You Me at Six are an English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band from
Weybridge
Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. The band consists of lead singer
Josh Franceschi, guitarists Max Helyer and Chris Miller, bassist Matt Barnes and drummer Daniel Flint.
Formed in 2004, the name for the group originated as an abbreviation for the group making Friday night plans after a concert.
The band has released seven studio albums and one live album.
The group achieved initial success in 2008 with the release of their debut album, ''
Take Off Your Colours'', which included the singles "
Save It for the Bedroom", "
Finders Keepers
Finders, keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders, keepers; losers, weepers, is an English language, English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it for themself pe ...
" and "
Kiss and Tell", with the latter two peaking at number 33 and number 42 respectively in 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 ...
.
Their second album ''
Hold Me Down
''Hold Me Down'' is the second studio album by English rock band You Me at Six, released on 11 January 2010 through Virgin Records as the follow-up to 2008's '' Take Off Your Colours''. It is the band's first release on the major label Virgin R ...
'' (2010) debuted at number five in the UK, while their third album ''
Sinners Never Sleep
''Sinners Never Sleep'' is the third studio album by English rock band You Me at Six. It was released on 3 October 2011 through Virgin Records. While touring in support of their second studio album ''Hold Me Down'' (2010), the band wrote slow- ...
'' (2011) peaked at number 3, was certified Gold, and spawned the band's fifth top 50 single "
Loverboy
Loverboy is a Canadian rock band formed in 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly " Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still heard on many classic rock and classic hits r ...
". Their fourth album ''
Cavalier Youth'' (2014) debuted at number one and featured the singles ''
Lived a Lie'' and
''Room to Breathe''. Their fifth album ''
Night People'' released to mixed reviews in 2017. Their next album
VI was released in 2018, followed by their seventh studio album
SUKAPUNCH which gave the band their second number one album in March 2021.
You Me at Six has toured extensively, with appearances on
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
,
Soundwave, and has toured with
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, pe ...
,
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, whil ...
,
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
,
All Time Low
All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band too ...
and
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardis ...
, among others. You Me at Six won the award for Best British Band at the
Kerrang! Awards
The Kerrang! Awards are an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''Kerrang!'' and focusing primarily on rock music. The annual awards features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of mo ...
in 2011. The band's influences include American rock bands
Blink-182
Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...
,
Incubus
An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...
,
Thrice
Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school.
Early in their career, the band was known ...
and
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, back ...
.
History
''We Know What It Means to Be Alone'' EP (2004–2007)
You Me at Six formed in Weybridge, Surrey in 2004. The band's line-up consisted of vocalist
Josh Franceschi, guitarists Max Helyer and Chris Miller, bassist Matt Barnes,
and drummer Joe Phillips.
[McMahon, ed., 2014, p. 20] The group released an EP, ''We Know What It Means to Be Alone'' in 2006,
[ after which, Phillips left the band.][ He was replaced by Dan Flint, who the band had gone to college with, following the band's appearance at Slam Dunk Festival 2007.] Flint was initially asked to fill in on drums for a tour, before being asked to join the band.[
]
''Take Off Your Colours'' (2007–2008)
The band released another EP later in 2007.[ During summer 2007, the owner of ]Drive-Thru
A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the Unite ...
, Richard Reines, had arranged a meeting with the band.[ The band were ecstatic about the prospect and proceeded to wait in London for three hours, only for Reines to fail to show up.]
Their debut album, '' Take Off Your Colours,'' came out in October 2008 on Slam Dunk Records
Slam Dunk Records or Slam Dunk Music is a British independent record label, promoter and concert organising company, founded in Leeds, England, in 2007. Some notable signees include You Me at Six and Decade. The label evolved from "Slam Dunk", a ...
. Six singles were released from the album: "Save It for the Bedroom", "If I Were in Your Shoes", "Gossip", "Jealous Minds Think Alike", "Finders Keepers" and "Kiss and Tell". ''Take off Your Colours'' was re-released as a "deluxe" version, with added tracks, and the band supported Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
in late 2008. They were nominated for "Best British Band" at the 2008 and 2009 Kerrang! Awards
The Kerrang! Awards are an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''Kerrang!'' and focusing primarily on rock music. The annual awards features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of mo ...
, but lost both times to Bullet for My Valentine.
''Hold Me Down'' (2009–2010)
The band released second album, ''Hold Me Down
''Hold Me Down'' is the second studio album by English rock band You Me at Six, released on 11 January 2010 through Virgin Records as the follow-up to 2008's '' Take Off Your Colours''. It is the band's first release on the major label Virgin R ...
