Andrew William Burrows (born 30 June 1979) is an English songwriter and musician. He is best known as the

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

for

Razorlight Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Dalem ...

from 2004 until 2009 before rejoining in 2021. He has also served as the drummer for

We Are Scientists We Are Scientists is a New York City-based rock music, rock band that formed in Berkeley, California, in 1999. It consists primarily of guitarist and vocalist Keith Murray and bass guitarist Chris Cain, with drummer Keith Carne joining the band ...

from 2009 to 2014. After he left Razorlight in 2009, Burrows went on to enjoy success as a solo artist and a soundtrack composer.

Biography

Early life

Burrows was born on 30 June 1979 in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and he was educated at The Westgate School. He stated that the first albums he bought were ''

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored trolley ...

'' by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

and a compilation album titled ''

Ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

'' by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. The first instrument he played was the

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

and he later transitioned into drumming.

Razorlight (2004–2009;2021-present)

Burrows joined the band in May 2004. He was discovered in open

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece gi ...

to replace the original drummer for the band, who left in early 2004. After he joined Razorlight, the group released three albums, '' Up All Night'' which reached No. 3 in 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 ...

; ''

'' which debuted at No. 1 in the UK

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

and Slipway Fires which debuted at No. 4. His first performance with Razorlight was at London's Bull and Gate on 25 May 2004 – about a month before ''Up All Night'' was released. Burrows was seen as a key figure in shaping Razorlight's sound and songs, having co-

written Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

the

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

" and " Before I Fall to Pieces", and more recently from the album '' Slipway Fires'' – " Hostage of Love", "Burbery Blue Eyes", "60 Thompson" and "

Stinger A stinger (or sting) is a sharp organ found in various animals (typically insects and other arthropods) capable of injecting venom, usually by piercing the epidermis of another animal. An insect sting is complicated by its introduction of ve ...

" with Johnny Borrell. On 5 March 2009, Burrows left Razorlight with immediate effect, after playing for five years with the band. Burrows explained that there were "personal reasons" for the split. In May 2021, it was announced that Burrows had rejoined Razorlight after 12 years alongside Johnny Borrell, Björn Ågren and Carl Dalemo (who rejoined the same time as Burrows). The band went on to tour across UK and EU festivals before starting work on the fifth Razorlight album.

We Are Scientists (2009–2014)

After Burrows left Razorlight, he almost immediately joined

. His first album with the band '' Barbara'' was released in June 2010. The band's fifth studio album and Burrows' second with them, ''

TV en Français Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

'' was released in March 2014. Burrows left the band in 2014, but has occasionally teamed up with them for live performances since his departure.

Solo and Collaborative work (2008–present)

Burrows first released a solo album, '' The Colour of My Dreams'', on 26 May 2008. The album was released to raise awareness and funds for the "Jack's Place" Appeal at Naomi House, a

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

for children in his home town of Winchester. ''The Colour of My Dreams'' was written and recorded at home by Burrows during

downtime, after he stumbled across a book of poems by an old family friend, Peter Dixon, and set about putting them to music. Using just

GarageBand GarageBand is a software application by Apple Inc., Apple for macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devices that allows users to create music or Podcast, podcasts. It is a lighter, amateur-oriented offshoot of Logic Pro. GarageBand was originally released for ...

he began work in his flat and sings and plays all the instruments on the record. Eleven days after he left Razorlight, it was revealed that Burrows had signed to

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, the same

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

as his ex-band. Six months later Burrows' new solo moniker I Am Arrows played their first show. Burrows revealed that he was working with

Noah and the Whale Noah and the Whale were a British indie rock and folk band from Twickenham, formed in 2006 and dissolved in 2015. The band's last line-up consisted of Charlie Fink (Singing, vocals, guitar), Tom Hobden (violin/Keyboard instrument, keyboards), M ...

producer Eliot James and the album '' Sun Comes Up Again'' was released in August 2010 and reached No. 38 in the

. The song "Nice Try" from the album features in the film '' Friends with Benefits''.

Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, 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, organization, a ...

frontman Tom Smith teamed up with Burrows to form Smith & Burrows – they released their debut album '' Funny Looking Angels'' in November 2011, an album of winter songs featuring the single "When the Thames Froze". Burrows would drop his I Am Arrows moniker for his next solo album ''

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

'', which was released on 22 October 2012, and received critical acclaim. All singles from the album were put on the A-List on the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

playlist. Burrows would also spend time working with Columbia recording artist,

Tom Odell Thomas Peter Odell (born 24 November 1990) is an English singer-songwriter. He released his debut extended play, ''Songs from Another Love'', in 2012. He won the 2013 BRIT Awards, BRITs Critics' Choice Award in early 2013. Odell's debut studio ...

, contributing drums and backing vocals to both the '' Wrong Crowd'' and ''Jubilee Road'' albums. He co-wrote "Sirens" from Odell's debut album, ''Long Way Down'', "Here I Am" from ''Wrong Crowd'', and the title track of ''Jubilee Road''. In 2018, he collaborated with the British author

Matt Haig Matt Haig (born 3 July 1975) is an English author and journalist. He has written both fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults, often in the speculative fiction genre. Early life Haig was born on 3 July 1975 in Sheffield. He grew ...

for the album ''Reasons To Stay Alive''. The songs were composed by Burrows while Haig composed the lyrics for his songs. In August 2018, the title track of the album was released. The album was released by Fiction Records on 1 February 2019, featuring further singles, "Handle With Care" and "Barcelona".

Soundtrack work (2011–present)

Burrows played drums on the ''

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

'' soundtrack produced by

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

One of the songs is currently the theme tune to the ITV chat show, '' The Jonathan Ross Show''. His drumming also features on the

Ilan Eshkeri Ilan Eshkeri (born 7 April 1977) is a British composer known for his concert music, films scores and artist collaborations. Early life Eshkeri was born in London. During his childhood, he learned to play the violin and guitar. Eshkeri attend ...

soundtrack to '' Johnny English Reborn''. In 2012, Burrows was approached by the production company Lupus Films to work on '' The Snowman and The Snowdog'', the follow-up to the 1982 classic animated film ''

The Snowman ''The Snowman'' is a 1982 British animated television film and symphonic poem based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book '' The Snowman.'' It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an ...

''. Collaborating with Eshkeri, Burrows co-wrote the soundtrack to the new film as well as writing and performing the official single from the film, "Light the Night". The flying-home sequence also uses an orchestral version of Burrows' track "Hometown" from his solo album ''Company''. The score was nominated for a BAFTA craft award in April 2013. In early 2015, Burrows featured on a re-recording of Kate Miller-Heidke's song "Share Your Air", replacing the vocals of

Passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

. In November 2013, it was announced Burrows would join

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...

' comedy band Foregone Conclusion, for a nominal period of time as musical director. Before the close of that year the Burrows played three shows as MD and drummer of the band. The soundtrack of the film based on the band, '' David Brent: Life on the Road'' was co-produced by Burrows and Gervais and released via Gervais' own label Juxtaposition, distributed through Caroline International/Universal. Burrows composed the soundtrack for

' 2019 TV series, '' After Life''.

Personal life

Burrows resides in

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen ...

with his wife and his two daughters, Chloe and Joni. He has maintained a good friendship with the lead vocalist of

, Tom Smith, who has collaborated with Burrows on '' Funny Looking Angels'' and within Burrows' solo discography. The two met at Glastonbury Festival in 2005 through Burrows' friendship with Smith's girlfriend Edith Bowman.

Discography

;Razorlight * ''

'' (2006) * '' Slipway Fires'' (2008) * '' Planet Nowhere'' (2024) ;We Are Scientists * '' Barbara'' (2010) * ''

'' (2014) ;Foregone Conclusion * '' Life on the Road'' (2016) ;Solo albums * '' The Colour of My Dreams'' (2008) * '' Sun Comes Up Again'' (2010) (as I Am Arrows) * ''

'' (2012) * '' Fall Together Again'' (2014) * ''Reasons to Stay Alive'' (2019) ;Collaborations *'' Funny Looking Angels'' (2011) (as

Smith Smith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England ** List of people ...

& Burrows) * '' The Snowman and the Snowdog'' (2012) *'' Only Smith & Burrows Is Good Enough'' (2021) (as Smith & Burrows)

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Andy 1979 births Living people People educated at Peter Symonds College English rock drummers British male drummers English male songwriters English multi-instrumentalists English film score composers English male film score composers English television composers Musicians from Winchester Razorlight members PIAS Recordings artists 21st-century British drummers 21st-century British male singers The Chavs members