Shy and The Fight were a seven-piece

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

acoustic folk /

indie rock Indie rock is a 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 music they produc ...

band from

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Bea ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and Chester,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The band included Tom Hyndman (

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 strin ...

, lead vocals), Carrie Anderson (

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

, backing vocals), Christopher Done ( bass, backing vocals), Michael Deponeo (

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

, vocals), Tom Wootton ( drums), Samuel Williams ( drums) and Jackson Almond (

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 keybo ...

, banjo). The band have released two EPs, ''Shy and the Fight'' (2010), and ''First the Bird Fell'' (2014) plus one 7" vinyl single, "All That We See or Seem" / "Breaks" (Popty Ping, 2012). The group disbanded in 2014.

History

The band formed following Tom Hyndman's departure from Out From Animals / Scams, following Scams' performance at SXSW in 2010. Initially they were a 6-piece, with the later addition of Williams on drums. A first EP, a limited CD pressing titled ''Shy and the Fight'' at the tail end of 2010, sold out. The EP came to the attention of BBC Radio Wales's

Adam Walton Adam Walton (born 31 May 1971) is a British radio disc jockey who has presented shows on BBC Radio Wales since 1993. He is also a member of Mold-based, indie band The Immediate, and a resident DJ at Telford's Warehouse in Chester. Adam has ...

, who quickly playlisted the band for his show. A booking for the Stop Making Sense festival 2010 in Croatia soon followed. They cited their influences as Sufjan Stevens,

Frank Turner Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981), is an English punk and folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based sol ...

, Elliott Smith, Villagers,

The Delgados The Delgados are a Scottish indie rock band formed in Glasgow in 1994. The band is composed of Alun Woodward (vocals, guitar), Emma Pollock (vocals, guitar), Stewart Henderson (bass guitar), and Paul Savage (drums). Biography The band was fo ...

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...

and Los Campesinos. April 2011 saw the use of the EP track ''How to Stop an Imploding Man'' as the soundtrack to the Jack Wills controversial Easter 2011 advertising campaign. The campaign was ultimately banned by the Advertising Standards Authority. The track also picked up additional

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

airplay from Jen Long, alongside further national attention from the Welsh media and an appearance at the 2011 Chester Rocks festival. At Adam Walton's request, the band recorded a

BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, ...

session with John Lawrence of

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci Gorky's Zygotic Mynci were a psychedelic folk and alternative rock band which formed in Carmarthen, Wales, in 1991. The group performed music in both Welsh and English, and they had eight Top 75 singles on the UK Singles Chart during their car ...

in early 2011. Following success with the session, Walton placed them in his BBC Wales Music Blog tips for 2012. 2012 saw the completion of a set of recording sessions in Chester with producer Gary Lloyd, the renowned composer and collaborator of

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

on '' Brought to Light''. The band released their debut single "All That We See or Seem" / "Breaks" (produced by Gary Lloyd) on 29 April 2012 via newly formed independent Welsh record label, Popty-Ping. The single was released via limited edition (500 only) orange vinyl 7", attracting acclaimed reviews and further airplay from Radio 1's Jen Long,

, BBC Merseyside's Dave Monks, BBC East Midlands Dean Jackson and

Amazing Radio Amazing Radio is an international radio station first broadcast originally on digital radio in the United Kingdom. The station plays new music from a number of music genres including pop, rock, indie, hip hop, electronica and jazz. The st ...

's Shell Zenner. The band then played shows with

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

, The Daydream Club, Gideon Conn, The Travelling Band and Nile Marr. The first single release was supplemented with appearances at the 2012

Wychwood Festival Wychwood Festival is an annual music festival held at Cheltenham racecourse in Gloucestershire, UK. As well as music, the family-friendly three-day festival includes workshops, comedy, the Children's Literature Festival, and a Headphone Disco. ...

at the request of BBC 6 Music's

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

and at the 2012 Sŵn festival, curated by

Huw Stephens Huw Meredydd Stephens (born 25 May 1981) is a Welsh radio and television presenter, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 6 Music. Stephens founded the Sŵn music festival with John Rostron and the yearly s ...

and John Rostron. The Swn appearance collated reviews in God Is in the TV, Virtual Festivals and others.

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academ ...

gave preview track "Stop Motion" a first play on BBC Radio 2 in November 2012, intended for release on the band's next EP. In July 2014, the band announced their split with the release of their final EP, ''First the Bird Fell''. Some members of the band continue to make music as part of Campfire Social.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

Jack Wills Easter Collection 2011 featuring the band's music
{{Authority control Welsh indie rock groups British folk music groups Musical groups from Cheshire