Bond (band)
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Bond (stylised as BOND; formerly often typeset as bond in deference to the owners of the 007 trademark) is an Australian/British
string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...
that specialises in
classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to Musical composition, musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience, audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record chart, record charts, which tr ...
and
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...
music. The quartet has sold five million albums.


Creation

Bond was formed following initial conversations between Vanessa-Mae composer and record producer Mike Batt and her manager, promoter Mel Bush, after Batt suggested to Bush that the two of them should put together a quartet consisting of "four beautiful, talented musicians" Auditions were held at Baden Powell House in London, and violinist (Eos) and Cellist (Gay Yee) and a viola player were "cast" at that point, using as an audition piece "Contradanza" that Batt had written for Vanessa Mae. It was agreed between them that all was then required was to find the ideal first violinist.Mike Batt's Official Website: Bond – String Quartet
Accessed 23 March 2009
Some time later, Bush pushed ahead without Batt, recruiting Batt's former engineer Gareth Cousins. This resulted in an initial four recordings the band made, leading to Bond being signed by Decca. Three of those original recordings, "Duel", " The 1812" and "Dalalai", were the backbone of the first album, '' Born'', with producer Magnus Fiennes providing additional tracks and Mike Batt adding a re-arrangement and remix of "
Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...
", which became the first single. The quartet currently consists of Tania Davis (first violin, formerly viola, from
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
), Eos Counsell (second violin, from
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, Wales), Elspeth Hanson ( viola, from Upper Basildon, England) and Gay-Yee Westerhoff (cello, from Hull, England). Hanson replaced original band member Haylie Ecker (formerly first violin and from
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Australia), who left in 2008 to have a child.


Genre and success

Their début album '' Born'' was removed from the UK classical chart, apparently owing to its "sounding too much like pop music". ''Born'' later rose to #1 on 21 charts around the world. '' Shine'', their second album, went gold in six countries. ''Remixed'' featured remixes from their first two albums as well as three new pieces. Their third studio album '' Classified'' went double platinum in Australia, reaching the number one spot on both the classical and pop charts. '' Explosive: The Best of Bond'' is a " Best of" that, again, included three unreleased pieces.


Appearances and recent work

The quartet spent much of 2003 touring, particularly throughout Asia, and participating in the Miss Universe 2003 held in
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, Panama. They also fitted in performing and filming a TV commercial for American department store chain Marshall Field's and made a commercial in Los Angeles for the Japanese karaoke manufacturer Daiichi Kosho. The group made their movie debut playing themselves in a scene in Rowan Atkinson's James Bond spoof '' Johnny English'' for which they also contributed the track "Kismet" (composed by Westerhoff) and played on the Main Theme. They also appeared as themselves in the film '' XXX: State of the Union'', performing "Victory". The classical violinist André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra performed live on
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...
in
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in a set that includes many Strauss favorites, as well as an appearance from Bond performing "Victory". In 2009,
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...
commissioned Bond to record
Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...
's " Four Seasons" to advertise the 308CC. All four members of the band helped arrange these tracks. The tracks were available for download from Peugeot's website free of charge, with "Summer" and "Winter" also appearing on Bond's album ''Play''. In an interview with the ''
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'', Davis revealed that Bond were currently working on their next studio album. She also noted that the next album would have Gypsy, folk, and Eastern European influences. In late 2010 the band started to perform new material from their new album ''Play'' at concerts in Mexico, including the new single "Diablo". Songs on the album include their first single, titled "Diablo". It is characterized by an up-tempo beat, and features Bond's own Eos Counsell as vocalist in the song. The string quartet also showcases Jai Ho, a huge hit from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. The album also features a few more recognizable hits, such as the song "Pump It", a version of the Dick Dale and His Del Tones' hit song " Miserlou", featured in the opening credits of '' Pulp Fiction''. The song "Last Time" is an interpretation of the song Bitter Sweet Symphony by the band
The Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Sim ...
. Members of Bond have also written their own tracks on the album. Gay-Yee Westerhoff wrote the song "Beatroot", which is strongly Russian influenced (noticeable by a clarinet improvising over the strings). According to the band's webpage, the group recorded a medley of
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
hits at the request of its Japanese label. The Lady Gaga medley was available initially by phone download and was released digitally, soon after, as part of a special Japanese album release. Bond also performed " I Am the Walrus" alongside Russell Brand at the 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony. They returned to the Olympic Stadium in London in July 2013 to perform at The National Lottery Anniversary Run event. A team consisting of the 4 remaining members of Bond, and composer David Arnold (according to the BBC, including because he has composed music for
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
movies), competed in and won an episode of '' Celebrity Eggheads'' first aired on BBC2 on Thursday 1 June 2017, winning a £20,000 prize for charity as a result. Bond performed the Australian National Anthem at the Australia versus New Zealand match of the 2013 Rugby Championship in Sydney, 17 August. Bond performed "Married Life" from '' Up'' alongside the Cinematic Sinfonia at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
as part of '' Michael Giacchino At 50: A Birthday Gala Celebration'' on 20 October 2017.


Personnel


Current members

* Tania Davis – viola (2000–2008), first
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
(2008–present) * Eos Counsell (née Chater) – second violin (2000–present) * Elspeth Hanson – viola (2008–present) * Gay-Yee Westerhoff –
cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
(2000–present)


Former members

* Haylie Ecker – first violin (2000–2008)


Discography


Studio albums

*'' Born'' (2000) *'' Shine'' (2002) *'' Classified'' (2004) *''
Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...
'' (2011)


Compilations

*''Remixed'' (2003) *'' Explosive: The Best of Bond'' (2005)


EPs

*''The Collection'' (2020)


Promotional records

* ''Raymond Weil'' (2001) * ''Fab Field's Mix'' (2003)


Soundtracks

* '' Johnny English''


Singles

* "Victory" * "Wintersun" * "Viva!/Wintersun" * "Shine" * "Fuego" * "Speed" * "Atlanta/Time" * "Viva!/Victory" * "Explosive/Adagio for Strings" * " Fly Robin Fly" * "I Can't Wait" (2019) * "Panthera" (2019) * "Zadok the Priestess" (2020) * "Come Home" (2020) * "Artemis" (2020) * "Alone" (2020) * "Experience" by Ludovico Einaudi (2021) * "Cease and Desist" (2021) * "Rise of the Phoenix" (2022) * "Me and You" (2023)


DVDs

* ''Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' * ''Bond: Video Clip Collection''


Image gallery

File:Tania Davis - Metrocentre 2009.jpg, Tania Davis in 2009. File:Eos Chater - Metrocentre 2009.jpg, Eos Counsell in 2009. File:Elspeth Hanson - Metrocentre 2009.jpg, Elspeth Hanson in 2009. File:Gay-Yee Westerhoff - Metrocentre 2009.jpg, Gay-Yee Westerhoff in 2009.


References


External links


Official website


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bond All-female classical bands Australian all-female bands Australian string quartets British string quartets British synth-pop groups English all-female bands English women in electronic music Musical groups established in 2000