'', on Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
in January 2010. The album was preceded by a free digital download of song "The Consequence". Recorded at Outhouse Studios in Reading, produced and engineered by Matt O'Grady and mixed by John Mitchell, ''Hold Me Down'', debuted at No. 5 in the UK album charts
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. They have completed their third sell-out headline tour in support of their second album ''Hold Me Down''. They were joined by Sean Smith and Elissa Franceschi on selected dates. In Belfast, Matt told GiggingNI.com how it was "exciting to see how much you've grown from a year and a half ago". Follow-up singles, the '' Underdog EP'' ''and'' "Stay With Me", were also released. You Me at Six again lost out to Bullet for My Valentine in the "Best British Band" category at the 2010 Kerrang! Awards and collaborated with American rap duo Chiddy Bang
Chidera Anamege, now known by his stage name Chiddy Bang, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to its breakup, Chiddy Bang was an American hip hop duo consisting of Anamege, under the stage name Chiddy, and Noah Beresin, ...
on a track titled " Rescue Me" that was released in February 2011.
On 18 May 2010, You Me at Six visited BBC Radio One's Live Lounge
The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cotton ...
for the second time, presented by Fearne Cotton
Fearne Wood ( Cotton; born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author''.'' She began her career in the late 1990s presenting various children's television shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. In 2007, she presented '' The Xtra Factor'', ...
. Aside from being interviewed they played a version of "Liquid Confidence
"Liquid Confidence" is the third single by British rock band You Me at Six, taken from their second studio album, '' Hold Me Down''. The single was added to BBC Radio 1's A-list during April 2010. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 86 upo ...
" and a cover of Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...
's " Starry Eyed" at Maida Vale, in London live on air. You Me at Six kicked off their year playing a launch show in Kingston – originally intended to be an instore gig at Banquet Records, it was quickly upgraded to the new Hippodrome – in support of their new album ''Hold Me Down
''Hold Me Down'' is the second studio album by English rock band You Me at Six, released on 11 January 2010 through Virgin Records as the follow-up to 2008's '' Take Off Your Colours''. It is the band's first release on the major label Virgin R ...
'' on 11 January. They played 3 dates, including, also, an HMV instore and an HMV event headline promoting new British music at the Relentless Garage London. They announced that they would be playing several festivals including Punkspring in Japan, the whole Vans Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
; and supported Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, whil ...
on all Soundwave dates, as well as on Paramore's tour.
''Sinners Never Sleep'' (2011–2014)
You Me at Six recorded a third album, ''Sinners Never Sleep
''Sinners Never Sleep'' is the third studio album by English rock band You Me at Six. It was released on 3 October 2011 through Virgin Records. While touring in support of their second studio album ''Hold Me Down'' (2010), the band wrote slow- ...
'', at The Sound Factory
The Sound Factory (also known as Sunset Sound Factory) is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California.
The Sound Factory was built in the 1960s on Selma Avenue in Hollywood. At the time, it served as the home of Moonglow Records and the Moon ...
studio in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, 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 ...
. The record was released in October 2011, and peaked at No. 3 in the UK Album Charts. A single, " Bite My Tongue", featuring Oliver Sykes
Oliver Scott Sykes (born 20 November 1986) is a British singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Bring Me the Horizon. He also founded the apparel company Drop Dead Clothing, and created a graphic novel.
Early ...
was released two months later, and the group finally won the "Best British Band" award at the Kerrang! Awards. A further single, " No One Does It Better", was released in 2012, as was a song specially recorded for The Swarm, a ride at Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park Resort, commonly known as Thorpe Park, is an amusement park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...
. On 16 April 2011, Blink-182
Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...
announced that their headlining tour would be delayed till 2012 due to the fact that they have not finished recording for the new album yet. As a result, You Me at Six will not be touring with them. Upcoming tour dates for the UK in September will be released on 15 June, and the band have announced that they will be touring Australia with We the Kings
We the Kings is an American rock band from Bradenton, Florida. The band's eponymous full-length debut album, released in 2007, included the platinum single "Check Yes Juliet", and went on to sell over 250,000 copies in the US. The group's secon ...
in late August–early September.
On 29 August 2011, the fourth track of the ''Sinners Never Sleep
''Sinners Never Sleep'' is the third studio album by English rock band You Me at Six. It was released on 3 October 2011 through Virgin Records. While touring in support of their second studio album ''Hold Me Down'' (2010), the band wrote slow- ...
'', "This Is the First Thing" was leaked online by one of the inside recording team member back in Los Angeles while the band was tracking their vocals. On 1 September 2011, a 30-second snippet of the track from the record "Bite My Tongue" featuring Oli Sykes was leaked on the internet as well. It was removed 30 minutes later due to infringement and copyrighted issues. The band's next UK tours started in March 2012. The first two tour dates, which were supposed to be played in Belfast and Dublin were postponed due to Josh Franceschi contracting tonsillitis and being unable to perform. You Me at Six played the entire Warped Tour 2012
The Vans Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the ...
.
" The Swarm" was released as a non-album single for the launch of the roller coaster of the same name; it peaked at number 23.
On 8 December 2012, You Me at Six played their largest head line show to date, ''the Final Night of Sin'' selling out the Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...
