Delays are an English
indie band formed in
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, which consisted of brothers
Greg Gilbert and Aaron Gilbert, Colin Fox and Rowly until Greg Gilbert's death in 2021. The band's sound combines guitar and synths and featured Greg Gilbert's distinctive
falsetto
Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ...
lead vocals. They have released four
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
s to date, the first three of which made the Top 30 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 ...
.
History
The band were originally formed under the name Corky, citing amongst their influences British bands,
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...
and
The La's
The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single " There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike ...
. The original line-up consisted of Greg Gilbert, drummer Rowly, bassist Colin Fox and guitarist Dan Hall, who left before Greg's brother Aaron Gilbert was invited to join.
Under the name Idoru, they were signed to
Blanco y Negro and released one EP with the label, ''Safety in Numbers EP'', in November 2001.
''Faded Seaside Glamour'' (2004)
They changed to their present name before signing to
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...
, and released their debut single "
Nearer Than Heaven" in 2003. The band's debut album ''
Faded Seaside Glamour'' was released in April 2004, and immediately broke into the Top 20 in the UK Albums Chart. On the back of support slots with bands such as
Franz Ferdinand and the
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...
, as well as their own worldwide tours, most of the band's singles have reached the Top 40 in the
UK Singles Chart since their second single "
Hey Girl" in July 2003.
''You See Colours'' (2006)
Their second album, ''
You See Colours'', was released in March 2006, and saw a breakthrough when their songs began being used as backing music on the
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...
football highlights show ''
Match of the Day
''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a Association football, football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights during the Premier League season.
''Match of the Day'' is one of the BBC's longest-runn ...
'', and also commercially; "
Long Time Coming" featured in national advertisement campaigns both in the
UK and the
US and on the premiere episode of the second season of ''Veronica Mars''. The band played most of the major British
festivals
A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
in the summer of 2006. In May of that year, Delays parted company with Rough Trade by mutual consent and signed to Fiction / Polydor in December. The music video for "
Valentine" received regular play on
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
, and also gave them their first appearance on the ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'' programme on the BBC.
''Everything's the Rush'' (2008)
Their debut release on Fiction, ''
Everything's the Rush'' was released in May 2008, and was recorded over a twenty-day period in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. The first single to be released from the album was "
Hooray". This was preceded by an EP, ''
Love Made Visible'', released in November 2007. "
Keep It Simple" was the next single released from ''Everything's the Rush''. The video for the single starred Ewen Macintosh, who played Keith in ''
The Office
''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
'' (the original UK programme).
In July 2008, Delays won the Writers' Choice award at The Mag Awards, presented by ''
The Mag''. Also in July 2008 Delays' song, "Are You Ready", was selected as the
theme music
Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
for the online game
Football Superstars'.
In October 2008, Delays released ''
Lost Tunes'', an EP of assorted
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s, for digital download sale.
''Star Tiger Star Ariel'' (2010)
In March 2010, it was announced on the Delays official website that ''
Star Tiger Star Ariel'' would be released on Lookout Mountain Records in June that year, with the opening single, "Unsung", released on 14 June. Unfortunately, despite becoming an instant fan-favourite as well as being very popular throughout the band, no chart success was to follow. The album takes its name from two British South American Airways airliners named 'Star Tiger' and 'Star Ariel' which disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle in the 1940s.
Fifth studio album
On 6 November 2012 the band went into the Rockfield Studios, Monmouth to begin recording their fifth studio album, which was scheduled for release in 2013. However, due to outside projects, including lead singer Greg Gilbert's interest in art, as well as three of the band members becoming fathers, the album has not yet been released. On 9 May 2014,
Eddy Temple-Morris premiered a demo named "Wondrous Heavy" on
Xfm.
Greg Gilbert died on 30 September 2021 at the age of 44 from bowel cancer.
Band members
*Aaron Gilbert — keyboards, vocals
*Colin Fox — bass guitar, vocals
*Rowly — drums and percussion
Past members
*
Greg Gilbert — lead vocals, guitar
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
''As Idoru'':
* ''Safety in Numbers EP'' (24 November 2001) – UK #182, Limited edition, 1500 copies released.
''As Delays'':
* ''
Love Made Visible EP'' (5 November 2007)
* ''
Lost Tunes'' (EP) October 2008
Singles
References
External links
*
Delays Myspace siteDelays interviews and reviews on Record Overplayed webzineDelays interviews and reviews on ''The Mag'' music magazineDelays interview with the ''Northampshire Evening Telegraph''
Delays ''Love Made Visible EP'' Review on dailymusicguide.com''Everything's The Rush'' Review on DailyMusicGuide*
* entry for Greg Gilbert
* entry for Colin Fox
{{Authority control
2001 establishments in England
English indie rock groups
English indie pop groups
Musical groups from Southampton
Rough Trade Records artists
Fiction Records artists
Musical groups established in 2001
Sibling musical groups