The Rakes were an English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

formed in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

in 2003. Their first album ''

Capture/Release ''Capture/Release'' is the debut album by The Rakes, released on 15 August 2005. The album peaked at number 32 on the UK. '' NME'' named it the 13th best album of 2005 and it received a generally positive critical response. It was released in ...

'' released in 2005, received a nine out of ten review in the ''NME'' and was rated 13th best album of the year in the same paper. The band cited in their influences

the Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval ...

, Siouxsie and the Banshees and

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

. The band disbanded in October 2009, after six years.

History

The Rakes formed in 2002. Their debut album, ''

'', spawned the singles "22 Grand Job", "Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep)", and "Retreat". Several of their singles appeared in the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

of 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 ...

and ''Capture/Release'' reached No. 32 in the

UK Albums Chart 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 ...

.Everyhit.com - accessed April 2009
/ref> The final single release from ''Capture/Release'', "All Too Human", was released in the UK on 27 February 2006 and reached their best chart position (No. 22). The Rakes' second album, '' Ten New Messages'', was released by

V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to IASin 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from ...

on 19 March 2007. This album was produced by Jim Abiss (who has also worked with

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, ...

Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

and

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karl ...

) and Brendan Lynch (who has worked with Primal Scream). It was recorded in

Mayfair Studios Mayfair Recording Studios, earlier called Spot Studios or Ryemuse Studios, was a recording studio in London, England, located in Mayfair from the 1960s to 1981, then in Primrose Hill from 1981 until it closed in 2008. In the early years the studio ...

in London during the autumn of 2006. The band's third album, '' Klang'', was recorded at

Karl-Marx-Allee Karl-Marx-Allee ( en, Karl Marx Alley) is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx. It should not be confused with the ''Karl-Mar ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in a studio that was the former

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

government's centre for radio broadcasts. The Rakes supported

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fr ...

on their ''You Could Have It So Much Better...'' tour during the winter of 2005. They toured the UK throughout January and February 2006, supported by White Rose Movement,

Duels A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and lat ...

Young Knives Young Knives are an English indie rock band from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. The name is based on a misunderstanding of "young knaves", which was found by the band when rummaging through a book. The band was originally named Simple Past ...

Switches In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

and

Klaxons Klaxons were an English rock band, based in London. Following the release of several 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles " Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut ...

. They also completed their first tour of the UK since the release of ''Ten New Messages'', including their biggest headline concert, a sold out show at

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

. On 22 October 2009, The Rakes announced that the band was to split with immediate effect: "The Rakes have always been very adamant and proud of the fact that we give 100% to every gig we've ever played. If we can't give it everything then we won't do it. That was the rule we set ourselves from day one". In 2015 lead singer Alan Donohoe told ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' "Being in The Rakes was an insane rollercoaster, but singing the same songs for seven years got boring in the end. And if you're doing something just because you can't imagine an alternative then you're not really living." Drummer Lasse Petersen has since joined

Wolf Gang Wolf Gang was a British alternative and symphonic rock band with Max McElligott as lead vocalist. Having played with different musicians, McElligott settled on a live set up in late 2009 which included Lasse Petersen (drums) previously of The R ...

. Donohoe started a new solo project titled The Champagne Campaign and released the video for single ''Denis and Margaret'' in April 2013 before releasing the single for digital download on 13 May. However, the official website and Twitter account for The Champagne Campaign has since been taken down and the future of the project is uncertain. As of September 2015, Donohoe works for a Brighton-based company as a software developer.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (2005) * '' Ten New Messages'' (2007) * '' Klang'' (2009)

EPs

* ''Retreat'' (2005)

References

External links

The Rakes interview on CCFirst listen to The Rakes - 1989PopMatters interview (November 2005)The Rakes Fuel TV interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rakes, The English indie rock groups Musical groups from London Post-punk revival music groups Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 V2 Records artists Dim Mak Records artists