Chapel Club
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Chapel Club were an English
indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...
-
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
band from London, consisting of singer Lewis Bowman, drummer Rich Mitchell, bassist Liam Arklie and keyboardists/guitarists Michael Hibbert and Alex Parry. The band parted ways with
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imprint
Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
in March 2012 after ditching their previous indie rock sound, which had previously seen the band described as "moody, majestic and magnificent" for an electronic synth/sample led pop approach. The band's second and final album was released on
Ignition Management Ignition Management is a London-based music management company run by partners Marcus Russell & Alec McKinlay. Ignition Management was formed in late 1983 by Welshman Marcus Russell, who at the time managed London based band Latin Quarter, who bec ...
imprint Ignition Records in 2013. The band announced their split on 17 October 2013 onstage at
St Pancras Old Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in Somers Town, Central London. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, and is believed by many to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England. The church i ...
, London.


Formation

The band was formed by ex-
Hope of the States Hope of the States were an English post rock-influenced indie band from Chichester. History The band formed in 2000, naming themselves after ''The Shame of the States'', Albert Deutsch's 1948 book on the state of mental healthcare in the Uni ...
/
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guitarist Michael Eran Hibbert in early 2007. Following the split of Troubles, Hibbert re-located to London from
Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...
,
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and started writing new material. Hibbert first recruited bassist Liam Arklie who had re-located to London from
Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
and was playing in local bands. Several months later the duo enlisted Lewis Bowman, who had previously been involved in putting on club nights and DJing and was a friend of a friend. Bowman wrote poetry, but had never previously sung in a band or written song lyrics. He was asked if he wanted to try writing for the band and was given several instrumental demos and asked to come up with vocal melodies and lyrics for them. When he recorded the fruits of his efforts at Hibbert's flat a week later, the latter was impressed enough that he immediately asked Bowman to join the band. Soon after, Arklie's best friend, guitarist Alex Parry joined and the band's line-up was completed with the addition of ex-Summum Bonum and
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drummer Rich Mitchell from
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.


