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Maxïmo Park are an English
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band formed in 2000 in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
. The band currently consists of Paul Smith (lead vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals), and Tom English (drums). The band have released eight studio albums: '' A Certain Trigger'' (2005), '' Our Earthly Pleasures'' (2007), '' Quicken the Heart'' (2009), '' The National Health'' (2012), '' Too Much Information'' (2014), '' Risk to Exist'' (2017), '' Nature Always Wins'' (2021), and ''Stream of Life'' (2024). The first two albums went gold in the UK, and their debut was nominated for the
Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
.


History


Formation and early releases (2000–2003)

The band was created by guitarist Duncan Lloyd and is named after Máximo Gómez Park (also known as Domino Park), located in
Little Havana Little Havana () is a Neighborhoods in Miami, neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the Capital (political), ...
,
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. Initially, the four founding members played several small shows including Manchester's ''In the City'', which showcases unsigned bands in the UK. In 2003, the band decided they wanted a frontman as the original singers, Archis and Duncan, wanted to focus on writing the songs. The then-girlfriend of the drummer Tom English noticed his friend Paul Smith singing along to
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
's "
Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...
". When Smith was found, the band did not know if he could sing: "When he first joined we didn't know if he could; just that he was a lunatic jumping around in a suit, it felt like the last piece of the jigsaw". With Smith joining the band gave him demos of their songs and from then on they started writing as a unit.


''A Certain Trigger'' (2004–2005)

Around March 2004, a friend funded 300 copies of a 7" red vinyl single ("
Graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
" / " Going Missing") which was recorded by Duncan Lloyd in his and Thomas English's flat in Fenham, Newcastle. The band's second release was a 7" single of their songs " The Coast Is Always Changing" and " The Night I Lost My Head", recorded by Paul Epworth. After some time of doing gigs around their home town, Steve Beckett of the dance-electronic label
Warp Records Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...
acquired one of these records and decided to sign the band to his label after also seeing the band perform at the Notting Hill Arts Club hosted by
Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...
founder Alan McGee. In 2005, Maxïmo Park released their first album, '' A Certain Trigger'', which sold over 300,000 copies and was nominated for the
Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
in July 2005. In July, Maxïmo Park had the honour of being the first band to play the Ibiza Rocks festival on its opening event. In December 2006, the band were brought to Shanghai by Split Works and were one of the earlier big-name acts from abroad to play in China.


''Our Earthly Pleasures'' (2006–2007)

In August 2006, the band announced that they had started work on their next album, which was produced by
Gil Norton Gil Norton (born in Liverpool) is an English record producer known for his work with alternative rock bands such as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, the Distillers, Maxïm ...
and recorded at Rak Studios in
St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...
in London. On 22 January 2007, the band announced that their second album, '' Our Earthly Pleasures'', would be released on 2 April 2007, preceded by the album's lead single, "Our Velocity", on 19 March 2007. On 30 January 2007, the band released details of a tour to promote ''Our Earthly Pleasures'', the tickets of which sold out within minutes of their release on 2 February 2007.


''Quicken the Heart'' (2008–2010)

In October 2008, the band announced that they had started recording their third album in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
with the producer
Nick Launay Nicolas Launay (born 5 March 1960) is an English record producer, composer and recording engineer, currently residing in Los Angeles, CA. He is one of the most sought after record producers in the world due to his success with recent albums b ...
, known for his recent work with
Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...
and Grinderman. The full track list of the album was announced on 11 March 2009. '' Quicken the Heart'' was released on 11 May, with the first single, " The Kids Are Sick Again" being released a week earlier. Tickets for a tour taking place in May 2009 sold out in record time . In 2010, they performed a new song called "Banlieue", which ended up on their next album, ''The National Health''. Their 2011 tour also had "Banlieue" in the set list, as well as another song which was to be on ''The National Health'', "Waves of Fear".


''The National Health'' (2011–2012)

On 28 March 2012, Maxïmo Park announced the fourth album title as '' The National Health''. Smith said, "We're in a global recession and everyone is being bombarded with bouncy, happy music. The nation is out of control and the record is about taking back control, and being a force for change in your own life. It can't speak for everybody but it has its eyes and ears all around us… that's always been a Maxïmo Park thing: look at yourself." The album was released on 11 June 2012. In September 2012, it was announced that the bass guitarist Archis Tiku would be taking time away from touring, to be covered by Paul Rafferty of Hot Club de Paris.


