every Step's a Yes'' (11 October 2010;

Fiction Records Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, ...

(UK) - UK No. 64

Compilations

* ''The Bees Present: The Sound Selection'' (2008)

EPs

*''You Got to Leave EP'': "You Got to Leave" / "Elain" / "Whistle Chop" / "Jackel Head" (March 2002) *''Listening Man EP'': "Listening Man" (Radio Edit) / "Not Fade Away" ( Buddy Holly cover) / "I Still Got Your Number" / "Listening Man" (Album Version) (2007)

Singles

;From ''Sunshine Hit Me'' *"No Trophy" (7" only release, January 2001) *"Punchbag" (June 2001) *"A Minha Menina" (June 2002) ;From ''Free The Bees'' *"Wash in the Rain" (April 2004) - UK No. 31 *"Horsemen" (June 2004) - UK No. 41 *"One Glass of Water" (7" and download-only release, October 2004) *"Chicken Payback" (April 2005) - UK No. 28 ;From ''Octopus'' *"Left Foot Stepdown" (download-only release, November 2006) *"Who Cares What the Question Is?" (March 2007) - UK No. 53 *"Listening Man" (June 2007) - UK No. 91 *"(This Is For The) Better Days" (Ashley Beedle Remix) (Available as download through 'www.thebees.info', 2008) ;From ''The Bees Present 'The Sound Selection *"Papa Echo" (UK download-only release, July 2008) / (US Split 7" with Mother Hips, 2008) ;From ''Every Step's a Yes'' *"Silver Line" (July 2010) *"I Really Need Love" (October 2010) *"Winter Rose" (December 2010) Digital Only Release *"

Go Where You Wanna Go "Go Where You Wanna Go" is a 1965 song written by John Phillips. It was originally recorded by the Mamas & the Papas on their LP ''If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears'' and given limited release as a single. However, the record was withdrawn, ...

" (February 2011) (As used in UK 'Travelodge' TV advert)

Collaborations

*"Off the Lip" ( aspects and The Bees, August 2004) *"Bill Murray" (

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

and The Bees, 2005)

References

External links

*
The Bees at The DwarfThe Bees' Music Video for "Listening Man" + Interview with director Dominic Leung
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bees, The Astralwerks artists English psychedelic rock music groups English indie rock groups People from Ventnor Musical groups from the Isle of Wight Musical groups established in 2001 2001 establishments in England Fiction Records artists ATO Records artists