Vega4 was a four-piece

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band formed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

consisted of Johnny McDaid (lead vocalist and songwriter), Bruce Gainsford (guitar), Gavin Fox (bassist) and Bryan McLellan (drummer). McDaid is from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and Fox is from

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, McLellan is from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and Gainsford is from

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. Vega4 was signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in the UK,

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in the US, and produced two albums, ''

You and Others ''You and Others'' is the second album by Great Britain, British-based band, Vega4. It follows on five years after their debut album, ''Satellites (Vega4 album), Satellites''. It was Record Producer, produced by former Compulsion (band), Compulsio ...

'' produced by Jacknife Lee ( U2,

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...

) and "Satellites" produced by John Cornfield and Ron Aniello. The band played at the 2007

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

festival. Vega4 premiered in the United States when its single " Life Is Beautiful" was featured in an episode of '' Grey's Anatomy'' and in the '' One Tree Hill'' episode, "Prom Night at Hater High". "Life is Beautiful" also featured in the 2010 film ''

Streetdance Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, locking, house dance, waacking etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically from a culture, ...

'', and previously in 2008's

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

, ''

Sex Drive Libido (; colloquial: sex drive) is a person's overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity. Libido is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Biologically, the sex hormones and associated neurotransmitters that act upo ...

''. Vega 4 also was featured on Paul Van Dyk's hit '' Time Of Our Lives'' in 2003. Vega4's song "You and Me" was used by RTÉ 2FM to launch the station's new look and lineup. The band completed its first US tour in April 2007 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Vega4 had been touring with Augustana for the previous several weeks. The band received much media attention in the US, with major radio support for "Life Is Beautiful" and the rumours of Gainsford's on-again, off-again romance with Scarlett Johansson. The band disbanded in 2008.

History

Formation and ''Satellites''

McDaid and Walker formed Vega4 in 1999, adding Gainsford and McLellan through mutual friends. The band signed with indie label Taste Media in 2000, setting up distribution deals with Capitol Records in the U.S. and Festival Mushroom in Australia for their 2001 debut EP, ''Caterpillar'', and the follow-up album, ''Satellites''. Despite heavy touring and promotion, the album was not a success, and Vega4 went into a period of dormancy while extricating themselves from their various contracts.

You and Others

In 2006, Walker left Vega 4 while former Idlewild bassist Gavin Fox joined. Vega4 signed with Columbia Records in the U.K. and Epic Records in the U.S., which promoted the single "You and Me" somewhat disingenuously as the band's debut. The following single, "Life Is Beautiful," gained exposure through its use in episodes of the TV series '' Grey's Anatomy'' and '' One Tree Hill''. Vega4's second album, ''You and Others'', was released in late 2006 in the U.K. and mid 2007 in the U.S.

Discography

Albums

*''

Satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...

'' (2002) *''

'' (2006)

EPs

* ''Caterpillar'' (demo, 2000) * ''Better Life'' (2001) * ''Drifting Away Violently'' (2002)

Singles

*"Sing" (2001) *"Radio Song" (2001) *"Love Breaks Down" (2002) *"Drifting Away Violently" (2002) *"Better Life" (2002) *"Time of Our Lives", with Paul van Dyk (2003) *"You & Me" (2006) *"Traffic Jam" (2006) *" Life Is Beautiful" (2006)

References

External links

Vega4's MySpace siteVega4 performing at The Current
*
Vega4 at Discogs.com
{{Authority control British alternative rock groups British indie rock groups Musical groups established in 1999 1999 establishments in England