''Too Much Information'' (2013–2014)

On 15 November 2013, Maxïmo Park announced the forthcoming release of their fifth album. Titled '' Too Much Information'', the album was released on 3 February 2014. Of the album, Smith said, "Our lyrics and our music will never be too-cool-for-school - we are an emotional band even if it might be too much information for some." The album was recorded by Duncan Lloyd and produced by the band, with additional production by The Invisible's Dave Okumu on the track Brain Cells. Recording originally started as an EP of 5 tracks in Sunderland, with help from Field Music's David and Peter Brewis, before turning into a fully formed album with the extra tracks recorded in the band's studio in Newcastle.


''Risk to Exist'' and Tiku and Wooller's departures (2016–2019)

On 20 January 2017, Maxïmo Park announced their sixth album '' Risk to Exist'' via their website, following the debut of the title track and first single the night before on BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq Show. The band confirmed via
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that bassist Archis Tiku, who had not performed with the band live since the end of the ''Quicken the Heart'' tour, had officially retired. His live replacement, Paul Rafferty, was confirmed to be the session bassist on ''Risk to Exist'', although he is not an official member of the band. In November 2018, keyboardist Lukas Wooller announced his imminent departure from the band in order to emigrate to Australia and start a family there. His final show took place on 10 January 2019 at
Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the Leeds city centre, city centre and Hea ...
. He was replaced by touring keyboardist Jemma Freese, converting the official line-up of the band into a trio. Shortly after Wooller's departure, the band released a new live studio session as a CD/DVD package, entitled '' As Long As We Keep Moving''.


''Nature Always Wins'' and ''Stream of Life'' (2020–present)

In September 2020, the band shared a new single, "Child of the Flatlands." A month later, the band released "Baby, Sleep" and announced their seventh album, '' Nature Always Wins''. On 27 November 2020 the band released the album's third single, "I Don't Know What I'm Doing." The album was released worldwide on 26 February 2021, and was expected to become their first number one album in the United Kingdom after debuting in that position in the midweek chart. However, when the chart was announced on 5 March 2021, the band had debuted at number two on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, with 549 sales separating them from the number-one album that week:
Architects An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
' ''
For Those That Wish to Exist ''For Those That Wish to Exist'' is the ninth studio album by British metalcore band Architects. It was released on 26 February 2021 through Epitaph Records. The album was produced by Dan Searle and Josh Middleton. Composition Style and themes ...
''. The band released their eighth studio album, ''Stream of Life'', in September of 2024. Four singles were released in the lead-up: "Favourite Songs", "Your Own Worst Enemy", "The End Can Be As Good As The Start" and "Quiz Show Clue".


Other contributions

In 2007, the band contributed their song "Wasteland" to '' Help!: A Day in the Life''. In 2009, they contributed a cover version of a Vincent Gallo song to the '' Warp20 (Recreated)'' compilation, as well as having their own song "Acrobat" covered by Seefeel.


Band members


Current members

*Tom English – drums (2000–present) * Duncan Lloyd – guitar (2000–present), backing vocals (2003–present), keyboards, piano (2019–present; in studio), bass (2020–present; in studio), lead vocals (2000–2003) * Paul Smith – lead vocals (2003–present)


Current touring musicians

*Jemma Freese – keyboards, piano, backing vocals (2019–present) *Andrew Lowther – bass guitar (2021, 2022–present)


Former members

*Archis Tiku – bass guitar (2000–2014), lead vocals (2000–2003) *Lukas Wooller – keyboards, piano, backing vocals (2000–2019) *Paul Rafferty – bass guitar (2012–2020; session/touring musician) *Katy Trigger – bass guitar (2021; touring musician)


Timeline


Discography

;Studio albums: * '' A Certain Trigger'' (2005) * '' Our Earthly Pleasures'' (2007) * '' Quicken the Heart'' (2009) * '' The National Health'' (2012) * '' Too Much Information'' (2014) * '' Risk to Exist'' (2017) * '' Nature Always Wins'' (2021) * ''Stream of Life'' (2024)


References


External links

*
- Live review of Maximo Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maximo Park English indie rock groups English alternative rock groups English post-punk music groups English post-punk revival music groups Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups from Newcastle upon Tyne Warp (record label) artists V2 Records artists Cooking Vinyl artists Vertigo Records artists