Cousteau are a London-based band who enjoyed considerable international success, particularly in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and the

U.S. 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 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

from 1999 to 2005. The band's sound has been compared to

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...

, Scott Walker and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

with an updated contemporary edge."MUSIC; Deeper Into the Oceanic Imagery"
''The New York Times'', 30 June 2002. Their best known song remains the single "The Last Good Day of the Year", from their eponymous debut album. It has featured in advertisements (such as those for

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

in the

United States 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 Borsci in Italy),

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s (such as '' Happily Ever After'', with Charlotte Gainsbourg, winner of the Special Selection category at the

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

2005, and ''

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

'' with

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public scho ...

) and documentaries and television programmes around the world. It also enjoyed radio play on both

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 Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

and

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 ...

in the UK, later becoming a staple of the NPR and AAA networks in the US. Most recently being 2022'
Atlanta

History

The initial release of the debut eponymous album was 'home-made' and included many demos turned down by various major labels. 3,000 copies of the album were pressed by indie label Global Warming. The album sold out after receiving rave reviews, including a 5-star review in '' Uncut'' magazine, and recommended album Time Out London. When the band signed to Chris Blackwell's Palm Pictures label a decision was made to re-record the majority of the album (two tracks, including 'Last Good Day of the Year', were not changed). On re-release in 2000, the album wa
Album Of The Week in The Guardian
in the UK, and went on to sell more than 300,000 copies internationally. The album remains at #23 i
Uncut's Highest Rating Albums of All Time
The band achieved gold-record status in Europe after years of consistent touring and promotion, including tours supporting

The Dandy Warhols The Dandy Warhols are an American psychedelic rock, psychedelic/ band, formed in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia Mc ...

, David Gray, and

Goldfrapp Goldfrapp were an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consisted of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser). Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, thei ...

. Notably the band sold out iconic The Troubadour in Los Angeles, headlining on three separate occasions during the period 2001-2003. Fans of the band include Heath Ledger, Radiohead and David Byrne; Byrne attending two New York shows in 2002 and 2003. In 2002 the second album, ''Sirena'', was released; the version released in the US included a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

with videos and unreleased live songs. This album sold over 90,000 copies, and contains the singles 'Talking to Myself' and '(Damn These) Hungry Times'. ''Sirena'' was met with critical acclaim from the likes of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' and ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', and most notably a 2-page colour feature in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. In 2005 ''Sirena'' was awarded Classic Album status in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

''. The band's line-up changed when songwriter/producer Davey Ray Moor left to pursue production jobs in Italy, such as the No. 4 album ''Dove Sei Tu'' for Cristina Dona, a solo album 'Telepathy', released in Europe in the USA (included in Republica's Critics Top 100, 2004) and television & documentary soundtracks. Songwriting duties were taken on by main singer Liam McKahey, and after a change in record companies, the group returned in 2005 with the album ''Nova Scotia'', produced by U2's engineer Ger McDonnel.Cousteau
Piranha PR."Cousteau Borderline, London"
''The Guardian'', 24 March 2005. Lead singer Liam McKahey released a solo album in 2009 as 'Liam McKahey and the Bodies' entitled ''Lonely Road'', and 2014 saw the release of a second album entitled 'Black Vinyl Heart'. Meanwhile, the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

network in the US continues to license Cousteau's earlier work, with their song 'Mesmer' appearing in a feature about Heidi Fleiss, and 'The Last Good Day of The Year' in the HBO film ''Tell Me You Love Me''. Reboot In 2016 it was announced that Liam McKahey and Davey Ray Moor were back in the recording studio and returning as CousteauX. To avoid legal complications with the litigious Cousteau Society, and to honour the new era, the band placed an X at the end of their name; Cousteaux being another popular French family name. The new CousteauX began with a sold-out debut at The Blue Note in Milan in May 2016. A new album (CousteauX) was released in September 2017 on Silent X Records to consistent international critical acclaim, includin
Album of The Year in Music Republic Magazine
The duo, augmented by Italian Musicians Lorenzo Corti, Marco Ferrara and Massimo Lorenzon performed gigs in the UK, Portugal and Italy including a sold-out night at the legendary 100 Club in London. The latest album, ''Stray Gods'', was released in August 2020, and the video 'When The Bloom Has Left The Rose' won dozens of international awards including Best Music Video at the 2020 London Independent Film Festival. 2022 sa
Last Good Day of The Year sync'd with the hit US series Atlanta
Their music continues to be played internationally on radio, television and film; testament to the timeless nature of these songs and their recordings.