. The live concert' was recorded and released on CD and DVD through Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
.
''Cavalier Youth'' (2014–2017)
Following their headline show at Wembley arena in December, the band parted ways with their record label Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
. In February 2013, they began working on their fourth album ''Cavalier Youth''. They spent five weeks doing pre-production at The Doghouse Studio in Henley-on-Thames. The following month, the group were writing their new album at The Boathouse in Henley-on-Thames, which was owned by a friend of theirs. They wrote a portion of the album here over two–three weeks.
In 2013 the band returned to Los Angeles to record with producer Neal Avron
Neal Avron (born December 31, 1965) is an American record producer, mixer, audio engineer, and musician. Working predominantly in rock music, Avron began working on records in 1993 and achieved his production breakthrough when he co-produced Ev ...
. The resulting album, '' Cavalier Youth'', was released in January 2014, with single Lived A Lie trailing the full-length in September 2013. ''Cavalier Youth'' was the band's first number one album, selling over 32,000 copies and debuting at number one on the UK album chart. You Me at Six also released a documentary about their album making process, titled Oceans Away.
You Me at Six toured extensively, including a co-head-lining tour of the UK with American rock band ''All Time Low
All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band too ...
'', with the tour announced after Alex Gaskarth
Alexander William Gaskarth (born 14 December 1987) is an English-born American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter for the American rock band All Time Low since its formation in 2 ...
joined the band on stage during their performance at their Reading concert as a part of the 2012 Reading and Leeds festival.
''Night People'' (2017–2018)
Their fifth album, '' Night People'' was released on 13 January 2017. The single ''Take on the World'' was used in the ''Vampire Diaries'' series finale.
''VI'' (2018–2020)
Within a week of N''ight People'' releasing, You Me at Six had no management and found themselves stuck in private legal battles. Despite initial enthusiasm for the album and its success, by August 2017 the band has expressed disdain for the album. Following on from these mixed reviews for ''Night People,'' You Me at Six released their sixth album, ''VI'', on 5 October 2018 to much more positive reviews. The album debuted and peaked at number six on the UK album charts.
Following the 2019–20 Australian Bushfires, You Me at Six released a charity single ''Our House (The Mess We Made)'', raising money for the WIRES foundation. Franceschi described the single as a standalone song and the dance track doesn't reflect the sound that the band is heading in.
''Suckapunch'' (2021–2022)
The first single of their seventh album, Makemefeelalive was released on 1 August 2020 displaying a significant shift in direction from their previous efforts back to the heavier roots. The second single, Beautiful Way debuted on 22 September 2020. The band released two more singles, Suckapunch and Adrenaline before the album's release.
On 15 January 2021, the band released their seventh studio album ''Suckapunch''. Debuting at number one on the UK album charts, it was the band's second number one album.
''Truth Decay'' (2023–)
In July 2022, ''Rock Sound'' reported that the band's next album, ''Truth Decay'' would be released in early 2023.
Musical style
You Me at Six's musical style has been described as pop-punk
Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...
, 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 ...
, pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
, post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...
, emo pop
Emo pop (also known as emo pop punk and pop-emo) is a fusion genre combining emo with the melodies of pop punk and/or pop music. Emo pop features a music style with more concise songs and hook-filled choruses. Emo pop began in the 1990s with ban ...
, and screamo
Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is an aggressive subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002Access date: ...
.[ With later sounds being described as punk rock.]
Band members
Current members
* Josh Franceschi – lead vocals (2004–present)
*Max Helyer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2004–present)
*Chris Miller – lead guitar (2004–present)
*Matt Barnes – bass guitar, backing vocals (2004–present)
*Dan Flint – drums, percussion, sampling (2007–present)
Current touring musicians
*Luke Rendell – additional guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)
Former members
*Joe Phillips – drums, percussion (2004–2007)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
* '' Take Off Your Colours'' (2008)
* ''Hold Me Down
''Hold Me Down'' is the second studio album by English rock band You Me at Six, released on 11 January 2010 through Virgin Records as the follow-up to 2008's '' Take Off Your Colours''. It is the band's first release on the major label Virgin R ...
'' (2010)
* ''Sinners Never Sleep
''Sinners Never Sleep'' is the third studio album by English rock band You Me at Six. It was released on 3 October 2011 through Virgin Records. While touring in support of their second studio album ''Hold Me Down'' (2010), the band wrote slow- ...
'' (2011)
* '' Cavalier Youth'' (2014)
* '' Night People'' (2017)
* '' VI'' (2018)
* '' Suckapunch'' (2021)
* ''Truth Decay'' (2023)
References
Citations
Sources
*
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:You Me at Six
Musical groups established in 2004
Musical quintets
English alternative rock groups
British post-hardcore musical groups
Epitaph Records artists
Virgin Records artists
English pop punk groups
Kerrang! Awards winners
Musical groups from Surrey