Career

Initially named Palace, the newly formed five-piece began rehearsing and gigging around London. As another band was already using the name Palace, the band changed their name to Golden Age before they stopped gigging to focus on writing and recording. In August 2009, the band recorded 'Surfacing' with US producer
Chris Zane Chris Zane is an American music producer, engineer and mixer based in London. He's worked with an array of artists such as Jack Antonoff, Passion Pit, St. Lucia, Holy Ghost!, and Friendly Fires. Discography 2017 * Chloe Howl - "Magnetic" ( s ...
at Strongrooms Studio in Shoreditch, London. With their debut single finally recorded, the band, having struggled to choose a new name for the band, settled on Chapel Club, inspired by Bowman's interest in religion and religious imagery and by the proximity of the band's rehearsal space to St. Luke's Church on London's Old Street. The single was scheduled for release in October through their management's label East City Records, however despite being named BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe's 'Hottest Record in the World' and gaining radio play on stations including BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC 6Music, XFM and NME Radio, the single was cancelled due to a copyright issue regarding the chorus lyrics from the song "
Dream a Little Dream of Me "Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a 1931 song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first recorded in February 1931 by Ozzie Nelson and also by Wayne King and His Orchestra, with vocals by Ernie Birchill. ...
". The copyright wrangle was later resolved with the original song's publisher, allowing the band to release the song in the future. Autumn 2009 saw Chapel Club's first gigs under their new name, as they hosted their own residency at the Shacklewell Arms pub in Dalston, London. The gigs attracted significant media attention that led to interest from several independent and major record labels. In November 2009 and after just 3 gigs under their new name, the band signed with Universal Records imprint Polydor. The band denied press reports that they had signed for large amounts of cash, claiming that their deal favoured creative control and long-term commitment over financial reward. In the same month, the band recorded 'O Maybe I' with Claudius Mittendorfer, at Atomic Heart Studios in New York. The song was recorded and produced in a day and a half. The single, now serving as the band's debut single, was released in February 2010 on Polydor on 7" and digitally via the band's own website. The single was named Zane Lowe's 'Hottest Record in the World' as well as 'Record of the Week' on Steve Harris' XFM show. In April 2010, having tried out several producers, the band began work on their debut album with Paul Epworth at The Pool in South London. The album sessions produced a further eight tracks, including follow up single, 'Five Trees' which was released in May 2010 entered the NME chart at number six. The album was mixed and mastered in June, but release was delayed due to Polydor wanting the band to go out on tour to build up a fanbase first. Throughout the summer, the band played a host of UK and European festivals including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Oxford Truck Festival, Middlesbrough Music Live, Sheffield Tramlines, Jersey Live, Belgium's
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, Germany's Haldern-pop, Sweden's Way Out West and a headline slot on the second stage at London's Field Day festival. In September 2010, the band embarked on the NME Emerge Radar Tour, playing alongside
The Joy Formidable The Joy Formidable is a Welsh people, Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 2007 in Mold, Flintshire, and currently based in London, England. The band consists of Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan (lead vocals, guitar), Rhydian Dafydd (bass guitar, bass, ...
. The band's next single 'All The Eastern Girls' was released in October, before the band embarked on a support tour with
Two Door Cinema Club Two Door Cinema Club are a band from Bangor, County Down, Bangor, Northern Ireland. The band formed in 2007 and is composed of three members: Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths), Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Ke ...
in November/December across Europe. In November 2010 the band announced they were to release a limited edition 12" EP of previously unreleased songs entitled the Wintering EP in December that would only be available at their 9 December 2010 gig at St Philip's Church. The new songs revealed a sparser sound and what Bowman called 'Imagist' lyrics. The band's debut album, "Palace" was released on 31 January 2011, with special edition CD and vinyl releases being bundled with The Wintering EP. In February 2011, Hibbert stated that the band had demoed four songs for their second album and that it would be similar in style to the Wintering EP, that "I want to get the second album done quickly because I know it's going to have a lot of elements like that on it". In September 2011 the band posted a demo of new song 'Waterlight Park' online, a song similar in style to the material from the 'Wintering EP' and was set to feature on the band's next album. The band premiered new songs 'Shy' and 'New Colours' during their summer festival run, which incorporated synths whilst retaining electric guitars, bass and acoustic drums. In October 2011 the band embarked on a UK tour which saw them performing two sets, the first of which featured entirely new material including songs 'Burt Reynolds', 'Your Lawn' and 'Old House' that introduced the band's new pop synth lead sound, that featured electronic drums and no guitar. Despite recording their debut album over 2 years after forming and the songs being "written over a long period of time", Bowman dismissed the band's previously released material as having been written when the band were "still learning how to write songs together" and claimed that "we formed and were signed so quickly that we never really talked about what kind of band we wanted to be". Drummer Rich Mitchell had previously stated that prior to recording their debut album, the band were holed up in the studio and "said we're going to get this right before we go out playing any gigs. I know a lot of bands go out there and play as many gigs as they can but we wanted to make sure we were happy with everything, that it was perfect. We spent a year in the studio just rehearsing and writing ". Bowman also later added that he believed the band's debut album "wasn't inventive enough" and was "emotionally full but unsubtle and unsurprising". In January 2012, the band recorded their second album in
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with producer Tom Biller. However, the band were dropped by Universal shortly after completion and the band later revealed that the label didn't want to fund the recording and tried to withdraw the band's advance to record the album five days before the band were set to fly to Los Angeles to record. In June 2012, now unsigned and having seemingly scrapped much of the previously premiered new material, the band posted new single 'Sleep Alone' on
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, along with forthcoming album tracks 'Scared', 'Good Together' and 'Jenny Baby' which saw the band develop their new synth based pop sound further. The songs featured electronic drums, no electric guitar and minimal bass. On 29 October 2012 it was confirmed that the band had signed to Ignition Records, a label newly set up by
Ignition Management Ignition Management is a London-based music management company run by partners Marcus Russell & Alec McKinlay. Ignition Management was formed in late 1983 by Welshman Marcus Russell, who at the time managed London based band Latin Quarter, who bec ...
co-owner Alec McKinlay. The band released the first single proper, title track 'Good Together', from their second album on 20 January 2013. On 7 May the band streamed the new album 'Good Together' via nme.com, with Bowman proclaiming "Forgive us while we purge the CC fanbase of dopamine-soaked post-punk nostalgists. Back to normal service shortly." The band's long delayed album was released 3 June. Bowman later stated that the change in sound was a "deliberate attempt to say, OK everyone said we were this and we were that, but we were only that because we hadn't really thought about what we wanted to be, so let's try and do something fresh and playful and adventurous and different". Hibbert admitted that the band's debut album not selling as well as they'd hoped "was actually kind of freeing, it meant that this sound hasn't been massively successful for us and a lot of people had written us off with some negative feelings around the band when we were touring the album towards the end, but I think we started to realise that we were in a good position to change our sound". In August 2013, Alex Parry dismissed negative reactions to the new material, claiming that there was "a clear divide between the more progressive minded and the fans that wanted a repeat of the first album. There has been a backlash I guess, but it's been pretty easy to ignore". Despite claiming to be working on new material in September 2013 and describing it as "very soul and RnB and hiphop; loops and samples and my vocals all sound like
George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...
'Older' era", it had previously been rumoured that the band were set to split imminently and the band announced their split on 17 October 2013 onstage at the intimate 100 capacity
St Pancras Old Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in Somers Town, Central London. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, and is believed by many to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England. The church i ...
, London. When the band announced the gig on 30 August as a "super special, one off show", they commented that they were "very excited about this one, and it could get emotional".


Post-split

On 20 October 2013, Lewis Bowman uploaded new material to
SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
under the name 'Gratitude', describing the material as "lo-fi love songs 4 the dazed & downhearted" and "midnight folk for midnight folk". On 2 November 2013, Bowman posted on Twitter "now that the whole affair is over & done with, I have listened to Palace and can actually confirm it's pretty good. Sorry for hating on it". Seemingly abandoning the music industry, Bowman now works as a
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for companies such as
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,
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and dunhill. Although the band's statement confirming their split suggested they would all continue producing music, as of April 2018 no band member has so far released new material commercially nor performed live.


Members

*Lewis James Bowman - vocals (born 1981 in
Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
,
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 ...
) *Michael Eran Hibbert - keyboards/guitar (born 1982 in
Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...
,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
) *Liam Carl Arklie - bass (born 1989 in
Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
,
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
) *Alexander David Parry - keyboards/guitar (born 1988 in
Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...
,
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
) *Richard Paul Mitchell - drums (born 1985 in
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
).


Discography


Studio albums


Singles


Promotional singles

Notes: * – The single was released in April as part of ''Record Store Day'' and as such was limited in copies. * – The single was released as a free
download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...
from their website to promote the release of ''Palace''.


References


External links


Chapel Club official website

NME.com video interview with Lewis Bowman

God Is In The TV Zine Interview with Lewis Bowman

Summerwell.ro
{{Authority control English indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 Musical groups from London Ignition Records artists Polydor Records artists