Members

Current

*Liam McKahey – vocals, percussion * Davey Ray Moor – songwriter, producer, vocals, fluglehorn, piano

Former

*Robin Brown – guitars *Joe Peet – bass, vocals, violin *Dan Church – drums on the Global Warming ''Cousteau'' album *Craig Vear – drums and percussion

Temporary

*Dan Moore (ex- Elevator Suite) - keyboards, melodica, backing vocals (replacement for Davey Ray Moore on 2002 US and Europe tours) *Paul Wigens (ex- Grand Drive) - drums (replacement for Craig Vear on 2005 UK and Italy tours) *Chloe March - keyboards (replacement for Davey Ray Moor on 2005 UK and Italy tours)

Discography

Albums

*''Cousteau'' – 1999, Global Warming Ltd (GLOB CD 5) *''Cousteau'' (reissue) – 2000, Palm Pictures Ltd (PALMCD 2058-2) *''Sirena'' – 2002, Palm Pictures Ltd (PALMCD 2083-2) *''Nova Scotia'' – 2005, Endeavur *''CousteauX'' – 2017, Silent X Records *''Stray Gods'' – 2021, Silent X Records

Singles (CD)

*"The Last Good Day Of The Year" 1999, Global Warming Ltd (WARM CD 6)
''The Last Good Day Of The Year (radio mix) / Captain Swing / Love In The Meantime / The Last Good Day Of The Year (album mix)'' *"She Don't Hear Your Prayer" 2000, Palm Pictures Ltd (PPCD 7032-2)
''She Don't Hear Your Prayer / Lovers In A Loveless Place (Babyman Remix) / Late September Rain'' *"The Last Good Day Of The Year" 2000, Palm Pictures Ltd (PPCD 7043-2)
''The Last Good Day Of The Year / Captain Swing / Rachael Lately'' *"The Last Good Day Of The Year" (US promotional enhanced CD) 2001, Palm Pictures Ltd (PRCD v20581)
''The Last Good Day Of The Year / Mesmer / You My Lunar Queen / The Last Good Day Of The Year (video)'' *"Into The Blue EP" (US promotional EP) 2001, Palm Pictures Ltd (PRCD v20583)
''She Don't Hear Your Prayer (live) / (Shades Of) Ruinous Blue (live) / Jump In The River (live) / Rachael Lately'' *"Into The Blue EP" (Italian promotional EP) 2001, Nun Entertainment/Tutto magazine
''Heavy Weather (album version) / The Last Good Day of the Year (remix by Feel Good Production) / The Last Good Day of the Year (live) / She Don't Hear Your Prayer (live) / (Shades Of) Ruinous Blue (live) / Jump In The River (live)'' *"Wish You Were Her" 2001, Palm Pictures Ltd (PPCD 7049-2)
''Wish You Were Her / To Know Her / The Cuttlefish Walks The Cuttlefish Waltz'' *"Talking To Myself" 2002, Palm Pictures Ltd (PPCD 7074-2)
''Talking To Myself / Short Sighted, Beautiful And Shy / Last Secret Of The Sea'' *"(Damn These) Hungry Times" 2002, Palm Pictures Ltd (PPCD 7089)
''(Damn These) Hungry Times (Bedroom Rockers Remix Radio Edit) / (Damn These) Hungry Times (album version) / Nothing So Bad'' *"Heavy Weather" (Promo) 2002, Naïve / Palm Pictures Ltd (AVI 9012)
''Heavy Weather'' *"Sadness" 2005, Endeavor (602498714133)
''Sadness / Nova Scotia / World Away'' *"CouseauX" (CD-R & 10" vinyl EP) 2016, Edel / Silent X Records (0211206EIT / SNTX001)
''Sally Say You Will / Love Is Not On Trial / Eve Of War / When Saturday Comes / Spoiler'' *"The Innermost Light" (Promo CD-R) 2017, Silent X Records (none)
'' The Innermost Light (Radio Mix)''

Other contributions

*'' WYEP Live and Direct: Volume 4 – On Air Performances'' (2002) – "Last Good Day of the Year" *''KINK LIVE'' (2002) – "Last Good Day of the Year" *''Live @ The World Cafe Tenth Anniversary Edition'' (2001) – "Last Good Day of the Year" *''From the Mountain Music Lounge Volume 9'' (2003) – "Last Good Day of the Year" *''City Folk Live IV'' (2001) – "Last Good Day of the Year" *''DETLIVE Vol 3'' (2002) – "Your Day Will Come" *''Sounds Eclectic Too'' (2002) – "You My Lunar Queen" *'' Sing a Song for You: Tribute to Tim Buckley'' (2002) – "Blue Melody"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cousteau English indie pop groups English pop music groups Palm Pictures artists